Front Page Restaurant & Grille   

I've been waiting four years to get this out of my system, and now I've got the chance! This place is a homophobic piece of crap, as has about as much place in a gay neighborhood like Dupont Circle as a Ku Klux Klan rally at a Barack Obama fund-raiser! I am an openly gay man who had been a regular at The Front Page since I moved into the neighborhood in 1987, and was probably the best tipper in the house (just ask bartenders Eric and Johnny). One night, back in November, 2003, I happened to glance over at the doorman, some typical dumb-ass Marine with the I.Q. of a doorknob, who told me he was "going to have to ask me to leave" because I was "looking at" him and it was making him nervous. (If that's making the poor baby nervous, I'd hate to think what a bullet would do!) Can you imagine telling straight mn they're not allowed to "look at" women in a bar? These idiot Marine Corps bouncers bring their ignorant homophobic attitudes to work with them every night, with the blessing of the management! Ever heard the expression, "The tail doesn't wag the dog?" Let me ask a question, that's assuming these brain-dead Marines even know how to read: If you have a problem with gay people, is Dupont Circle a smart place to be working? When I complained to equally idiotic managers Dave Reynolds and "Howard" something-or-other about this stupidity, each immediately copped an attitude with me and told me that I was "sexually harassing" their poor little Marine Corps bouncers and that I was creating a "potentially dangerous" work environment for their equally poor little employees. "Howard" also told me he thought I was an alcoholic, thereby expressing unlawful discrimination not only on the basis of sexual orientation but also on the basis of a perceived disability! If a word I'm saying about this toilet isn't true, I invite them to sue me! I'm also leaving my name and e-mail address, for their convenience in so doing! Greg Ingram gi5559@yahoo.com

I love Front Page...until I met the bartender Jimmy. I have been going to Front Page for over three years now for both their food and bar scene. The restaurant just got finished with new renovations, which have left a clean and comfortable ambiance. The food is soooo good! And the bar scene is after work white collar professionals and a few GW college kids scattered in. I highly recommend the restaurant portion and the bar area, but I would advise to beware of the grey haired bartender named Jimmy. One several occasions now he has added on drinks to our tab which we never consumed. Even on one occasion we received a $90 check instead of a $50 check. Quite extreme. Just remember to check your tab.

My friends and I recently went to the Front Page for a not-so-happy-hour and were treated worse than at any restaurant I've ever visited. A couple friends arrived at the restaurant before us, and had a table on the patio. When we arrived, we realized that we were one chair short. My friend walked to another table to ask about if they were using an extra chair when the "door manager" walked over and said "You're not getting another chair", yes those were his exact words. His entire demeanor was that of college bouncer at a cheap club (he was extremly gruff and rude). Our freinds decided to stay outside while myself and another friend went indoors to get a drink. We were then told that the waitress brought a chair over for us so we went back outside. When we did this, the same bouncer scolded us and told us that we couldnt bring drinks from the bar outside and that we would have to go inside and finish them before coming outside and ordering from the waitress. I explained that it was not our intention to deprive the waitress of her tip or business, but we went inside when we were told that we could not get an extra chair. At this point the waitress walked over and said that we could stay and that it was not a problem. The bouncer pulled her aside for a minute and came back AGAIN to tell us to go inside. At this point we asked for the manager because the bouncer was trying to instigate a confrontation. When the manager came out he immediately took the defence of the bouncer, even though our table remained calm and composed throughout the ordeal. The manager told us that if we are meeting up to go to their restaurant that we should know how many people we are going to have so we dont have to take chairs from other tables. This response, of course, was not relevant to our situation because we we only had ONE extra person AND we offered to go inside but were told it was fine for us to sit outside. The manager and bouncer proceeded to hover over our table until we left.

I indeed love this litte bar. It was one of the first places I started going to after I arrived in Washington a few years back. The Happy Hours are great and they maintain a nice selection of draft beers that actually go on special without any extras needed to be purchased to get them. The best service is at the bars the servers in the other areas can be a little slow but all over all a great place to sit down and play "Cheers" for a while.