Karma

I’m surprised they stayed in business this long.
I remember going there once when they opened a few years ago and was surprised by the sparse menu. The space wasn’t very wisely used, either… and I wondered when the place would go out of business.
I went to the place again a year ago, and it was a bit better in its ambiance and food selection. Still, nothing particularly memorable.

Karma is not a happy hour bar. Sure, they offer a happy hour, but it might possibly be the worst happy hour in all of DC. I mean, since when is a $ 5 beer a happy hour deal? The $ 5 champagne might possibly be one, but I know restaurants were you can get $ 5 champagne. They also offer $ 15 beer buckets, where they will bring you 4 Coronas or 4 Miller Lights in a bucket. Sure, it’s esthetically pleasing, but I can buy a 6 pack of Coronas for $ 6. But the house wine is good. That is usually what I get for happy hour.
My point is that this is not a place to come for happy hour deals. The food is decent enough. I like the sample platter that comes with hummus and falafels. The quesadillas are ok — nothing special and the cheese platter is decent enough. The Asian chicken is actually pretty good. The chicken is tender and the peanut sauce that it comes with it good as well.
The interior is very cute. If you are lucky enough to get some couch space, then you lucked out. They are incredibly comfortable but also go really quickly. Especially the one in the corner that seats about 8 people. That one will be gone by 5pm. What I really like about this place is the outdoor seating. They have more tables outside than they do inside, and I think that’s really rare. The waitresses come outside a lot too so you will get your service.
The crowd at Karma is a mix. It’s the local World Bank and IMF hang out, but is also frequented by GW students, especially the School of Public Policy. I don’t know why that is, but I always see their banner up there and students walking around with name tags.
This gives you an overview of the place. It’s not the type of place to go if you really want a night out. But if you want to have a conversation and are in for some seriously interesting people watching, then try to grab a couch and enjoy.

Happy hour drinking hole for wannabe and actual pseudo-​intellectual pretentious overdressed world bankers. Mainly a Euro and Asian mix. Too loud to hear a lot of the conversation, but with that crowd it certainly makes the evening more pleasant. Avoid like the plague.

Last summer, Karma was a reliable place to watch the World Cup games, grab a drink, and eat some food. To be honest, I was never impressed with their food but they had decent mojitos for happy hour which was always a good time. Come here to rub elbows with a bunch of World Bank and IMF folks. The World Bank has an office right across the street, so you’ll be hearing lots of different languages.
It’s a cute atmosphere. I’ll be heading back soon. Unless the food has changed, i wouldn’t eat there per se. Good espresso, though.
Good Karma…

Good drink specials (they had $ 5 glasses of champagne the night I went) but the food is questionable. To be fair, I only shared guacamole and hummus with a friend but I was greeted by an unwelcome stomachache 30 minutes later. The guacamole either contained no avocados and should have been labeled «guacamole DIP» or it had been processed off-​site and purchased in bulk by the restaurant, refrigerated and served. The hummus had a taste to it that I couldn’t quite put my finger on and the pita bread was not warmed. I have sampled hummus from many, many restaurants and even some chains do it better. Neat interior, lots of outside seating, but not for those without an iron stomach!

I went to this place for some tea and honey. a little pricy, but ok for once in a while. cool artwork on the walls from local artists (also for sale).
— H