Club entertainment in Washington, DC
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A
Cafe Citron
So here’s the thing, ladies: when guys want to go out dancing, that’s usually because they’re trying to pick up girls. So here’s the thing guys: when girls go out dancing and dress up really hot, they’re usually just interested in dancing (or ‘letting off steam, ’ ‘chilling with my chicas’ etc). Sociology lesson finished, nothing personifies this dichotomy of affairs more than Cafe Citron, one of DC’s most popular Latin music bars (in fairness, it plays everything, but the focus is salsa, samba et al). Girls dance; guys watch; night goes on. Then guys come in who actually can dance, local guys grumble, girls get happy, realize their dancing partner is …
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B
Rose’s Dream Bar & Lounge
Go-go, the DC style of local music that’s a cross between funk and an improvised drum line, occasionally dusted with a bit of hip-hop, has been a fading genre in the District. But Rose’s keeps the beat alive. It’s one of the few go-go clubs left where a white out-of-towner won’t feel like they’re interloping in someone else’s territory; the clientele is primarily black, but this is a mixed crowd as these things go. Coming here is a DC cultural experience – go-go really is the city’s own brand of music, resented in cities as close as Baltimore – but beyond that Rose’s is plenty fun, with good bartenders working the line and karaoke, dance nights and live shows blowing up t…
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C
Love
Where does Beyoncé play when she’s in DC? Yo, where is the Love? If you’re going to go to a multifloor megaclub in DC, make it this gorgeous spot, where you’re basically the star of your own Usher video. Dress to impress (the code is strict, no sneakers or baggy jeans allowed) as this club attracts thousands and lines form out the door. Friday nights see a predominantly hip-hop-heavy menu and African American crowd. Saturdays are more diverse, with international electronica pumped through the speakers and a mixed crowd. You need to drive or taxi out here.
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D
Felix
Lines form early on weekend nights when the beautiful people flock to this beautiful lounge to drown beautiful sorrows in beautifully constructed martinis. Yes, Felix is a swank place where the attitude has attitude and the bouncer behind the velvet ropes can be a little too selective in his entrance policy for some people’s patience. Plate-glass windows, neon letters and super-sleek decor give it serious character. Live jazz and funk bands set up on a stage against the front windows on Fridays and Saturdays.
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E
Left Bank
The Left Bank 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; which often is not the case. Left Bank attracts a sophisticated, international crowd that comes to sip martinis and listen to DJs spin mellow vibes. There’s a menu, but the food is only OK.
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F
Bukom
Come see DC’s West African expats get their weekend going, and be prepared for sore but happy hips the next morning, ‘cause these cats can move. There’s an interesting vibe here when the African clientele gets joined by ex–Peace Corps types who’ve learned their dancing chops in the continent; this is one of those very DC moments when immigrants plus an internationally experienced population merge into one happy scene of dancing goodness.
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G
Habana Village
Squeezed into an old townhouse with a cosmopolitan bar and romantic back room is the Village, which is as close as the capital gets to Cuba. That’s not particularly close, but you do get some good, stiff mojitos here, and the music – salsa, meringue, mambo, tango and bossa nova – could make you imagine you were in Miami when the dance floor gets packed, which happens every now and then.
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H
Chief Ike’s Mambo Room
What we love about Ike’s is how it’s a place to get a good Latin groove going…while surrounded by leering Evil Dead–esque murals of psychedelic voodoo zombies and assorted other undead. There are punk and hip-hop clubs upstairs if you tire of monster movie mambo, but they don’t quite match the awesomeness of the whole Mexican Day of the Dead funfest on the bottom floor.
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I
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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J
Republic Gardens
This historic club (where Pearl Bailey waited tables in the 1940s) is one of the most attractive venues in town. Exposed brick walls, wood floors and modern leather furniture give it a sophisticated look, but the classy feel of the spot is old-school, jazz-era good times. You gotta come correct: no denim, no sneakers and definitely no T-shirts.
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K
Heaven & Hell
A perennial favorite with the college crowd, this hot spot hosts Heaven (upstairs), with thematic dance parties to flashing disco lights and a cool, airy interior; and Hell (downstairs), grittier, darker, hotter and packed with hard drinkers. The large outdoor patio in Heaven overlooks the 18th St strip and is popular on steamy nights.
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L
Science Club
Everyone, from the geeky types implied by the name to the DC power set, comes here to shake a tailfeather to the blend of hip-hop, funk and house that thumps across the dimly lit floors of this excellent club.
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M
Tom Tom
Need a meat market? Try this slaughterhouse, with its split-level, dark blue dance floor packed with DC locals, drunk interns and the international set, all trying not to slip on their sweating hormones.
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