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From buttoned-down political appointees who've just arrived to laid-back folks who've lived here their whole lives, Washingtonians are always looking for a place to relax. And they have plenty of options when they head out for a night on the town. Most places are clustered in several key neighborhoods, making a night of barhopping relatively easy.
Georgetown's bars, nightclubs, and restaurants radiate from the intersection of Wisconsin and M Streets, attracting crowds that include older adults and college students. Many restaurants here turn into bars after the dinner crowd leaves. Georgetown is one of the safest neighborhoods in D.C., with a large police presence on weekends.
Those seeking a younger and less inhibited nightlife may prefer the 18th Street strip in Adams Morgan, between Columbia Road and Florida Avenue, which offers a wide variety of places for dancing, drinking, and eating. The best part of Adams Morgan is that there are so many bars and clubs around 18th Street that if you don't like one, there's another next door. AdMo, as it’s affectionately called, is best known for its bars, but there are some restaurants that make the strip worth the trip for those in search of a good meal.
The U Street Corridor (U Street NW between 9th and 17th Streets NW), historically D.C.'s hippest neighborhood and a regular stop for jazz greats, has undergone a revival and is now the hottest spot in town, with bars that appeal to all types. Down 14th Street NW you will also find new bars and restaurants spilling revelers out on the street on weekends. Wine bars, dive bars, hipster bars, gastropubs, and dance clubs make for a full night out. Other hot spots include Capitol Hill, Downtown, and the city's most-up-and-coming area, Shaw. The stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue SE between 2nd and 4th Streets has a half-dozen bars. Thanks to massive redevelopment, Penn Quarter/Chinatown is burgeoning with new bars and music venues orbiting the Verizon Center and Gallery Place. The newest center of gravity for D.C. nightlife is the H Street Corridor, still tricky to get to, but home to some of the city’s most dynamic venues.
On weekends, the crowds can spill onto 14th Street—but one of the best wine bars in D.C. is worth the wait. An outstanding wine list (mainly French and Italian) is matched with delectable small plates, perfect for sharing.
Named both for the legs of a wine and a leg of ham, this is the place to fill your metaphorical hollow leg with wine, cheese, and charcuterie. Choose from a variety of reds, whites, and everything in between (even a few French cider styles), or go for a flight of brandy and whisky. All of the cocktails and spirits here are either from France or the District. Happy hour runs from 5 to 7, Tuesday through Friday, and brunch is served from 11 to 3 on weekends.
The owner of The Royal and his wife transformed the former Vinoteca into Lulu's Winegarden. The drink menu focuses on wine, offering rare finds and keeping them at under $50 a bottle. Named after the owner's daughter, the bar–restaurant has three lush outdoor dining spaces: the 24-seat, ivy-lined front patio; the charming, plant-filled, 40-seat back courtyard; and the 16-seat, terra-cotta-hued "streatery" outfitted with tropical fauna and lounge seating. The menu offers savory dips like whipped feta and smoked whitefish paired with a bottle of wine from the long list.
At Maxwell Park, dinner and dessert are both a glass of wine. The themed menu, which changes monthly, offers more than 50 wines by the glass. Try a sweet wine or aperitif for dessert, or mix things up with a cocktail, perhaps a seasonal gin and homemade tonic. If you don’t know what you want, ask one of the trained sommeliers about the 500 labels on the bottle list, or have a 2.5-ounce tasting glass (just watch the prices because there are some rare wines here). Enjoy the outdoor patio, which is heated in winter, or cozy into the bar, open nightly at 5.
