Raven Grill

Washington, DC

Field Note

Holder of Washington DC’s oldest liquor license, Raven Grill is the longest continuously operating bar in the city. Located in a particularly eclectic portion of the already eclectic Mount Pleasant neighborhood, Raven Grill is about as classic a neighborhood hole-in-the-wall as it gets, down to the slender confines, bare bones alcohol availability and attractive (cash only) prices.

Opened in 1935, Raven Grill was in fact a grill initially, the space used more as a restaurant than a bar. Vintage matchbooks from the period shortly after Raven Grill opened read, “Anything you are cravin’ you’ll find at The Raven,” which is probably one the catchiest dive bar-adjacent slogans ever committed to the front of a matchbook. Cheeseburgers could be had here for a paltry 15 cents, though the emphasis on food faded over time, reduced to a handful of available potato chip bags.

Once regarded as a fairly dark and dingy environment, today’s Raven Grill is surprisingly bright by dive bar standards. The tone is set by some of the city’s best bar neon in the Raven Grill front window, two pieces depicting the name of the bar on either side of a slightly tilted cocktail glass that reads, you guessed it, “Cocktails.” Inside, string lights crawl through the space overhead, the interior ambiance enhanced by wall-mounted sconces to create a vibe that could be unironically labeled as ‘lively.’

Raven Grill’s reputation has long been enhanced by a community-favorite jukebox, mercifully still intact and not yet replaced by a soulless digital replica. This focus on music is reflected in the tabletop jukeboxes (sadly no longer functional) that sit atop the original, built-in wood booths that line one wall of the bar. Aside from the stools bordering the bar counter and a couple of small, spare tables, little other seating exists inside Raven Grill, so plan accordingly based on the size of your group.

Rather than the usual collection of beer signs and bar mirrors, Raven Grill is decorated with a series of framed photos of celebrities, ranging from Ray Charles to Jimi Hendrix. While these large photos are eye-catching thanks to their eye-level positioning, be sure to look up and catch the lineup of vintage pictures of Raven Grill itself found just below the bar’s ceiling. A framed version of the matchbook referenced here can be found among the collection.

Drink options here are affordable but modest, the liquor selection housed in a relatively slender section of the area behind the bar. No draft beer is available at Raven Grill, though the usual lineup of bottle and can selections can be enjoyed. Underscoring the purity of the dive bar experience at Raven Grill, only two, small, lonely televisions can be found on opposite ends of the bar space. For those in need of some additional distraction from their drinking, a small selection of board games is available.