Capital City Tavern

Drink prices and the bar staff are super friendly. On Saturday Nights they have a very live bar and dance scene. I was very impressed with all of the bartenders attitude.

Stopped in here for a little festivities with a bachelor party to get some drinks. Didn’t stay too long but the couple rounds of drinks we got were good and delivered quickly. The patrons were fun to watch and the music was pretty good.

This place is a joke… all of us over 27 and were refused at the door and told to ask the officer next to us what his thoughts were on the id… the officer confirmed we were all over the age of 27 and the bouncer STILL refused to let us in… DO NOT GIVE THIS PLACE MONEY

I used to come here all the time, but my boyfriend who was visiting for the weekend was pushed outside by the bouncer and told he had to go back through the line to get back in (without his coat in 22 degree weather). It was so absurd, I didn’t even believe it, but when I went to see what was wrong the owner told me he was being «unruly» (which is the biggest bullsh*t I’ve ever heard) and said I could go back in (even though I was screaming at the guy) but my bf could come back any other night but wasn’t allowed back in now. I literally was yelling at the owner of this place and the worst thing that happened was their fake cop told me the conversation was over but I was still allowed to go back inside. Peace out Cap City, it was nice knowing ya.

To start off the bouncers are racist and sexist. Myself, my girlfriend and her friend (also a female) were in line to go into the bar on a Friday night. One of the bouncers notice my girlfriend holding her friends ID while she was searching through her purse and he commented «hey that’s not going to work», like she was trying to use her friends ID as a fake. All of us are 5+ years over the age of 21. He told us no form of identification plus debit card etc. was acceptable to prove the age of both girls. Once we ha stepped out of line to leave the bouncer continued to jaw at us and after we had left he continued to deny a group of black people despite their age, like us, based upon their race. This absolutely astonished me and everyone I was with. I highly recommend not going to capital city tavern.

We really like coming here early in the night before the crowd comes. However, we struggled getting the bartenders attention to get drinks this past Saturday night because she kept fixing her hair and makeup up the bar mirror. Her back was turned to us for 2 mins straight while she fluffed her long blonde hair. Her text messages were also a priority before serving customers. Our group of 5 all looked at each other like «reallyyyy??!» But overall, we like coming here and hope this was a one time thing. So I won’t bump the star level down unless it happens again.

This place is packed on weekends so don’t expect to go for casual drinks, but it’s a really fun time nevertheless! The music is usually really great and generally service is pretty fast.

I’m a fan of this place. Honestly, the only thing I don’t like is they get sooo insanely packed on Saturday night (which is obviously a good thing for them but makes getting to the restroom an obstacle) ;)
The bar is pretty clean and I love the «porch» area. Also, word from an expert, go to the bar right at the front of the place. I’ve always been able to get a drink within 2 mins (less packed as more people want to be at the back).
Good wine pours and shots as well.

Wow so I really enjoy coming here. Service is usually decent and customer service, if you need to call management is great. Why only 3 stars instead of 5?
Well it seems they have now places carpets down and added extra restrooms so people don’t fall and slip anymore, I’ve slipped one too many times when there was no carpet, only to have staff waiting by the restroom laugh at you because the floor was wet.
Other than that it seems to be getting better. Prices are ok, bartenders seem to be able to handle the load.
Unfortunately what used to be a fun and safe place to go has been changing in the past months, similar to another bar on Glenwood. The demographic coming into this place is very unsavory, aggressive, and geared toward the hip hop culture. I was accosted multiple times the past few weekends I have gone by people of this type of crowd and it is just becoming no longer safe to go here. It really used to be a classy establishment, but at the rate it is going, you might as well go out in downtown Durham.
Perhaps a dress code and different music would help? I really was enjoying this place for a while, but it isn’t safe at all. It’s rather distressing when you are accosted by aggressive males and you can’t enjoy a good time.
Other than that, service, drinks, and added restrooms make it a enjoyable place to go. Get rid of the new crowd or change the music! Please!

My group came here to order drinks during the beer fest. We decided to sit under the heat lamps and that was great except there weren’t any servers around. We ended up taking turns going to the bar to grab drinks.
I think the bar is nice from a aesthetic perspective but the bathrooms were completely gross. One toilet had flooded and the entire floor was wet. There wasn’t any hand soap and even after reported it remained this way for over an hour.
I’d definitely go, back but I’d avoid the bathroom.

I am really conflicted on how to review Capital City. I’ve been in there when it’s not crowded, and loved it. The place is newly renovated, and they did a really great job. The drinks are good. There’s even a place in the back for dancing. BUT, the problem is this place is always a zoo on the weekends. I guess that’s not their fault, and it just proves that they are doing something right, but it’s not really my thing to wait in a VERY long line to get into a place that is packed like sardines. And don’t even think of going to the bathroom when it’s crowded, if you somehow manage to fight through the throngs of people, you will more than likely be greeted with a line to get in. I definitely would recommend this place, but I’d also recommend getting there early if your idea of fun isn’t being elbow to elbow with a bunch of college kids.

Clean, great atmosphere, awesome service, and well priced drinks. You can’t go wrong here. The (kind of) recent renovation looks great!

It was a beautiful early autumn night in Raleigh and the quintessential night to sit outside. Where, you ask? Right at Capital City Tavern.
This venue certainly got a facelift! It looks absolutely nothing like Isaac Hunter’s. No trace. I described Isaac’s as divey, dark, and depressed. But I would describe Capital City Tavern as sexy, sophisticated, and swanky.
Is this really the same space???
I enjoy the exposed brick, the classic photography of historical Raleigh, and the polished woodwork. Great job on throwing some love and care into this place!
Bartenders are friendly. Drinks are good. Location is superb.
Your identity shift from Isaac to Capital went quite well. Kudos to your plastic surgeon.

I’ve been hearing about Capital City Tavern from some of my friends, so I’ve been by a few times to check this bar out on Fayetteville St. It sits up on the northern end near the State Capitol building. It has an inviting façade and nice chairs with stone heater tables outside so it’s easy to pick out along this strip.
Inside, they’ve done a nice job. Nice brick and slate look with great black and white pictures of old Raleigh on the walls that are backlit. Other accents such as a wall «waterfall» are present. Although it’s not a very wide bar, it is VERY long in that the bar is deep enough to hold a good amount of people with an area for dancing in the back. Dimly lit with Edison bulb action, it has a pretty nice atmosphere. The bartenders and staff have been very positive, friendly, and helpful on my visits. The drink menu is pretty good, I am partial to the Twisted Whiskey Sour there. This tavern is a bar only situation, no food offerings. It has the vibe of a pretty nice place for drinks with some solid music selections in the background. However it gets pretty packed and crowded later on at night just before 11pm on Fri/​Sat, and this crowd seems to be a younger and crazier crowd than would be expected for this type of place. It certainly doesn’t come across in look and feel as a party bar, but maybe the dance floor element draws the younger and yes, sometimes a bit rowdier crowd. I really am surprised by this late night change, to be honest, looking at the bar itself and how it it is styled. Have at it, guys, enjoy. I usually leave by 11p those nights, but I enjoy CCT all other times and think it is a great spot to hang for a drink.
Bottom line: CCT has a great space, atmosphere, and vibe. Like the look and feel of this very long narrow bar, great accents. Solid drink menu and nice, positive bartenders/​staff. It can get a bit crazy and crowded late night Friday/​Saturday nights but other than that, I like the flow of this place as a bar to grab a drink and chill out with some good music.

I love this new bar! The décor is awesome & although it seems small inside, there’s a lot of room to dance in the back unlike a lot of the other bars downtown. The DJ was great last night and my friends and I finished off the night here. Definitely coming back ASAP!

This bar is awesome! Better set-​up inside especially with the bigger/​longer bar, extended back, waterfalls on the walls and front seating. The DJ and music is awesome and plays a good mix of music! It gets really hot inside but they have vents so just find a place on the dance floor below a vent go stay cool! Bathroom situation still kind of sucks so be ready for a long wait

What a great bar, I just visited last Saturday. The space is large, the bar is long, there is a good area for dancing. There are tables, different places to sit, even a beautiful sitting area outside. My most favorite thing, the lighting. Just perfect lighting, with that downtown city feel. Our bartenders were great, singing and dancing as well as quick service.

I must admit Capital City Tavern is doing some things right! As far a ascetics and storefront appeal, they knocked it out of the park. They took over the old Isaac Hunters and completely transformed the space. With plenty of tables outside to accommodate guests as well as a beautiful brickwork lining the walls, private tables, mood lighting and old black and white photos of Raleigh posted around the bar. That, my friends, is the good. Capital is a new bar so there’s a lot of things that just don’t quite flow yet. While the atmosphere seems classy they also turn the space into a dance club when the evening gets late – DJ included! The space didn’t really seem to merit the dance club feel.
In addition, while the bar is huge (literally huge. It’s practically two separate bars with all the same liquors and beers side by side – I think the owners are trying to make sure the excuse «I couldn’t make it to the bar» is never uttered at Capital!) – however with all new bars, the bartenders are a major part of making customers feel welcome and comfortable. It’s obvious the bartenders are new to the space and possibly some might even be brand new bartenders, I only say this because of recommendations that were made, or were lacking for some. They also did not have any type of beer/​cocktail menu yet or prices listed (this was two weeks after opening night in the beginning of July). Another unfortunate incident was finding someone’s dinner in the corner of the bathroom, I don’t think we were there late enough for it to be from that evening and the place wasn’t very crowded. Either way, that’s never a pleasant situation to run into (literally). I’d be happy to give Capital another chance in a couple months once they’ve ironed out all the kinks.