The DC Eagle

This place will become the new «Nation» from the 2k. The area is safe, walkable, and accesible. THE PARKING ISSUES: the fence has been put by the strip associatives to block bussiness to come. AKA being shady and homophobic. There is nothing DC Eagle can do but spend $$$ on litigations and motions to get the freaking fence removed. Come and check the place! Is waaaaayyyyy better than cobalt and town

2 Über drivers wouldn’t take us. That says alot. One said ‘the address doesn’t exist’ even though it was on the (complicated) map, and the other said it’s a very unsafe neighborhood and would himself at risk. Seems like there are a lot of shootings/​murders/​assaults very near there…

As a frequent traveler to DC this has been one of my favorite bars to go to!!! HUGE venue and great atmosphere. The only negative side to this is that the parking is a struggle, but unfortunately that’s not because of the bar but because of other businesses near it. Hopefully it can get better.

I live east of the Anacostia River and went to DC Eagle as a guest for a Friday night happy hour. I had a great time and found everyone super kind. I am writing the review to help others locate the bar easily.
Although the address for the bar is 3701 Benning Road, NE, that part of Benning Road NE is raised and you cannot get to the bar from that section of Benning. The bar is actually set back very far from the road, behind the strip of businesses on Minnesota Avenue. The owner of the street-​adjacent properties put up the chain link fence when DC Eagle moved in to prevent bar patrons from crossing the huge and empty parking lot from Minnesota Avenue NE to access the bar in back. So… that annoying fence was not always there. I am attaching a map. Look at it carefully. Do you see that little access road that starts on Minnesota (at Benning) and runs parallel to Benning Road toward the river? That’s the road you take. The road runs along that sad chain link fence. It will seem empty. I’m a white woman, walked alone, and I was fine.
I took an Über and got out at the intersection of Minnesota and Benning. You could also ask the driver to take the turn into the access road but it seemed easier to walk. Use the southwest corner of the intersection next to DTLR and follow the little road back to the bar. The entrance is in back, facing the direction of the river/​295. There is also free parking along that access road. The walk from the metro is no problem either, though best to be covered up a bit.

Well I finally found the road leading to the Eagle and the location is definitely awful. Although adjacent to I-​295 one has to go a mile north of Benning Road (Burroughs Ave.) and backtrack along Minnesota Ave. to make the turn into the tiny roadway. And there are probably15−20 parking spaces in the alley (in mud) so if none is available, where do you park? Parking at the Metro station, or walking from the Metro station doesn’t seem like such a good idea, particularly late at night. So unless you find a space in the alley, you might as well go home. With all the vacant and unused land around this place, it’s ridiculous that they didn’t get a decent parking area for customers. Except for the alley, everything else is blocked off with chain link fencing. So, while the bar itself is very nice, getting to and from is a real pain. I doubt I’ll be back.

Pathetic. A good way to help your ailing empty bar on a Friday night is to rudely turn away customers because of footwear. I hope it closes and everyone becomes unemployed.

I could see it, but I couldn’t figure out how to get in. After 20 minutes of driving around a dubious area of town, I gave up and went home.

We were in DC for an Event for the Sisters on Easter weekend. We had an amazing time at the Eagle! The staff was very friendly and the drinks were strong! The patrons were very friendly and welcoming. The interior was very well laid out. The location is interesting, but at no time did we not feel safe. We are so happy the Eagle has returned and look forward to many more visits!!!

Hi, my first time. Did a few of the old DC Eagles and Balt. and NYC too.
Pros: it’s a fun place once you get through the door.
Con’s: are you a pussy boi? Get a big, strong buddy or daddy to take you.

This was my first visit to the DC Eagle’s new location in Northeast. My three friends and I are veterans of the previous location downtown, so we were curious to check out the new space. We visited on a Saturday night.
Pros:
The interior space is quite nice. I had no idea what to expect based on the neighborhood and the exterior of the building, but it seems they’ve done a nice job renovating and upgrading. The main bar area is spacious, yet there are also separate sections nearby for groups to mingle.
Our bartender was friendly and efficient, as was the gentleman who checked us in at the front door. I wish I had gotten their names so I could more specifically compliment them now.
Cons:
The new location is a bit of a challenge. I’m sure that the owners thought this through, and I understand real estate climates change, but wow… our round trip Über totals were around $ 40, which is more than we’re used to spending for transportation to standard weekend nights out on the town. Granted, Metro is an option here, but for our first time in the neighborhood (not to mention that it was fairly late on a cold winter evening, after having enjoyed a few drinks), we decided Über was the way to go. It’s also a little tricky to find the driving route up to the front door. The building itself is tucked behind a tall fence, so our Über driver had a hard time figuring out how to get us there. We were behind a taxi that was trying in vain to do the same thing. I even checked out the location on Google street view in advance, but that didn’t help me understand how to get to the entrance. Regardless of all that, I hope that they continue to develop a customer base that is happy to travel here via whatever modes of transportation.
We had a memorably unpleasant customer service experience at the very end of the night. The catalyst issue was that they closed at 2am rather than the usual 3am that I expect at other DC bars and clubs such as Nellie’s, Number Nine and Secrets. Neither the person at the door nor our bartender made us aware of this. I’m not saying that was a major misstep on their part, but it would have been helpful to know that in advance. I admit that I didn’t check their hours on their website in advance — I usually do that, and it does clearly say 2am.
Sometime after 1:30, one of my friends overheard a patron in the bathroom say something about the bar closing at 2am. My friend reported that to the rest of us, so we quickly decided that we should move on rather than ordering a new round of drinks. I asked our bar tender to close my tab sometime between 1:35 and 1:40.
At approximately 1:42am (I was so rebuffed by the occurrence I’m about to describe that I checked the time), an employee abruptly barreled up to my friends and me and *bellowed* — loudly — «The bar is now closed!» in a most unfriendly, hostile manner. There was no introduction, no explanation, and certainly no pleasantry. I turned to the employee and said I was waiting for the bar tender to hand me my receipt so that I could finish closing my tab. He stared at me for a moment, didn’t respond and walked away.
I understand that businesses need to operate within their stated schedules and within local law. That said, the DC Eagle should not have this particular person walking around during business hours and interacting with customers. I should reiterate that I’ve been to many gay bars and clubs over the years, so I feel like I’ve seen and heard it all. I’m not unreasonably sensitive to moody staff members or inconvenient situations. This particular interaction was so off-​putting that we couldn’t wait to get out the door. I can’t recall another moment where I’ve felt more unwelcome or less appreciated as a customer. My friends and I had just spent a good bit of money at the bar, and we were peacefully enjoying our drinks well before closing time. In my opinion, restaurants and bars have exactly *one* chance to make a positive impression on a customer, and that process crashed and burned in this instance.
I’m genuinely sad to say that this was my first and very likely my last time visiting the new location of the DC Eagle. It’s a shame because I have fond memories of many fun nights spent at their previous location. I wish them the best of luck!