The Fireplace

This place was pretty good.
Came here as out of towners in need of a cocktail fix after doing all the monuments.
For the most part it feels like a daddy bar at happy hour but I’m that changes at night.
Drinks are VERY strong. So strong I was tipsy with one! If I had more I’d be somewhere else. No need to front on that.
Definitely will come back when I’m in DC. It’s a cool bar.

A great dark gay dive bar with heavy handed bartenders.
I have a lot of fond memories of the Fireplace. Yes, back in the day it had a certain sexy risqué reputation. ;). There is an equal mix of dark and white chocolate with maybe a little bit of caramel sprinkled around. A nice mix of eye candy for your pallet.
The patrons can range from; catty-​chatty, friendly, creepy and pretentious. It’s all up to luck in fate and who you choose to surround yourself with.
Give this place an open mind and venture down. Straights may be a little intimidated by the sexual tension and energy can be in the air. But hey that’s why the fireplace is what it is.
As for drinks, the bartenders can make some of the strongest Long Island Ice Tea’s out there. If you like to drink that creeps up on you go for a «Zombie.»

Terrible place. I knew full well this was a gay bar, but I wanted to see if I liked it. After being frisked for guns or whatever at the door, I arrived by the bar only to be turned away because I wasn’t going to pay in cash. They also don’t have a physical menu. If you ask for one the bartender will scoff at you like you’re a noob loser not worth his time. Well you know what, I walked out.

Hdhgeydge

While in DC, we had to check out some night life. DuPont Circle is a trendier area of town. It is also home to some nightlife in DC, including quite a few gay bars and clubs.
One of G’s friends wanted to meet at this place called The Fireplace. It is cash only, but they have a sort of ATM. You scan your card, get a receipt, and then go to the cashier to get your money.
It’s two levels. The first floor charged me $ 4 for a drink, while the 2^nd floor charged me $ 3. Both prices are cheap, especially considering their pours. These drinks are STRONG. They basically give you a cup of alcohol. The drink I had was straight whiskey on the rocks, and the tall glass was almost full.
If you want to drink on the cheap and get a good buzz from one drink, this is the place. My only negative thing was this place had a bit of a dank smell. It was better upstairs.
I had an awesome time at this place.

Just plain awful. Place was so gross and creepy. I sat by the fireplace and there was a strong odor of vomit.
My mixed drink was so strong, and foolishly didn’t ask for a top shelf. Rock gut rum. Terrible and couldn’t drink it.

Awful place. Bartender is rude. Customers are unfriendly and suspicious. Offerings at the bar are limited and disappointing. With so many bars in DuPont there’s no excuse for wasting your time here.

Don’t waste your time this bar is a dump! Cheap drinks won’t make up for the smell of feces and the dirt. They should shut down and make some renovations… it’s much needed. This bar caters to African American and men over 50’s. It very much looks like a burial ground for where old gay’s go to die! Stay Away!

The drinks are strong, Judy is the best bartender shes the old white lady on the 1^st floor. The guys there are trolls. Only go there to pregame never dedicate your whole night there unless youre pathetic and a troll.

1) i’m straight. ok lets get to the review. The place as an awesome architecture from the outside. it looks bright and rustic… but the moment you go through the door. i’d def call it a dive. They had happy hour on Sunday so this is why we stopped here after our museum walk. $ 3 rails and $ 3 domestic beers (1pm till close) and I saw a sign for $ 3 sminoffs from 8−11… what else could a girl ask for? The crowd was nice and the bartender was nice. there were no «eyes» or «whispers». I also saw another guy order jack on the rocks and a glass of wine (both served in plastic pint glasses…) and he was charged $ 9 bucks!!! crazy! All in all. def a good spot to stop by for an afternoon booze for cheap.

First off I love this place.
*This is a no frills kind of bar that has a rough on the outside (and inside) but good with the drinks, people, conversations, music, etc.*
The drinks are very cost effective and are STRONG! I love coming here to pre-​game (usually it ends up being the game as I admit defeat and head home earlyy) prior to a fun night.
Word to the wise is to pace yourself because these drinks will sneak up on you.

This place is funny. So that’s a weird way to describe a bar, but it’s really all I can come up with. We came here because our friends didn’t want too walk far and we had dinner just down the street. Generally, I’d say I like dive bars just fine– they can be a fun, low-​key place to go and have a drink, so we decided to check this place out. We tried to find a seat upstairs, but it was packed and definitely a lot more lively, we settled in downstairs, near the fireplace. I ordered a vodka soda, which was good– can one mess up a vodka soda? The bartender was nice enough, I wouldn’t say she was full of personality, but that’s fine and she’s definitely heavy handed because when I stood up I really felt just that one drink. This isn’t a place I see myself returning to, ever, but it was an interesting experience.

Hell’s waiting room, complete with a constantly blazing… fireplace. Bring your own hand sanitizer. Don’t wear loafers or flip-​flops in here; the floors are so sticky you may have to surrender them to the decades-​old layers of bar ooze. There’s a narrow, twisting staircase to get upstairs; drunken patrons coming down frequently tumble dangerously into those trying to ascend, resulting in hilarious hoots, catcalls, and diva spats. I’ve got several good friends who love this place, but I just don’t get it. Terrific location and they’ve been in business forever, so something must go right here. The pours are simply vast and there’s always some kind of «special» so that could be the draw, but even the cheapest drinks can’t chase away the smell of urinal cakes that desperately need to be changed.

Talk about dives… this bar in general is awful. Some of the bartenders aren’t very nice, the bathroom is forever nasty (you can almost smell them as you walk out of DuPont metro station) and the bouncers act like they are actual law enforcement. Amusing, actually.
It’s only saving grace is that they make the drinks exceptionally strong. Which is probably just as well since it’s not worth staying in there for any length of time. So by the time you’ve had four drinks, the so-​called law enforcement, will likely throw you out. By that time, it’s off to another bar/​club to finish off your night out on the town.

If you’re looking for a cool dive bar with heavy handed bartenders and a comedy show (some of the patrons), then the Fireplace is for you.
I was here recently and had the best time. The drinks were definitely on point, and of course, if Scott is making the drinks you’ll only need 2, maybe 3, before you’re staggering. The upstairs still gets more packed than the downstairs, and on Saturday nights they have a $ 4 Bacardi special.
Starting to love the Fireplace again.

Let’s face it, you can count the gay bars/​clubs that cater to black folk in this town on one hand – and if that hand has at any time been exposed to The Fireplace, you may wanna dip it in bleach for a minute or two. Now don’t go sayin’ I said I’ve never had a good time here… I didn’t say that. There’s always a need for a place you can just pick-​up and go to without having to worry about all the hassles of preening or shaving or brushing your teeth. Just your average dive-​bar from which you expect nothing but a strong drink, a good laugh (usually, unfortunately, at someone’s expense) and maybe a tiny bout with dysentery – but, hey, what better way to drop those last few pounds before heading out to the real club, eh? TO BE FAIR, the guys I’ve met here have been much nicer than those at many other bars in this city – very down to Earth… which may explain some of the dirt stains I’ve noticed on many of the patrons knees.
Ok, enough of that… let me get serious now *clearing throat*. The Fireplace, a split-​level entertainment facility (Blacks upstairs, whites/​snow-​queens downstairs *sigh*…although, if I’m being totally honest, the upstairs portion can be quite intimidating for the uninitiated; even I’ve clutched my pearls a few times when venturing up there, and I’ve been black for most of my life!) is THE spot for the strongest drinks in Northwest DC – real talk. Combine that with some of the Districts most eligible bachelors (I didn’t say WHY they were eligible – just that they ARE eligible) who stop here to meet up with friends before going to larger, more swanky destinations; some of the latest, hottest music around (when the deejay is upstairs – otherwise, they’re just playin’ someone’s outdated iPod over the speakers and showing public access on the tellie; downstairs they play Cher and those of her ilk); and you have the recipe for one of D.C.‘s oldest and most consistently reliable pubs for gay men. Sure, at times this place can feel like you’re in the waiting room at any urban ICU U.S.A. (complete with trannies with crooked wigs wearing hospital tags around their wrists… again, real talk); but there is NO better bar to dash in and out of on those nights when your self-​esteem needs a little jolt. Believe me, if you come here and DON’T feel better about your life or current situation, then go ahead and shoot yourself, chile, cuz it ain’t gonna get much better. Cheers!

Yes I spent my money here. Who wouldn’t want to be around real life gay men, alcohol, hip hop, & bathroom privileges that require a bathroom key (attached to a clothes hanger) request at the bar? And of course the ladies bathroom is decent no one uses it. Like Chief Ike’s there’s a cover charge, two bars, crazy” you might not want to drink too much” steps, & a lot of alcohol. Unlike Chief Ike’s most of the men were very polished in a casual down to earth way. You could touch their muscles and they smelled good. So pleasant and not typical on a Sunday night. Now there were a few ladies there. One of them decided to tell me she was the greatest and that I should invest in some of that greatness. This is why it’s important not to disclose my occupation at a bar again. Well, I kept my Investor skills in the direction of the bar and the drinks were good. The prices seemed unusually reasonable. Hmmm… I didn’t drink that much. Go to this place if you like crowds of pretty men who only want to go home with each other while flirting with you. Such attention is bountiful.

If you’re looking for a gay dive bar with cheap drinks you’ve found it. This place has the cheapest strongest drinks in all of DC. END OF STORY…
If you don’t mind mingling with a mix of OLDER and younger people you’ll love this place. Downstairs is typically where the white bread can be found and the wheat bread can be found upstairs.
The bathrooms here are extremely small and unwelcoming.
Tuesday’s are tequila tuesday and they practically give the stuff away. If you’re ordering a shot be prepared for it to be about 3 times the size of your typical bar shot. They have other drink specials but throughout the week.
If you’re going to tequila tuesday or any other work night be prepared to be hungover at work the following day or better yet call in sick the night before because this place is serious.

I’m really surprised that this place doesn’t have a lot of reviews, but then again, its kinda like a low key place where you go, but its not mentioned. lol at least that’s what my gay guy friends would say, bless their souls.
Okay so this place has really changed and i haven’t been in a long time, but I have to give my review on it– i have had too many good memories here. Now its a cover charge– 5 dollars I think. Think– a dive bar with two floors, where the downstairs floor is like «Cheers» and the upstairs floor– anything goes. If you like music, dj’ing, hard drinks that will knock you out and mingling with strangers while occasionally being hit on, than head upstairs. I have never had a dull moment in this place and it gets packed in the summer. bathrooms are filthy but what do you expect? Guys are pretty friendly. Majority of the music hip hop, reggae.

Oh god. I was dragged here by my male friends and let me tell you. This place is full of raunchy old men trying to get with young ass boys. On top of that, it’s extremely small and the bartender we had was a tad slow. I have not returned since. I’m actually surprised it’s been around this long, all I can think is it’s got the same people that frequent this place allowing it to stay open. EH