The Armory

New space in the basement of Rebellion--excellent vibe and a great cocktail menu! Looking forward to coming back.

Loved this place. Jackson, the bartender, was extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and made amazing drinks. I can see him being sarcastic but it appears some folks are a little sensitive according to these reviews. He carried on a great conversation until he kicked us out for a private event they were hosting. But, we enjoyed our time so much that we ended up coming back at the end of the night when the event had ended. It's been pointed out a few times in the reviews, but if you are looking for basic service; food and a beer on tap, don't make your way into the basement. The drinks are craft and will take some time, but if you enjoy a good cocktail, they are worth it.

Ummm, I totally love this place. It's in the basement of Rebellion, which is ok in its own right, but the Armory is so speakeasy and awesome it's waay better IMO. I feel like it might not be for everyone - especially those who are looking for cheap regular alcohol and want to focus on the game alone. However, those looking for more of a speakeasy feel with classy food, gourmet cocktails and oyster specials - look no further!! I came here to watch the Mets game (its a Mets bar) and there was no room - until one of the staff mentioned I could go downstairs. VOILA! No one was down there, and I got the best spot in the whole place - note that it IS small down there. This is the point of a speakeasy, plus the kind of secrecy of it - it wasn't very noticeable that there was a whole other bar downstairs when you enter Rebellion at the regular level. But there really isn't a bad spot there anyway. They have one TV down there, which the guy said wouldn't have sound for the game, but did end up having sound anyway? I think they just didn't want to make it loud to take over the entire vibe, which I actually totally appreciate. They had $1 oyster special down there, which I took full advantage of. I also had a gourmet burger, which was so fab. And then the cocktails......omg, so amazing. They were unique, fresh, and DELICIOUS. They weren't cheap, but they also weren't crazy expensive given the fact of what they were - they were actually the semi-regular DC price of cocktails at around $12-15 - you could do a whole lot worse for a whole lot less. The bartender might have seemed a little elitist to the cheap alcohol/game goer that came down looking for the game - and the fact that a large portion of the area down there was reserved for a party, but the point of the Armory is that its NOT Rebellion (hence the different name) and therefore has a different vibe. I may just reserve this spot for my birthday party next year.....

The bartender down stairs is a jerk. Not only to my table but every person down there. To start off, a friendly older group sat at the round table and needed an extra seat so tried to bring one over (every bar seat was empty) and was scolded for it. Next a friendly DCian wanted to watch the Nats game (UFC was on) bar tender refuses. Five minutes later puts the nets game on. Be warned, there is only three beers on tap and you have never heard of any of them. Will not make you any kind of drink you ask for and will be scolded if you do. Very tense vibes where you are almost scared to do anything. My one friend went upstairs to grab a drink, when he brought it down was met with a stern angry warning from the bar tender to "never" do that again. Be warned, you are getting yourself into one heck of an adventure if you go down there. Just don't do it.

Here's a tip... Just stay upstairs at Rebellion, where you'll enjoy food and drink menus offering much more variety, and service with much less attitude.