The Alex at the Graham

This is my first ever restaurant review. I generally don’t believe in complaining online but the drinks were so bad that I felt compelled. I used to dine at the Alex regularly and the drinks, service, and food were amazing. Instead of receiving their signature bathtub gin — advertised with egg yolk and edible flowers, we received two watery, over-iced, gin and tonics for $47. Swipe to see the before and after.

Shawn was amazing!!! Every drink was perfect!!! 100% coming back.

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

This is not a speakeasy by any means. This is a small bar in the hotel lobby with dim lights.

Atmosphere: 1

Alerted the staff it was our wedding anniversary in advance AND when we arrived. Didn't matter. Overall poor service. Had to verify with three disbelieving staff members we had reservations - even after being seated. For our second round of drinks we waited almost an hour; our waiter was dismissive and kept gaslighting after we kept asking about it over and over again that he was on it... like really? Small venue with maybe 25 guests, so this should not have been this complex. Live music was fine. Food and cocktails were good, but pricy. Almost $250 for 4 shared plates, 4 cocktails and 1 shared dessert. 20% included service fee was nonnegotiable. No comp or discount for our poor service. Will not return.

I really like the place. It’s feels like a real speakeasy when you sneak through a coded locked door and down the stairs into the basement. There was live music playing and the service was very good. We had a couple of appetizers each, which were tasty.

Two reasons for the three stars - first, despite it being small and intimate it gets extremely noisy. Second and the biggest reason is because the drinks were extremely overpriced and very weak. We had four drinks each, which would normally get me pretty buzzed and I felt nothing and neither did my friend. The drinks were also quite mediocre. We experimented with a different drink each time then decided on straight up martinis which we figured they couldn’t mess up but they were very sweet so clearly not straight up. I’m guessing they dumped a ton of vermouth into them ?

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

My husband I visited about a year ago and had an amazing time. The craft cocktails were delicious with incredible presentation. The waitstaff was very kind and helpful in recommendations. The menu was printed in a book (not copies on paper) with delicious small plate selections. The mood was intimate and jazzy and the band was awesome. Fast forward to last night when we brought our family to experience this hidden treasure and it was not worth the time and money. We traveled from Southern Maryland to DC for an experience that was no longer there. Everything was subpar and very disappointing. I presume they are under new management but it does not appear to be a good one. The food options were so limited that a few in our party couldn't eat there due to severe allergies and limiting options. There was no longer an option to have smoked drinks. People were being escorted through the speakeasy through a back door during the live performance which was distracting and rude. The menu was stapled copies on paper. Just not good and we left shortly after arriving as a result. The potential is there, but they need to grab onto it and revert back to what it used to be which was a delightful experience.

Shawn made the BEST drink, off the menu, the pink panther! ? that drink NEEDS to be in the menu. We had the best experience here, thanks to Shawn. Ask for the Pink Panther, you won’t be disappointed!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Enjoyed the atmosphere! Cool, relaxing, totally chill rooftop vibe. Music was good too. Food was okay for finger food to go with drinks.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 4

Limited menu... not worth the price... good music though

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

I made a reservation for noon on Mother's Day.They don't even serve lunch! And then I couldn't make a reservation anywhere else's since they were unable to cancel the open table reservation. They were rude and did not care that they had inconvenienced me and my 85 year old mother in a Walker. It was the worst service I'd ever had.

Nice quaint atmosphere. Small and intimate with a great live jazz performance. Can’t tell you about the food or drinks though. The one and only server, short Hispanic looking lady with curly hair, was attentive to the table next to us. Mind you the table was only an arm reach away therefore we were not hard to see. Nice looking place but the service was lackluster. Needless to say we left after 10mins of no service.

The jazz sounded nice but we only stayed about 10 minutes. We were seated and then promptly ignored. And the server came to the table right next to ours 3 times. So we left after 10 mins

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 1

I had a reservation last night and drove into DC. When we walked in, The Alex was closed and no one at the hotel could give us an answer for why it was closed and why no one had called to cancel our reservation. The least they could have done is give us a call ahead so we wouldn’t waste our time. Save yourself the hassle and head over to Chez Billy Sud down the street instead—we were able to salvage our night out there.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

I've been to this Alex three times and every time is like the first one. I highly recommend it if you're looking for great music and swanky cocktails. It has a superb vibe.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Chicken Empanadas

I had reservations for midnight after leaving a dinner date and entered the establishment at 12:02 am. As I approached the desk, I was greeted with pleasantry; however, when mentioning my reservation for the speakeasy, the lady says I think they're gone, but another gentleman that works there says, they're on the roof. The lady made a call and mentioned my name and reservation, she then responded to me saying they were done, they tried reaching out to me, and since they couldn't get in contact with me, they left. I was flabbergasted by that remark, it didn't even make sense to me. I checked my call log and email in front of her, and I responded to her that I have nothing from you all. The woman apologized and my date and I left to proceed to a different speakeasy. So that's why my rating is the way it is for this establishment speakeasy. Maybe one day I'll have a chance to try this speakeasy, and my rating could be different.