Washington DC Nightlife
:. Dance Clubs
Fur Night Club
33 Patterson St, NEWashington, DC 20002
202-842-3401
A nice club with nice people. You can meet people from politics, business to musicians. They have happy menu from 5-7pm.
Café Citron
(Dupont Circle)1343 Connecticut Ave., NW
202-530-8844
Cafe and bar by day, club by night, Café Citron is a great place for dancing to Latin, house, and the ubiquitous DC international dance sound. Three levels. Line forms at prime time on Friday and Saturday nights. Generally a friendly crowd - not quite as much attitude as you find in some places. But beware: if you are not stylin, you might not get in the door.
H2O
(SW Waterfront)800 Water Street, SW
Washington, DC 20024
202-484-6300
During the 2004 campaign trail, Bill Clinton held a fundraiser at H2O. They have a buffet early in the night (fuel for dancing and buffer for the booze). Several floors cater to different taste buds: Latin, hip hop, trance and house music. It can get a bit crowded and smoky but the music is worth it.
Platinum
915 F Street, NWWashington, DC
202-393-3555
Plush Fridays (Club mix and mainstream) and Beautiful Saturdays (Party mix and Mainstream). With an 18 and up age requirement, it’s fit for de-stressing from that killer exam or monster paper. Very large main room usually spins club and party mixes while downstairs is usually a bit more international. Both rooms throw in some mainstream tunes. It can get very smoky in there (more than the average club).
:. Chillout Clubs
K. Street Lounge
1301 K Street NWWashington, DC 20050
202.962.3933
K. Street Lounge is a modern and sleek looking club. This bar is small and crowded though. They have late hours (3am) and a lot of events, some of which are worth checking out. The ladies nights are worth a shot, because they offer open bar. You can go to their website and get on the guest list, which is needed to go to a lot of the higher scale events. They play a good mix of different music. Detractors decry the uppity vibe.
18th Street Lounge
1212 18th St. NWWashington, DC 20036
202-466-3922
The door at Eighteenth Street Lounge is hard to spot for the first time unless the guy charging a cover is there - it's right between the hardware store and Sesto Senso restaurant. This is a really great place to chill, especially when they open the large side lounge which gives more space to sit. Great electolounge music with bossa-nova and other international flavors (the place used to be owned by duo that is Thievery Corporation). Outdoor patio open in good weather. Easy to strike up a conversation given the laid back crowd. Great website too.
Chi-Cha Lounge
1624 U St. NWWashington, DC 20037
202-234-8400
Latin-themed, very comfy lounge on U. Street. Good place for strategizing with your friends on how to solve the world's (or at least your own) problems.
:. Bars and Hangout Joints
McFaddens Restaurant and Saloon
2401 Pennsylvania Ave NWWashington, DC 20037
(202) 223-2338
Fifteen plasma TVs and the MLB baseball package. DJ on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.
Monday: 1/2 price bottles of wine, 1/2 price apps, 1/2 price beer (5pm to close)
Tuesday: $1 High Life, $2 Blue Moon, and $5 Jager bombs (8pm to close)
Wednesday: $3 Miller Lite 16oz. cans, $3 Blue Moon, $3 Coors Light, 1/2 price burgers
Thursday: Beat the clock: $1 Rails and drafts from 9-10pm, $2 Rails and drafts 10-11pm, $3 Rails and drafts from 11pm-close; $3 beers and call liquor drinks and down from 11pm until close
Friday: $2 Miller Lite bottles and draft (Open until midnight) Ladies Night (Ladies drink free from 9- 10 PM)
Saturday: $2 Bud Light bottles and draft (Open until midnight)
Uncle Jed’s Road House
7525 Old Georgetown RoadBethesda, Maryland 20815
301-913-0026
Next to the Bethesda Metro, it is THE gathering place during sporting events. With TVs everywhere (20 TVs and 3 big screens), you’re bound to have a good view of your favorite sport. Grab a beer and enjoy the non-smoky environment.
Buffalo Billiards
(Dupont Circle)1330 19th St., NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-331-7665
Fine tune your pool skills or just kick back with other metropolitans. It’s located right next to the Dupont Metro below the circle and under Front Page. Spacious rooms so there’s no worry on bumping into people with pool sticks. Cigars available.
Cue Bar
(U Street)1115 U Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-331-7665
Cue Bar Washington, DC is a stylish, contemporary basement-level bar, with five pool tables, 4 high-definition large screen projection televisions, darts and ping pong tables. There is also a lounge with large overstuffed chairs for relaxing with friends. This a cool new bar located on the hip U Street corridor with a lounge, pool tables, ping-pong and darts.
Madhatter
1831
M Street NWWashington, DC 20009
202-833-1495
Misplaced your Bon Jovi CD? Nostalgic for 80’s and 90’s bar music? The bar is on the first floor and the dance floor starts at the back of the first floor and continues into the 2nd floor. Madhatter joins the Nightmare on M Street Bar Crawl on Halloween and it’s one of the best nights to check them out.
Rhinos - Sports Bar
(Georgetown)3295 M Street, NW
Washington, DC
202-333-3150
Pull up a stool at the large bar on the 2nd floor; the bartenders here are especially friendly. Then burn some of the alcohol in the back of the first floor to the tune of top 40s. Better yet, get there early and savor the food. Raw bar on Saturday and Sunday (75 cent blue point oysters, 45 cent clams, 55 cent shrimp cocktail).
Rock Bottom Brewery
7900 Norfolk Ave.Bethesda, MD 20814
301-652-1311
Metro: Bethesda (Red Line)
Thursday night happy hour is a Bethesda must! (look up web site for info on $1 pints during happy hour) They tend to attract young professionals with a specialty for NIHers since the campus is right up the street. Live band on Thursday nights. It has a large restaurant and bar areas on the first floor with pool tables and couches on the second floor. If it’s your first visit, ask them for a beer sampler. Beer of choice? Brown Bear for the hint of caramel flavor.
Divino Lounge
7345 Wisconsin AveBethesda, MD 20814
Salsa lessons Tuesday nights! Even salsa connoisseurs can learn some new moves. Although not Latin Top 40, the Spanish music is still very good. It caters to the young professionals crowd. It has a mix of lounge at the entrance and the more traditional restaurant format towards the back.
Tommy Joe's
4714 Montgomery LaneBethesda, MD 20814
301-654-3801
A visitor had this to say: "While never eating the food there, I am quite an expert on the establishment as a weekend night-time destination. Friday nights are probably it's most busy night. The crowd can probably be split into two main categories. There young professionals who live in the area too weary from a long work week to do a night out in DC. Then there are the loser kids who still live with their well-to-do parents who own houses in the area (and likely give them money to go out). The crowd as a whole is very hit-or-miss. There is also a third element of shady older businessmen who ogle/leer/catcall the younger ladies..."
"...There is a large dance floor in the front which, despite a sometimes odd song selection, always get a crowd. There is also a large partially open-air area in the back which sidesteps Montgomery County's indoor smoking policy. It allows people to smoke without really being outside - a big plus in the cold weather. A note on the drink prices: EXPENSIVE. There are never any drink specials and you will pay 4 bucks for most domestic bottles. The bartenders can be shady with your bill has well. I've had several friends complain that they were unfairly charged for items they did not purchase and had to go through the ordeal of getting the items removed from their tab. I could go on all day about this place and it looks like i kinda have." -Peter Savelli
More nightspots (awaiting review): Barking Dog, Bottom Line, Eye Bar, Brickskeller, The Tombs, Lucky Bar, Front Page, 1223, Dave and Busters, Blacks