American

Cafe Nema

By Jiyan ⋅ September 22, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

This afternoon Dean and I set out to find a good sports bar to watch the Redskins game. The first stop was the Cleveland Park Bar and Grill but the moment we stepped in we realized it was going to take some effort to find seating. We were about 20 minutes away from kick-off and the place was already filling in pretty nicely. Dean suggested we go hit up Cafe Nema down on U Street and it turned out to be the perfect venue to watch the game.

Cost - $$

Service - A-
The wait staff is friendly, laid-back and efficient. We never had to wait more than a few minutes to get drinks and our waitress made sure to stop by every fifteen minutes or so just to check-in on us.

Food - B
It seems like the wings have shrunk as of late and I wonder if this is a case of trickle-down stemming from the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and related US financial crisis. Actually, I definitely blame those Wall Street douche bags for my small buffalo wings. At any rate, the Hamburger was quite respectable and I looked with envy at Dean’s Philly cheese steak throughout the game.

Decor - C
There isn’t really much memorable about the decor at Nema although I understand it is multi-level and I have just seen the main floor where the sports bar is located. That being said, there really isn’t anything memorable about the decor at Nema.

Feel - A-
Cafe Nema has a very warm, neighborhood feel that is perfect for watching the game. I’ve been there twice now and each time I’ve felt perfectly comfortable chatting with the people sitting around us. It is definitely a more civilized and interesting crowd than what you will find at some of the other, more prominent sports bars in DC and to top it all off, seating isn’t that much of a problem (unless there is a major sports event on).

Cafe Nema is at 1334 U Street. They can be reached at (202) 667-3215.

What’s the Buzz:

April 25, 2006 - Cafe Nema (The Blog From Nowhere) - On Friday night I met some friends for dinner at Café Nema on U Street. I had walked by Café Nema many times since I lived in the U Street neighborhood when I first moved to Washington in 1999, but I had never eaten there. I had no idea what I had been missing.  Full article…