The Early Word on City Tap House

City Tap House, the latest Philadelphia transplant to open in the D.C. market, has debuted in the former 901 Restaurant space, boasting plenty of craft beers and solid bar food. Do the early reviews live up? Here's what the first bloggers, Yelpers and others have to say about the bar.

The Ridic Kale News: On Facebook, Best Thing on the Menu writes, "Congrats to City Tap House DC on their opening tonight! Always love when a little piece of Philly comes to down. Their kale salad is ridic." [FB]

The Convenient to the Convention Center News: Also on Facebook, Susan names City Tap House as one of the "wonderful places to eat in DC by the Convention Center." [FB]

The Asian Menu Influence News: On Twitter, @TanOnTheStreet gives a shoutout to some sticky ribs on the menu. "Feast your eyes on this. Asian-American flavors surprise you when you take a bite of this." [Twitter]

The Energetic News: Also on Twitter, ?@barredindc stops in for a beer. "Nice lively space." [Twitter]

The Place to Be News: The Washington Hoos write, "With a combination of flights, great food and an inspiring night life-City Tap House is bound to become your favorite local bar. Guests will be able to dine in a rustic, 120-seat dining room next to an open kitchen. From game watches, to powerhours, or just a rendezvous with friends-City Tap House is the place to be." [WH]

The Tough Competition News: On a PoPville thread, an anonymous commenter writes, "Not to be Debbie Downer, but 5 years ago I would have been really excited for this place! In a city with ChurchKey, Meridian Pint, etc. and the arrival of Bluejacket and Right Proper this only merits a "meh", though. But that is a good thing, really! We're now spoiled with world-class beer options in this town." [PoP]

The Plenty of Choices News: City Tap House is earning 4.5 stars on Yelp with 13 reviews in. One is from Nicole G., who writes, "Great new place that just opened up near the verizon center. They have a large selection of draught beers and it was hard choosing one but the bartender Richie was extremely helpful. He recommended a delicious porter the Edmund Fitzgerald. I ordered the shisito peppers, they were good but could have used a little more salt. I also had the korean tacos, those were really good." [Yelp]

The Solid Happy Hour News: Melanie on Yelp writes, "Came here for a work happy hour and was impressed. I sat at the bar and ordered a couple of drinks and they have a great beer selection. I tried the crab mac & cheese and it was pretty good. I really like the decor of the place and the service was awesome. A coworker ordered one of the flatbreads which looked delicious! JoJo was our bartender and he was attentive, despite it being packed, and his drinks were made well." [Yelp]

The Longevity News: On Yelp, Jon M writes, "We were really impressed. There has been a revolving door of restaurants in this location, which is on the edge of Chinatown, but hopefully this one will stick, because it's excellent. We shared desserts and appetizers, the tacos (which were excellent) and the berry cobbler, also very good. I had the steak frites, which was delicious, others at the table had mussels and scallops and were pleased. It was not over-priced, and there is an impressive selection. I'm not a drinker, but the beer selection is apparently really impressive. Our server, Leigh, I think her name is, was really friendly, helpful, and attentive. We will definitely be coming back." [Yelp]

The Winning Pizza News: Brightest Young Things previews the place, saying, "Their truffle flatbread is buttery and slick with truffle oil and heaping portions of mushrooms spread over a perfectly thin crust. For the white pizza fan, this is a sure winner. For carnivores we recommend the beer-braised short ribs, tender and sweet and mildly spicy with an added depth from the beer, though we're fairly certain–you can't go wrong anywhere." [BYT]

The Beer Friendly Food News: UrbanDaddy writes, "You'll keep thinking about that mysterious Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock tap handle. You'll even Google Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock at halftime. So you'll return for some of that, and newly hungry for beer-friendly dishes like honey goat-cheese pizza and rabbit Bolognese." [UD]

The Foursquare Rave: Christopher W. says, "Awesome! Perfectly diverse beer list and the food speaks to those looking for savory snacks. The management team is incredibly cute and focused on building a successful hot spot in DC!" [FS]
· All Previous City Tap House Coverage [-EDC-]