Harold Black

Had the best cocktails in the city and in my parents life

Still love this place. They've really stepped up the food since the last time we were there. Fish tacos were excellent. Same great service, drinks and ambiance.

We have been here many times. Always a special place. Our charcuterie tray was a bit light this time and I expect more for the money. Service and drinks are always impeccable

Great after dinner spot for cocktails.

Harold Black may be the most charming bar in DC. It is a modern "speakeasy," hard to find but
even harder to leave. The drinks and bar food are first rate, as is the service. I have become a Harold
Black fan -- you will, too.

Awesome place, a little pricey though. Was pretty quiet the night I went. Highly recommend reservations,

The host forgot about us and we waited about 30 minutes longer for our reservation than we should have. Other than that, all good!

Great atmosphere and decent light fare. Very cozy and intimate. Drinks were great!

Everything was AMAZING! Ambiance was perfect and finding the bar was interesting too. Great experience

Harold Black has a great ambiance and good drinks, but unfortunately our night was a miss because of the service. It took 30+ minutes at one point to order a drink and we could not even see a server to flag down. At one point it became clear that the drink we ordered was never submitted because it took so long. Considering the price of one cocktail, I expected much better service.

Very cool place, the rules are a little quirky but not a big deal and understood in today’s mayhem in public venues with noise , cell phones, etc. Atmosphere is spot on to meet a friend or 2-3 friends and have a unique drink and the food offerings we had were very good with the cheese board and the really good hummus!

One Of the rudest bartenders I’ve experienced in quite awhile

Fantastic! It's an amazing place to forget everything and just chill.

Our Bartender and server Franz and Rodrigo were exceptional! They were extremely friendly, hospitable and very courteous. We had a great time and shall be returning again.

Very tasty cocktails and outstanding service by the very amicable staff.

The drinks are always good here but the volume level has steadily ticked up here over the past few times we were there and it was hard to hear each other this time. Apparently the volume was unable to be turned down at all.

The food and service was impeccable! I would definitely recommend for birthdays or anniversaries. It’s good for small groups! I would definitely go again.

Making a reservation and always getting seated at the bar while EVERYONE else gets a table sucks. So does being told to leave after 2’hours.

We've been to Harold Black many times. It's our go to place for out of town company and they always love it. The service is friendly, the ambiance is super cozy, and the drinks/food are amazing. I highly recommend!

Awesome place!! Great for special occasions, anniversary, highly recommeded!!!

Picture it. New Years 2018.

We arrived at 11:25 for our 11:30 reservation.

We were not served until we flagged down someone who would get a server to take out order. We finally got our drinks just before midnight, let’s say 11:57.

We wished each other happy new year.

Then, at 12:15, they told us no more drinks were being served and we had to close out and leave because they close at 12:30.

The drinks were fine. They ranged from “what I’d expect” to “not what I’d expect,” but not in a good way. The mezcal drink is too spicy. It’s too bad because I was really looking forward to a fun, relaxed New Years evening full of nice cocktails.

On a positive note, ambiance is really cool. It really makes you feel like you’re drinking during the prohibition era.

New Years..Lindsey and Frans were amazing bartenders

Expensive drinks for nothing special or creative at all. Place is crazy small & ambience is lesa than average.

Harold Black is fantastic speakeasy hidden in Eastern Market. The feel is genuine and very comfortable.

Harold Black always makes the evening wonderful!

Amazing! First time and I will definitely be back.

Shhhhhhhhh. Speak Easy. A perfect throwback to an earlier time. Great drinks, fantastic bartenders. Nice little snack and dessert menu for light late night bites. Make reservations or you most likely will not get in. This is our favorite bar in DC.

Ordered dirty martini and for a spot that focuses on alcohol, I was surprised to receive it in a wine glass and it was not that great either.

Service was extremely slow. Waited around 15 minutes to order first drinks. And around 20-30 minutes to order small plates, calling the server each time to grab his attention. The food was delicious, but for a party of 4 who ordered a couple of drinks pp and 5 small app. ended up paying around $400. Very overpriced for the quantity of food provided. Cocktails were also on the smaller size. Good but pricey.

We have been to Harold Black five times now and up until our last visit counted it among our favorite neighborhood restaurants. On this last visit we had to beg for any service at all. No drinks, no menus, no appetizers, no flatware, nothing was offered until we physically stopped an employee and directly asked for it. This was true of everyone in the restaurant that night, not just our table. I understand sometimes you are short staffed or have other problems. A quick “so sorry we are not up to our normal service but we will do everything we can” and I would have been fine. The staff was polite but did not seem the least bit concerned when told we had been sitting there for 30 minutes with no menus or drink orders. There were at least 4 on staff that night, not sure what their problem was.

Popped in here for after dinner drinks for the gfs birthday. service and drinks were perfect. this is a must check out

Fantastic drinks and food.
Seating setup was a little odd and felt kinda cramped but it didn’t make it any worse or any better

Great atmosphere! Very interesting, even my 21 year old son loved it, and has already made a reservation for when his gf is in town! Great staff!!

We arrived for our 12:30am reservation shortly before the time after a quiet dinner in Old Town. There was four of us, who are all very respectful and professional people in our early 30’s. After a half hour had passed the doorman came out and insisted that we leave and they could not serve us in the fear that we were too intoxicated. I, of course, questioned this and then a bartender came to the door and informed us that that entry was upon there discretion, which of course is their right. I was just absolutely blown away by this as we had had very little to drink prior and was not at all being disruptive. Soon after, we left and ended up having a much more enjoyable, relaxed, and less expensive time downstairs. If you’re a stiff this place may be for you-if not give this spot a pass.

This place is as cool a speakeasy as I’ve ever seen, not that I’ve seen a lot but finding the entrance isn’t the easiest if you don’t know where to look as an example. The hallway and stairs leading up to the secret entrance inside is very well painted in distressed motif to match the feel. Knock on the sliding door and wait for it to be opened or your entrance might be interesting. The Bartenders are great, chill and very creative with a basic understanding of the type of cocktail you are thinking, allow them to create it, be adventurous. Didn’t prefer food but I believe it comes from the retaurant downstairs. The ambiance is is dark with button pleated upholstered booths and a cool small bar. They hallway to the restrooms is long and even darker with custom welded sliding doors and pull string toilet flushing, sorry for that detail. Don’t miss this if you can help it. Make a reservation it can get busy.

Perfect place for a date or to unwind. Will be back for sure!

This place never fails to impress me on each visit. Cheers!

We love to visit Harold Black, but service this Friday was exceptionally slow. They really should have been better prepared for a busy Saturday -- especially the one just before Halloween. The slow service really ruined the otherwise good experience.

Excellent cocktails but the experience was soured by terrible service. After 15 minutes had to beg to be able to order a drink. Waiter was gleefully inept, and spent more time meeting the customers (hand shakes and all) than preparing drinks or in service. Spent two hours there and only managed to get two drinks. On a Saturday night they should have more staff than one waiter and one bartender for a full house.

I was searching around for a place that would set me in the era of the early 1900's vibe since me and a friend had just come from a photo shoot dressed in theme and Harold Black did not disappoint! I'm actually happy the first place I'd found was closed that night because this place was everything I'd been wanting. Soft jazz music played that was a lovely addition, and made conservation easy. The candle lighting was great for the mood, and the place was easier to find than I had worried about. The drinks were yummy and strong and the food was amazing (I loved the Hummus). Staff were all super friendly and polite and a delight to be around- I think by the end of the night everyone working had swung by to chat or introduce themselves which was nice and welcoming. I definitely plan to go back and highly recommend this location.