21 Best Bars in Washington, D.C., USA

Founded by Top Chef alum Spike Mendelsohn and D.C. nightlife entrepreneur Vinoda Basnayake, this Shaw bar serves spectacular cocktails. You'll feel like you're simultaneously at a 1950s-era diner, sitting on a backyard patio, and in a Wes Anderson film. The happy-hour menu features slightly cheaper cocktail options, wine, and beer, while the full menu offers cleverly crafted cocktails. Both menus change monthly, so make sure you return to see what's new, and if you're unsure of what to order, just ask a bartender. The bar menu includes cheese and charcuterie boards, dips, and salads.

Only a small plaque on a bland concrete wall in a nondescript block of Penn Quarter identifies one of Washington’s most sophisticated experiences. Step inside to see José Andrés’s cocktail lab for his acclaimed chain of restaurants that looks the part, with white-on-white furnishings and mixologists in lab attire often seen pouring smoking libations out of beakers. A metal notebook features a menu of more than 100 alcohol-centered liquid experiments grouped by spirit. Make it a show with drinks such as the tequila-based Cedar and Agave, in which a glass and block of ice are infused with the smell of burning wood, table-side, or the Floral Cloud, a fruity gin-based beverage delivered in a hibiscus haze. Soak up the chemical reactions with snacks such as savory mini waffles.

A red-velvet, almost vaudeville-like interior around the bar offers a saucy experience upstairs from the highly rated Pearl Dive Oyster Palace. In the back, you'll find a bocce court surrounded by stadium-style seats so onlookers can recline, imbibe, and cheer simultaneously. Though the most exquisite cocktail confections can be pricey, there's also an impressive beer lineup and a worthwhile menu ranging from mussels to pizza. There's a happy hour every day; it runs all day on Sunday.

Casta's Rum Bar sets the tone for a fun night out with its long, colorful corridors filled with murals depicting scenes of Cuba, the birthplace of co-owner Arian Castañeda. The bar also offers a full menu featuring savory empanadas and Cuban sandwiches. Free salsa dancing classes are offered every Wednesday for those wanting to improve their dancing skills. If you're more of a day drinker, head to their lively Sunday brunch parties.

There's an astounding selection of beers at ChurchKey—555 varieties from more than 30 countries, including 50 beers on tap and exclusive draft and cask ales. If you have trouble making a choice, bartenders will offer you 4-ounce tasters. The urban-vintage vibe balances unassuming and pretentious in pretty much equal measure, reflected in a menu that ranges from tater tots to Caesar salads to rotating flatbread options.

Inside the shell of an art deco--inspired edifice that once housed a labor union is one of the newest and most comfortably elegant bars in D.C., the corner spot of the Marriott Marquis. Deeper inside the hotel, you’ll find a bustling lobby bar and a large, noisy sports bar with 48 beers on tap. But The Dignitary attracts a more refined crowd with its focus on more than 50 types of bourbons and ryes poured by a crew of bartenders as experienced as they are friendly. This Dignitary also features an outdoor patio in the warmer months.

Named after Baghdad's Green Zone, the theme of the bar is bringing people together, and Middle Eastern and other international DJs often perform there on weekends. Popular ever since it opened, it's now a fixture on the "best cocktails" lists compiled by D.C. publications and blogs. The creative drinks combine Middle Eastern spices such as saffron and za'atar with Western spirits like rum and whiskey. Pair your beverage with Lebanese olives, creamy hummus, and savory falafel.

The only D.C. bar to offer indoor miniature golf, Skee-Ball, and giant Jenga has a friendly, laid-back vibe. Fish tacos and an impressive margarita list round out the fun mix at this popular nightspot. Big-screen sports line the walls downstairs, but you can usually catch a breath of fresh air on the roof deck.

A small, sleek, and unpretentious nautical-themed bar offers a half-price raw bar after 10 pm every night of the week, here and at its locations on the Wharf and Old Town Alexandria. The bartenders are friendly, giving you tastes of different wines or drinks to try, along with recommendations on the daily catch and other food options, including one of the best lobster rolls around.

A popular institution on the 17th Street strip, this narrow, window-lined space packs in a mostly male, mostly professional, gay crowd. Various nights offer show-tune sing-alongs, trivia contests, and a "Sunday Funday" daylong happy hour.

A purple light at the door marks the spot of this eclectic, New Orleans–influenced watering hole–dance club at the center of H Street. The dark interior features old concert posters from cult favorites like Pantera and Iggy Pop. The bar downstairs offers an enormous list of bottled beers and a signature adult slushy—the "Awesomeness”—that packs a real punch. The upstairs bar hosts DJs every Friday and Saturday night, when the space heaves with dancers packed wall-to-wall. The bar’s cheeky slogan—“a lousy bar for rotten people”—isn’t quite right. The service here is great.

This popular sports bar with a gay following makes everyone feel welcome. Catch the games on multiple screens, or try your luck with "drag bingo" or trivia games. Spaces in this eclectic two-story venue range from roof deck to cozy pub room to a dining area serving all-American pub grub–meets–Venezuelan specialties, from empanadas to arepas. Every weekend brings a reservations-required brunch buffet with drag queens as servers.

The heart of Logan Circle nightlife is this predominantly male gay bar attracting guests of all ages. The downstairs lounge offers plush banquettes and street views, while big-screen viewing is offered upstairs at the 9½ video bar. The daily happy hour (5–9 pm) offers two-for-one drinks. At any time this is a great place for a cocktail and some good conversation in a bustling neighborhood that includes, a block away on 14th Street, Trade, which is another popular, no-frills gay bar from the same owners as Number Nine.

This classic watering hole has no TVs, no light beer, and no martinis. What it does have are locals engaged in conversation—a stated goal of the owner—and some of the world's best beers, including the rare Urbock 23, an Austrian brew that is rated one of the tastiest and strongest in the world, with 9.6% alcohol content (limit one per customer). The Saloon also offers a broader bar menu, too.

With two bars serving 50 beers on tap and another 350 in bottles, The Sovereign's devotion is not in doubt. The staff knows the menu inside and out, so they can recommend the ideal beer for your taste. If you're hungry, too, the menu focuses on tasty Belgian fare like mussels with herbed mayonnaise.

This unassuming space in the basement of a Dupont town house is named after the patron saint of brewing, and it's certainly blessed with its choice of hard-to-find Belgian beers. The Belgian theme continues on the menu, and mussels are prepared in numerous ways, including with blue cheese and bacon, a Thai curry sauce, or with white wine and crushed chili.

Right on Georgetown's waterfront, this seafood restaurant has a large outdoor patio where you can enjoy a drink alfresco on a spring or summer evening. The cocktails are a little pricey, but you can't beat the view of the Potomac River and Kennedy Center at night.