Utopia Bar & Grill

Utopia is a great lounge, just needs some updating to keep up with the rest of the lounges in the area. Some people will love it just the way it is.

Note: I have not actually eaten here, so this review has nothing to do with the food, drinks, service, music, atmosphere, what have you. This review is solely about being unable to secure a reservation. A simple reservation!!! WTF, right?
Plan was to have dinner *this* Friday with 4 other friends. We decided on Utopia and I was looking forward to trying this place. I called in the middle of last week in the evening. Phone rang and rang and finally went to voicemail. I left my name, phone number, number in party and date/​time I wanted to make the reservation for. No return call that day, or the next, or the… Okay, maybe they forgot. I called again Sunday night and, once again, no answer and voicemail picked up. I left another message and asked for a return call. Then Monday came… tried calling again, no dice. Then Tuesday. On Wednesday reservations were made at another restuarant.
I’ve never had this happen before. I’d complain, but no one picks up the phone. So, I’m complaining here.

I absolutely adore this place! It has exposed brick, live bands, and an Ok veggie burger (just ok) :-) True, the drinks are pricey, but the atmosphere is so laid back and fun. This is a U– street gem

I don’t know that I’d call this place «utopia,» but I have had a good time! It’s got a jazz club kinda feel, with brick walls and dim lighting, which makes sense, since they have live jazz providing background music. Utopia is for barring and dining: The first room is more narrow, with the bar, a few tables, and standing room. The jazz band sets up in here in a little space by the front door, and as the it gets late and people fill in, it gets pretty crowded, and really loud. The other room has more dining tables, and there’s a space in the back that can be (or always is?) partially curtained off with some tables and loungey cube things. A friend did a couple hours of birthdaying back here recently before we hit up Lost Society.
I’ve had a good time when I’ve been here for friends’ get-​togethers, but honestly I’m gonna attribute that more to the friends than Utopia (though I have grooved on the bands!). Just too loud, crowded and expensive (I think the cocktails were $ 12) to be conducive to both chatting and getting drunk, and with so many options for doing both those things on U, I probably won’t be in here too regularly.

I had to stop myself for awhile from coming back to Utopia. Too many fun things were happening to me, such as meeting nice gentlemen and staying up until 5 a.m. It is one of the bars on u street that stays open a little bit after hours.
Utopia is a great little spot. I recommend it for a fun after-​dinner drink and listening to jazz — a great band is always playing. The drinks are a little pricey but the atmosphere is really fun. In the back there are couches and cushions and candles if you want to get more comfortable. The exposed brick and art is great and I love the old books scattering the wall behind the bar. Lots of character.
The food here is fine, nothing to rave about. I have been here for brunch and dinner. The great thing about brunch is the price of the bloody’s and mimosa’s — I believe they are $ 3. The servers are all usually friendly. The bartenders have all been very sweet.
If you come late at night the owner is usually a little bit sketchy, hanging out at the bar and picking up on women. But, for the most part, Utopia is a bar and a fun U Street hang out if you want to skip the traditional bar scene.

I’ve been here a couple times now (not by choice), and I’m not really impressed with Utopia. Yes, the live jazz is great. But, the food and service is eh.
On my first visit, I came with a group of people on a Friday evening. We were seated right away, which was nice. Nothing on the menu really grabbed my eye, so I settled on something safe. The chicken sandwich. I thought this was my best bet, until I took a bite. Wasn’t impressed. I seriously could have ordered something more tasty at McDonald’s. This chicken sandwich was just sad. No flavor, wasn’t juicy, and the bread was somewhat soggy. I waited forever for this?! Yikes.
Our waitress was okay. Our food took F O R E V E R to come out, and they weren’t even that busy. Most of our party ordered the burger or chicken sandwich, with one individual ordering some type of soup. We were all starving, so asked if she could bring some bread out for us. 10 minutes later, still no bread. So, I asked again. She mentioned that it was coming, and made a remark that she doesn’t offer bread to individuals who order burgers or chicken sandwiches. Really? Why not?! Just because we order something that comes sandwiched in between two buns doesn’t mean we don’t want bread to munch on while we wait for our meal. The rest of the even, you could tell just had tude with our group.
My next visit, had the same waitress. Just my luck. Came with another group of friends. Since our drinks toook forever to come last time and to save the hassle of dealing with the bill later, I went ahead and ordered at the bar. When it came time for me to order my drink from her, I mentioned that I already ordered at the bar. She gave me tude and said she waited this table. Yes, I understand that I should have just ordered my drink from her. But I remembered her from before and remembered how tudy and slow her service was. Oh well.
With so many options along U, I’m sure I won’t be hitting up this place anytime in the near future.

I’ve only been to Utopia once, for brunch in October 2010. I have not been since, unless I hear things have improved much at brunch, I don’t think I’ll be returning any time soon.
The not so bad: location, cheap mimosas
The bad: service was definitely off, our waitress took forever to get an order down and was far from attentive. Once we got our food, we waited forever to get ketchup for home fries. Once it was on our table, a few minutes later she asked to take it back to give it to another table in her section. Apparently the one ketchup bottle had to go around for anyone that wanted it in the dining room.
The really bad: we ordered french toast, and instead we got something inedible that was as hard as sheet rock.

You might be looking for some extensive review where I go on and on about whatever and ever, well, I’m sorry, this is not the review you’re looking for.
A friend and I just left U St Music hall at about 1:30 am, but I thought hey, let’s go grab one last drink before we head home. Of course I thought that, why wouldn’t I have thought that? Wouldn’t you have thought that?
We walk a few blocks and see Utopia, so we decide to dip in last minute and when we do the first thing we hear is the jazz band playing up front, getting down like they jumped straight off a page of On the Road by Jack Kerouac. As soon as I walk in I get a big smile, start bobbing my head, and the lead singer actually notices and pats me on the back while continuing to do his thing.
It’s like I just walked in to where I was supposed to be all along.
We sit down, get that last drink, and then we head out.
For the last 20 minutes of the evening… this place provided a perfect moment to cap off a legendary night.
I’ve gotta get back here some Saturday and get more of that action.

First time around U street. Had lots of trouble finding a good place to drop my hard earned dollars. If you search on Unilocal you will see a hole around U Street. Nothing that is truly good and won’t cost $ 100 per couple. We were going to end up at Utopia so we decided to go and have dinner there too, after reading the bad reviews and finding out that the reviewers gave burger joints four and five stars!
For appetizers we ordered the mussels with lemon caper sauce and the Fried Brie in a cinnamon sauce??? Well, the texture of the muscles were peculiar. A bit mushy… however the sauce was excellent. Probably too much flavor for the mussels. Now for… he cinnamon sauce and fried cheese… That concoction I avoided stayed with the boring wedge of batter/​breaded cheese. I could not get my mind around the idea of a sweet cinnamon sauce with cheese. Well, it turned out to be the star of the evening.
Not only was it made with «Mexican» cinnamon, which has a much more subtle and complex flavour, but there was orange pieces with peel and other stuff (possibly onion). It was not a sauce but was more like a cinnamon-​orange marmalade or compote. Truly original and great! I wish that I had kept some cheese to eat with it.
The Utopia side salad was dressed with a tarragon vinaigrette. The veggies were crisp and fresh. Plain, but delicious. We shared an Entrée of Shrimp Jambalaya. I interrogated the server as to the method of production. I did not want some pre-​made made dish that was simply warmed over. She assured me that it was cooked to order.
The jambalaya was very good. It was not traditional, but «updated.» Purist would not like it, but get over it and you will find that it is good. Shrimp had great flavor, as did the rice. The onions were grilled to a nice caramel brown and the peppers were crisp, as in Chinese food. A nice combination of flavours and textures. I was happily surprised. too bad it was over salted, though.
Service was impeccable. Our server, Olga, was very patient and had a good understanding of the menu. She advised us and helped us come to a decision as to our dinner choices. We asked for a nice leisurely meal and that is what we got. Dining room service, not typical bar service. Music was great. Best of all, we left with spending $ 55 plus tip for 3 courses (some shared) a few beverages (not drinks) and great music and service.

This was seriously the worst food I’ve ever had in DC. We went on Saturday for dinner and were headed to a show in a bar later that night in the area. Against our better judgement, we wandered into Utopia. 2 of us ordered the porkchops, which were supposed to be in a Balsamic glaze… and it was like pure vinegar poured over it! The bruschetta was awful (and… how easy is bruschetta?!) and the worst part was that we barely touched the 2 porkchop dinners and had to pay full price for each. Very pricy for the worst food ever.
I can’t say this loud enough: AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

Not being very familiar with the U St area, I’m always happy to try something new with friends who live in the area. I hadn’t heard of this place until my friend said we were having dinner there, so I really didn’t know what to expect. What we got was a large party full of random an interesting people, which is exactly how I’d describe the menu of this place: random and interesting.
Beyond not having my first choice (who doesn’t stock enough pork chops??), I was curious to see how this place would be categorized from the moment we walked in the place. Like a lot of restaurants/​bars in the area, this place is situated in a couple of row houses with exposed brick walls. A lot of fun, funky artwork hangs on the walls and requires a little bit of exploring to really get a feel for the full space.
The food was good – I had a blackened mahi mahi with a lovely roasted tomato sauce and sides of veggies and rice. Nothing too outside the box, but if you make good food, that’s all I’m asking for. Again, the menu seemed to skip around, meaning I wouldn’t have guessed this place was explicitly Cajun when looking at the menu. My meal seemed to fit that category, but the curry vegetable couscous or the portobello mushroom in crème sauce weren’t exactly Cajun inspired.
Regardless, a very relaxed atmosphere with wait staff that let you sit back and look at the menu rather than hustling you out the door was a nice change of pace. I’ll need to go back to check out the live music scene at some point.

Definitely go here to sit at the bar, have a drink and listen to jazz. DO NOT go here to eat. I went to dinner here on a Saturday night. Between myself and two other folks we ordered the baked brie, Jamal’s grilled chicken, the filet mignon and the portabella stuffed ravioli. The ravioli was okay, the filet and brie were a little less than okay and the chicken GAVE ME FOOD POISONING!
The drinks weren’t great and the wine list was alright. I hear they’re known for their martinis, and none of us had one. I would only go back to listen to the jazz and drink beer.

Went to a friends birthday here and had a really good time. Loved the live jazz and the food was pretty good too. Get there for happy hour though, which ends at 7pm, Half off all cocktails, which are usually $ 10 a pop.
We had dinner and then was able to enjoy the music, but be warned that the space can get cramped and the jazz music can be pretty loud. So once that drum starts up dont expect to hear your friends or date– this could be a good this or a bad thing.

I’ve been a regular here since Melissa & Rob were still married and Molly was the bartender. I’ve been here for brunches, happy hours, jazz sets while Pam was still singing (…), once for New Year’s Eve, once for Jamaal’s art show, many times for last call. I’ve been here on dates, with groups, for girls night, and now solo. I’ve been seated at the bar, at the front tables, behind the burgundy curtain, and inside those rustic double doors. I probably could have FTR’d this place. But ⁴⁄₁₇ for brunch was my first visit with a check-​in and now my first review.
Thankfully, Hasnah remembered me, and everything I loved about the place was just as I remembered it.
The jumbo shrimp, angel hair pasta, and garlic cream sauce. O M G. The mimosas. The lovely soundtrack. The rustic décor. Hasnah also remembered that I order the same thing each time. The jumbo shrimp, angel hair pasta, w/​garlic cream sauce. Maybe, just maybe, I could try something new after all these years? Nope. Found a good one and I’m sticking to it.
I love this place. All facets of it. I always come back and I always will. Feels like home.

I went here for brunch with a couple of friends. This had to be the worst service I have ever had at a restaurant. I have never done this before but we actually walked out!
We were there for two hours before our food finally came. In that amount of time we tried and tried to get drink refills… water, coffee… I didn’t care just something! haha
When our food finally came out it was cold. My friend had a poached egg over salmon. He asked for them to bring out a new poached egg since a cold one is kind of gross. The waitress was really rude and grabbed the plate, microwaved it (salmon and poached egg!!) and sat it back on our table.
I don’t know how this has higher reviews unless the wait staff is ranking this place. After our visit I asked around and everyone agreed that it is a horrible service and only average food.

I was a bit hesitant at first, having walked past a small coffee shop with fantastic live jazz to arrive here, looking for a nice, jazzy night to ring it my last evening in DC. She got tea, I got a couple glasses of wine and the waitress didn’t make a deal about us not ordering the food, which Unilocalers seem to unanimously warn against.
The live jazz though, man that hit the spot. I don’t know who the singer was but she danced this sultry, blue, longing voice across the brick walls and red art. The guy on the piano fit her perfectly and before I knew it my stress rolled away, my friend found new faith in jazz and I found the best evening I had in DC to date.

I’d like to thank you in advance for reading this tale.
We arrive at 8:30pm. Thursday night. Hadn’t been here in a long while, but remember that Linguini with Hot Italian Sausage. Yum.
The bar area is full, but the other room is pretty empty.
Oh? We’re being seated in the other room? Ok cool. Only 3 other tables are occupied. This is nice. This is quiet. Lots of open space. Cool. I like this.
Oh, hello friendly server [he will be referred to as «Male Server» from here on out]. You seem very happy and nice. Why thank you! I Am doing fine this evening. How are you?!
Drink orders are taken.
He comes back a couple minutes later and takes our food order.
My ladyfriend looks at me and says, «Wow. He’s a Great server».
Wow! I know. Man, so friendly. Wow. this is going to be a Great experience. I told you you were going to like this place.
Hmm… looks like we’re going to get bread. Cool. I’m a little hungry.
Hey ladyfriend, looks like we’re going to get bread.
«Oh?»
Yeah, looks like everyone else got bread. Cool.
15 minutes elapse. No bread. Sever is welcoming new patrons that have been seated at his tables.
Ladyfriend says, «I could use some more water.»
Yeah, me too. And my iced tea is almost gone. Hmm… and I wonder where our bread is. Male Server seems busy with his new tables. That’s ok. He was so great with welcoming us and taking our order.
He’s probably just busy.
«Yeah.»
Oh, hello new Lady Server. Thank you for bringing us our meals. Guess we don’t get bread like everyone else… I guess that’s ok.
Anyway… these dishes look good. Oh, and while we have your attention (Male Server seems a bit busy) would it be possible to get some more water? «Sure.» Ok. Cool.
This food is good. Ladyfriend, let me try your Jambalaya. Wow, that is good. And my Linguini with Hot Italian Sausage is just as I remembered it. Have a taste.
Lady Server brings us more water. «Thank you.»
15 minutes elapse.
Why does Male Server continue to ignore our table?
My iced tea is gone. Our water glasses are empty. A brief if not superficial check in of «How are you guys doing over here?» would be adequate at this point.
We are now done eating.
The next
20 minutes
are spent trying to get the attention of our waiter. Lady Server. Male Sever. ANY Server. Anyone that might work at this place. Bartender. Please Look at our table.
Waving are waving hands in the air. «SIR!».
Male Server manges to make his rounds with every other table in the room. He continues to ignore and walk by our table. He wouldn’t even look at our table.
Lady Server! I have your attention. Can we get the check and a box for my ladyfriend’s meal?
«Yes».
We get our check.
And we wait.
Another 10 minutes elapse. I am waving the check in my hand. Male Server walks by our table, I watch him look at the check in my hand, walks to the table next to mine, takes their order, walks right by my table again. Ignored Again. I’m starting to feel like a prisoner in this place. All I want to do is pay and get Out.
Ladyfriend has had enough, and takes the bill and hands it to Male Server. He apologizes to her and says he’s overwhelmed. Ok, that’s fine. That’s what we thought in the first place. But we watched him the entire night. The other patrons in the room seemed to be getting great service (and bread). Everyone else appeared to be very happy. We tried to flag him down almost the entire night. To get more water. To get more iced tea. To get our check. To get Anything.
I have no idea why we were repeatedly ignored the entire night. This was such a bizzare and confusing experience considering our first impression of the server. Was it because we only ordered $ 35 worth of food? No wine like the other tables? Was a potential $ 7 tip not worth your time?
I am a very good tipper. I understand the majority of your pay is based on tips. Just give me some attention, refill my water, and I’ll tip you just fine. 20% tip? Fine. That’s fair. Servers usually deserve it. Food wasn’t so good? That’s ok, I don’t blame you. Not like you cooked the meal! Here’s a 20% tip. Servers usually work hard. They do their job. And my tipping reflects this.
In this case, Male Server received a 0% tip. I have never done this before in my life. I have also never felt so neglected at a restaurant before this night. I am sorry if there is a tip pool where everyone shares tips, and Female Server gets shafted because of my overall experience. If this is the case, Female Server needs to tell Male Server to get his act together, or Male and Female server need to tell their managers that they need to hire more servers.
Thank you for your time. And thank you Unilocal for giving me a place to speak my mind.

I popped my head into Utopia last weekend to cool out to some live jazz. I had not yet fully had both feet in the door when a man offered to buy me a drink and requested my hand in marriage.
When I told him that I was really just trying to get to the bathroom and that I didn’t need a drink, he started asking me some questions and then told me that he always knew he would marry a Latin woman.
I sir, am not Latin. Therefore, you’ve got the wrong chick.
Ok, so maybe I do have some Cuban blood, but I’m proud to say that I effectively pulled off my «Zing!» moment of the night.
Other than my bob and weave, duck and roll I could have easily sat here and been at ease. The live jazz was fabulous, and the dim-​lit, narrow space had enough nooks and crannies that you could actually have a little privacy here. It’s not one of those places where you can just walk in and spot everyone in there in one swift glance and I like that.
Not sure if Utopia holds my attention long enough to make this part of a regular rotation, but it’s a nice place to grab a quick and relaxing drink.

This is a dinner review. I went there on a Friday night and the feelings oh so right… ok I’ll stop trying to make up song lyrics, but honestly it’s hard to do when the jazz from the live band is making you sway as you’re being led to your table. The atmosphere is really great here. Never too crowded before the 10pm hour and the dishes are basic, but good. Didn’t have anything that I felt wasn’t up to par.
If you get a chance to grab a table there just know that the seating area is on the opposite side of where the band is performing. So if you’re there to see the Jazz musicians do their thing, just know that you should try to sit at the bar as you enter then. It can get crammed quickly because of the small space. Still worth a trip!

The atmosphere of Utopia B&G is pretty amazing. It has a wonderful décor and is dimly lit which makes it great for an intimate gathering of friends or even a date. There are exposed brick walls and interesting paintings all over. On the wall behind the bar, they put books in the wall in the spaces between the bricks. It’s pretty cool.
My gals and I sat at the bar and had drinks and appetizers — the mini crabcakes and pan fried brie. The crabcakes were alright though I’ve had better. The brie was delicious. It was served atop some sort of compote and was accompanied with some tasty bread. I was pleased.
The jazz band was being set up for most of the time we were here. By the time we mosied on over to Marvin, they had started playing. Oops. Perhaps we could have stayed longer to enjoy the music, but we were more into chatting so the music would have overpowered our conversation.
I could definitey see myself returning for lunch or dinner as their menu seemed to be priced well and the ambiance is just perfect.