Haydee's is a Latin food joint in Mount Pleasant just off 16th Street. I recently attended a moving in celebration there with some friends. The place looks much more like a bar than a restaurant and is decorated with what appear to me to be Christmas lights in the window.
The inside feels like a fun dive bar with television screens that have yellow, faded picture quality, spray painted instructions on which gender may use which bathroom, and dim lighting. The menu offers the typical and reasonably priced Mexican-American fare including chimichangas and fajitas. Stiff margaritas and various forms of paint stripping tequila are available in great quantity at low cost. Seating is available and this place is nice if you want to sit and chat on a week night.
This place is exactly what it seems to be. It is a cheap, kitschy bar with cheap food. The fajita I had was exactly as tasty as the low price it cost me to purchase. There is no subtlety in this place. This is not a hidden treasure.
All that being said, the atmosphere was friendly, the mariachi band was a really nice touch, and the bill at the end of the night was happily low. If your friends from out of town say, "will you take me to get some great Mexican food?" don't take them to Haydee's. If your friend from out of town says, "Man I'm broke, can we go somewhere cheap and sit down and have some drinks and talk," then this place should be your final destination. I will return to this place next time it's late in the month and I fancy a large class of tequila and lime juice.
Haydee's Restaurant
3102 Mount Pleasant Street NW
(between N Irving St & N Kenyon St)
Washington, DC 20010
(between N Irving St & N Kenyon St)
Washington, DC 20010
A friend told me a Haydee's story. His first time in there, he was puzzled by the margaritas. He asked the waitress, "What is the difference between the regular margarita and the fiesta?"
ReplyDeleteShe replied, "Do you want to get drunk? Or do you want to get piss-ass drunk."
"Piss-ass, please."
I have great affection for Haydee's. I wouldn't argue with your review (though the steak fajitas are superior to the chicken, which is odd for a cheap place) but I still love it.