Sequoia Restaurant and Bar
3000 K St. NW (Georgetown Waterfront)

After months of dismal rain and chilling wind, spring has finally made its appearance in GWorld, and the entire campus has emerged from a general state of seasonal depression. During my time at GW, I have witnessed four years of similar behavior. The end-of-winter lackadaisical attitude of students trekking to class hidden under hoods and layers of clothing, transforms almost magically with a dose of vitamin D and an opportunity to don some designer shades. Kogan Plaza metamorphosizes from a barren pathway to a lively social scene where midriffs and legs come out of hibernation to reveal the effects of $20-a-pop tanning bed visits and those hours of gym time. The reopening of outdoor bars parallels this re-awakening on campus..Anyone of age or with a near-perfect fake ID has probably already been to one of the Georgetown waterfront outdoor bars, including one of the popular: Sequoia.

I approached the waterfront last Sunday afternoon in hopes of enjoying a few hours of drinks and nice weather, but it immediately became clear that the day would not be a peaceful one. Parked next to the main bar area of Sequoia was a hoard of motorbikes revving their engines. The noise continued throughout the afternoon. but with the sun still shining and my new summer garb, I was still determined to ignore the vexation.

After being carded and banded, the next task was to find an open table. There were several prime spots in the sun and away from the crowded bar and noisy motorbikes, but we had to wait in an immobile line. I was then informed that only the bottom two levels were open seating, which was ironic, because there was in fact no open seating, just tables packed together and covered with trash.

I then wondered over to Tony and Joe’s and Nick’s to see if we would fare better there, but both were packed with no open chairs or tables in sight. So back to Sequoia where I had to clear the dirty napkins and discarded drinks. After bussing the table, I finally began drinking and was again disappointed by the high priced drinks and that the only beer available was Miller Light.

The next couple hours were much better, as the afternoon crowd began to disperse. After three beers, in rolled an undesirable night crowd. No fellow students could be seen, and the din was making regular conversation difficult, so I escaped to a Columbia Plaza balcony to relax in the remaining sunlight with my beer, music and company of choice.

Bar Belle Rating: 1/5