Shelly's Back Room Cigar Lounge, Washington, DC; a review

Video review HERE.


Connie and I took a quick weekend trip to Washington, DC, March 13-15, 2020. This was in the midst of the Corona virus outbreak so all the government buildings were closed. But we still visited the major sites and got to see them from the outside.

We also took a trip to Madame Tussauds wax museum where we saw some amazing statues from history. I got to see up close some of my favorite people:

And what visit to see famous people from history would be complete without offering a cigar to Fidel Castro

And Winston Churchill?

We walked to Shelly's from out hotel every day. We stayed at Club Quarters which is very close to the White House. We actually had lunch and dinner there both nights.

Shelly's is located at:
1331 F Street NW
Washington, DC 20004

Shelly's is a full service cigar lounge. By that I mean they not only sell cigars but also serve a full menu, from burgers to steaks, and sell not only beer and wine but liquor also.

They have a large sitting area. Actually there are 2 rooms.

They have 2 walls of member lockers.

The waitstaff is very attentive. When you purchase a cigar from their extensive cigar menu they bring the cigar to you, cut it, and light it.

Now, Shelly's is a little different from most cigar lounges. It is tabu to bring your own cigars into a typical lounge to smoke, But Shell's allows this if you purchase food and/or drinks from them. I saw numerous people purchase cigars. I also saw numerous people bring their own cigars.

Shelly's has a sign at the door; $20 per person minimum charge. I do not know how strict they are with this but I would expect if someone came in and brought their own cigars, ordered nothing but water, and sat their 2 hours they would hit that person with a $20 bill, as they should. But, since we bought food and had drinks on every visit they were perfectly ok with me bringing my own cigars.

This is a top notch cigar lounge. I highly recommend it to anyone in the DC area. If you visit Washington, DC and you're a cigar lover you simply have to go to Shelly's.