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District Chophouse & Brewery
Jazzing up the Penn Quarter, this stylish place in a stunningly converted old bank building oozes attitude. It also serves up around six of its own microbrews. The food on offer is just so-so, which means most guests stick to drinking in the busy bar.
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Espn Zone
This three-floor, 200-TV emporium features the Sports Grill, a massive screening room with speakers in its chairs and a 16ft TV that looks like a war-room missile monitor. Next door, the Sports Arena is packed with video games, air hockey and other table games. It's a happening place to watch a game (any game), but it's often crowded with tourists.
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Fadó Irish Pub & Restaurant
This place sticks out in Chinatown like James Joyce in Shanghai. Somehow the Chinese restaurants are not so conducive to drinking, so Fadó packs in the thirsty, especially after games at the nearby MCI Center. Every room in this Disney-esque pub is decked out in its own unique Celtic style - country library, medieval castle etc. The place is old-school; its clientele remember when this was still considered in the 'hood.
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Founders' Brewing Co
Founders' four brews (and counting) play off themes of local Alexandria history (such as Smoot's Stout, named for a 19th-century mayor). The beers are smooth and refreshing, a mix of American stouts and pale ales and German-style Kolsch and altbier. The place serves a full American menu.
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Froggy Bottom Pub
This popular GWU hangout attracts students with its grub-and-pub specials, like Saturday's around US$10 all-you-can-eat-&-drink. Happy-hour specials run to . It's also a good place to try local brews and shoot a few games of pool.
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Front Page
Making Thursday night happy hour at the Front Page is mandatory for many downtown office types. The mixed, often boisterous crowd flocks in after on this night for a free taco bar along with cheap beer and plenty of pick-up options amid heavy wood and brick environs. Other nights, happy hour offers half-price appetizers and around US$2 beer, wine and well drinks.
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Garrett's
An old standby, Garrett's is one of Georgetown's most established (and popular) watering holes. Packed with suity types and college kids any night of the week, the mood at this English-style pub always feels welcoming, and there's an outdoor patio. It also serves decent, and quite cheap, grub.
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Green Lantern & Tool Shed
The gay Green Lantern is downstairs, with leather-lovers' Tool Shed on the 2nd floor. This bi-level place attracts a slightly older crowd. Shirtless men get free beer on Thursday night.
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Habana Village
DC's best Latin club is in an old townhouse with a cosmopolitan bar and romantic back room where you can sip mojitos and nibble tapas in front of the fireplace. After the scene on the upstairs dance floor explodes as DJs spin salsa, meringue, mambo, tango and bossa nova for a mixed Latin and white crowd.
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Hawk & Dove
Reputed to be a Republican hangout, the Hawk & Dove has been a Capitol Hill institution since the 1960s. It's not really a partisan place, though. Everybody eventually finds their way here, including congressional staffers and even some of the younger representatives of all parties. Friday nights are particularly lively: pick up a date or just a game of pool and enjoy the happy-hour specials.
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Heaven & Hell
A perennial favorite with the college crowd, this hot spot hosts Heaven (upstairs) with thematic dance parties to flashing disco lights and Hell (downstairs), which is grittier and attracts hard drinkers. The large outdoor patio in Heaven overlooks the 18th St strip and is popular on steamy nights.
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Home
Smaller, more intimate and, as clichéd as it sounds, a lot like home, this plush place is a must-go when doing the DC club circuit. It features armless couches for lounging, multiple dance floors and the requisite VIP rooms, but the whole atmosphere just feels more casual than other velvet-rope nightclubs. Sweeping 30ft carved plaster ceilings and decorative marble panels up the swank appeal.
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Ireland's Four Courts
Buckets of Guinness lubricate the O'Connors and McDonoughs at Arlington's favorite Irish pub. The sidewalk seating draws a lunchtime crowd for shepherd's pie and fish-and-chips, while the verdant Irish grass-green interior attracts an evening crowd for cold drafts and live tunes.
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Ireland's Four Provinces
This landmark Irish bar offers live Celtic and folk music, 21 beers on tap, relentless emerald-shamrock decor and a friendly scene of late-20s neighborhood professionals cruising and schmoozing. Come on a hot summer night to sit on the street-side patio or during weekday happy hour, when you can get a 20oz Guinness for around US$4 .
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JR's
At JR's weekday happy hour you might think you've stepped into a living Banana Republic ad: chinos and button-downs are de rigueur at this popular gay hang-out frequented by the 20- and 30-something, work-hard, play-hard set. Some DC residents claim that the crowd here epitomizes the conservative nature of the capital's gay scene; but even if you love to hate it, as many do, JR's is the happy-hour spot in town and is packed more often than not.
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Kelly's Irish Times
Kelly's implores: 'Give me your tired, your hungry, your befuddled masses,' and the masses respond. Fans of the on-tap Guinness and Wednesday to Saturday live music tend to be younger than the patrons next door at the Dubliner - students and staffers and other suds-drinkers.
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Left Bank
This recent edition to Adams-Morgan is a hip, modern lounge with stark white walls and orange chairs and booths. It's the perfect dark cave in which to escape a hot summer afternoon's mounting heat. The prime location, smack in the middle of 18th St, is perfect for people-watching from open windows if the place is quiet. The sophisticated, international crowd comes to sip martinis and listen to DJs spin mellow vibes. The food is just okay.
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Local 16
Voted best pick-up spot by Washington Post readers in 2006, this trendy restaurant-bar is filled with the young and beautiful on the prowl. The rooftop bar is brilliant in summer; when its cold the scene moves to the upstairs lounge. It also serves food.
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Lounge 201
Decidedly retro decor and brightly colored martinis go hand-in-hand at this swanky, new cocktail lounge. The menu claims that 'To drink is human, to lounge is divine' and you will certainly believe it after spending an evening here sipping martinis and munching on gourmet finger-food.
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Lucky Bar
Catering to the city's young and poor, this rambling three-story dive-like place runs its happy hour from to weekdays and has a rotating list of specials - half price burgers on Wednesdays, 25¢ wings on Tuesdays - along with around US$3 pints and around US$4 well drinks.
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Mackey's Public House
The fireplace and easy chairs recall an Irish country pub - one where the whole town puts on suits and comes to drink around each day. Mackey's is welcoming and comfortable, especially when the bartenders are drawing you pints of Guinness, Harp and Caffrey.
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Millie & Al's
This comfortably worn dive is an Adams-Morgan institution, famous for its around US$2 drafts, Jell-O shots and hit-the-spot pizza (best consumed in that order). Two TVs show a constant stream of sports. It has always been and likely will always be a yuppie bar with frat-house flavor, the kind of place where you can expect to be hit on and have beer spilled on you in the same night.
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Mr Smith's
Dark and welcoming, Mr Smith's is really an old-timers' bar, although daily specials like half-price burgers and all-you-can-eat fish and chips draw students, too. The crowded, friendly front bar (you'll rub against at least two strangers while drinking) hides a more spacious rear seating area with a fireplace and open patio with a sort of greenhouse feel - there are lots of plants.
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Nanny O'brien's Irish Pub
Washington's most authentic Irish pub, Nanny O'Brien's has been a favorite with real and wannabe Irish folk for decades. You won't find any cheesy shamrock schlock or shameless promotions here; no, this bar would rather concentrate on serving stiff drinks along with fantastic music. The place is packed and rowdy most nights.
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Penn Ave Pour House
This very popular bar pays tribute to the Keystone State (Pennsylvania) on its first floor, where you'll find Penn State pennants gracing scarred walls. The menu features sausage sandwiches and Iron City beer on tap. Regardless of your Pennsylvania obsession level, this is a fun place to hang out, usually packed to the gills with interns and congressional aides. Upstairs you'll find a plush lounge.
