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Capitol Lounge
A year after it was severely damaged by a fire in August 2005, Capitol Lounge is back in full swing with hardly a scar marring its pretty face. More upscale than other divey neighborhood pubs, this Hillie hotspot offers cigars and martinis along with 10¢ wings. Pool tables, sports on TV and familiar faces draw the staffers in droves. They come to flirt, network and just talk smack about work.
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Capitol Steps Political Satire
This troupe claims to be the only group in America that tries to be funnier than Congress. It's actually comprised of current and former Congressional staffers, so they know their stuff. The best of political comedy, this DC tradition pokes satirical bipartisan fun at both sides of the spectrum.
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Carter Barron Amphitheater
The outdoor amphitheater in Rock Creek Park is the venue for Shakespeare Free for All, a free series staged by the Shakespeare Theatre, as well as music festivals and concerts throughout the summer. For free shows, tickets are distributed from on the day of the show.
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Chi-Cha Lounge
On first thought, Arabic arguilehs (hookahs) and Andean food don't seem a felicitous combination, but Chi-Cha makes it work. Curl into velvet settees, nibble Ecuadorian tapas and order a pipe of Bahrainian fruit-and-honey-cured tobacco. Ah, East and West do combine beautifully. Hookahs are available weekdays only.
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Chief Ike's Mambo Room
Despite the mixed crowd of young students and older professionals, ain't nobody getting dressed up here. The decor is Day of the Dead meets Night of the Living Dead : blinking lights, monster comics laminated onto the tables and voodoo critters on the walls. Dance on weekends and drink all week. Two additional clubs are upstairs: punk Chaos (not to be confused with Club Chaos) and hip-hop Cosmo Lounge.
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Clarendon Ballroom
A gorgeous ballroom done up to look like a Big Band-era dance hall, it attracts throngs of young professionals coming to hear emerging local rock bands or artists on national tours. On the nights when there isn't music, you can try your hand at swing dancing or jive to what the DJ's spinning. The upstairs deck is open Wednesday through Friday nights and is perfect for lingering over a sunset cosmopolitan.
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Club Chaos
A must-visit on the DC gay club circuit, this place offers everything from bawdy drag brunches to country-western dance nights. Thursday's Latin night packs the gay boys and draws a fair number of women into this steamy basement for dancing to salsa and meringue. Saturday night is also popular. Early evenings midweek, live comedy and drag shows attract a more mature crowd.
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Clyde's
A true Georgetown warhorse, Clyde's has been around for almost 40 years. Back in the day, it used to cater mainly to Georgetown students, but Clyde's has gone upscale in recent years; now yuppies are more likely than students to drink in this classy saloon. The Railroad Bar, salvaged from a Baltimore station and tucked into the back of the bar, is the best spot in the house. It's famous for its half-price burgers at happy hour.
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Cobalt & 30 Degrees
The latest, greatest addition to the 17th-St gay scene is the reincarnation of a club that burned down in 1998. Reopened and renovated, the first floor now has Food Bar (its menu gets mixed reviews). The 2nd-floor lounge, 30 Degrees, has been dubbed the 'Pottery Barn' for its oh-so-tasteful decor. Cobalt is the disco ballroom where pretty boys get down and let loose.
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Columbia Station
This is an intimate spot features nightly jazz and blues. If you're on a budget the lack of a cover charge makes it especially appealing. The quality of music varies; it's mostly local acts. The vibe is unpretentious and you can order Creole and American specialties to go with your music.
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Common Share
Any cheaper, and you're involving brown paper bags. This place commendably considers the buzz a basic human right, selling every beer (even nice ones like Guinness) and mixed drinks for just around US$2 to around US$3 . Beaten-up curbside freebies furnish the place, but at these prices, who's complaining?
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Continental
A stone's throw from many Rosslyn hotels, this posh new pool hall isn't your average billiards club. There's no stale-beer-and-cigarette stink where spaghetti lights form constellations on the ceiling and the patterned columns are painted like palm trees. Tiki heads and bars painted with silver glitter complete the picture. The owner says Disneyland was the inspiration for style faux pas that somehow manage to epitomize cool.
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Cue Bar
This new U St establishment is making ping-pong cool, and a mixed-race crowd is lining up to play. A basement-level joint vaguely reminiscent of a community rec room, Cue Bar offers a couple of pool tables, a lounge area full of furniture, TVs with sports and the ever popular ping-pong table (around US$10 per hour). On Sundays an 8-ball tournament starts at .
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Da's Rfd Washington
One of DC's top two bets for serious beer geeks (the other is the Brickskeller), it offers a dizzying 40 local and international beers on tap as well as 300 bottles. This is definitely a good choice if you want to sample a microbrew; plus it's centrally located near the MCI Center if you're in the neighborhood to catch a game.
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Dance Place
The only truly cutting-edge dance space in the capital is hidden in a rather obscure neighborhood in Northeast DC. It's run by five resident modern-dance companies offering a year-round calendar of new work that includes festivals featuring African dance, tap dancing and other genres. It also hosts the work of top-notch national companies, such as the Joe Goode Performance Group.
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Dc Sanctuary
Check your attitude at the door. DC Sanctuary welcomes everyone - black and white, straight and gay - so long as they have an appreciation for soul-soothing house and garage, blue lights, disco balls and a mellow vibe; this is not a pick-up joint. Couches, paintings and a big dance floor fill the minimalist-looking space. The club is in a transitional neighborhood, far from any Metro stop, so you'll need to drive or take a cab.
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Dc9
Accommodating up to 250 people, DC9 offers music-lovers a live experience in a smaller venue. Up-and-coming local bands, with an emphasis on indie rockers, play most nights of the week. When the live music finishes (often around ), DJs keep the place spinning until about . On the 2nd floor zodiac murals and diner booths set the mellow vibe; downstairs you'll find a narrow shotgun bar and a digital jukebox offering more than 130,000 songs.
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Degrees Bar & Lounge
In the lobby of the swanky Ritz-Carlton, this classy place captures the feel of an incinerator with exposed brick walls and black slate floors. The lounge is all the rage among the businesspeople who work in the area and come here to sip the signature Zentini, which replaces vodka with sake in a martini.
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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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Felix
Lines form early on weekend nights when 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 plush velvet ropes can be quite selective in his entrance policy. Plate-glass windows, neon letters and super-sleek decor give it serious character. Live jazz and funk banks play Friday and Saturday nights.
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Five
One of the city's hottest clubs, Five keeps its patrons happy by (1) letting them inside (you won't find super-snotty bouncers here) and (2) offering a smorgasbord of house, reggae and hip-hop with occassional drum & bass spun by well-known local and international DJs. Spanning three floors, Five has a popular Caribbean-inspired rooftop deck. The bars are where to flirt. Coupons (check the local papers) grant free entry until .
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Ford's Theatre
Please note: this theater is currently closed for renovations, but is still producing theater at other venues in the city.
The historical theater - where John Wilkes Booth killed Abraham Lincoln - has staged world-premier musicals, mostly about Lincoln's life and times. It also hosts a series on American Originals: influential individuals who have played significant cultural roles.
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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.
