Are you on the lookout for the most poppin’ Cocktail Bars in Washington DC?
Then we have you covered!
On this page, you’ll find the official shortlist of the best Cocktail Bars in Washington DC. (More in-depth further below)
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Washington, DC is a multifaceted metropolis. There are luxurious hotels right near neighborhood hangouts. And stunning monuments among ordinary rowhouses. All of this makes for a lively spot to have a drink. Some of the District’s greatest new bars draw influence from Japan, England, and Italy, while others embrace their American origins with strong whiskey and craft beer options.
Not to mention the impressive list of roofs and patios where you can unwind and sip a well-crafted beverage with a view. This list showcases some of the city’s top bars while also highlighting new openings that you’d be sorry to miss. Whether you’re searching for a laid-back happy hour or an after-dinner nightcap at a fancy speakeasy, our list of the finest bars in DC right now has something for everyone.
Lucy Bar
Lucy, a calm new bar off U Street from hospitality business Tin Shop, is famous for its pizza and pina coladas. Lucy shares a kitchen with Tin Store’s new pizza shop, Slice & Pie, so mushroom and truffle pizzas are on the menu. An alumnus of Room 11, Gavin Pierce, is in charge of the beverage menu, which includes frozen patio sippers, Aperol spritz on draught, and glasses or bottles of natural wine. This informal bar from the creators behind adjacent Franklin Hall combines cocktails and pizza.
Standard cocktails like a French 75 and an espresso martini are available, as are creative compositions like the Pené Chillin, anchored with mezcal and elderflower, and the broody Black Magic, which is prepared with whiskey, spices, and saffron. A few frozen cocktails, as well as crushable beer and wine, complete the menu.
Soak it up with a pizza, meatballs, or garlic knots from the Italian-inspired cuisine—a cute new addition to the neighborhood. The frozen drinks were A1. The pizza they serve from next door at Slice & Pie in case you want to try a slice instead of a personal pie—$ 1.50 Oysters during happy hour. Surrounded by many top restaurants like Maydan and Seven Reasons, Lucy is a corner bar not to be overlooked.
My buddy and I enjoyed grabbing Tuesday evening drinks with a happy hour menu, an outdoor patio, and a well-designed bar. Here’s why. Drinks: They have a robust cocktail menu, including a few tasty frozen drinks perfect for the summer. I had two Orange Crushes, which were well blended and very good.
Service: It was efficient and friendly. They treated us like we’ve known each other for years. If you’re looking for a nice bar with quality drinks, go to Lucy. So, this bar is one of the best bars Washington DC has to offer. If you are in the city, we recommend you check out the bar at least once! Go with your family, friends, or loved ones for a memorable time.
Alias on 14th
Alias on 14th, a glamorous drinking cave from Clarendon party makers B Social Hospitality, debuted in April, giving Logan Circle an Eyes Wide Shut edge. Alias’ beverages menu, located in the depths of Mediterranean restaurant Dolce Vita, features bubbles, fire, and billowing smoke, all set against an equally dramatic backdrop.
The former jazz club Sotto’s 100-seat location now offers a bewildering array of Champagne selections, out-of-the-box bottle service, and a one-page meze cuisine from Dolce Vita chef Elier Rodriguez upstairs. Whether you enter through an unmarked pink entrance on 14th Street or a secret back staircase inside the Mediterranean hotspot Dolce Vita, the result is the same: a dark New York-style social club with floral-accented chairs and a beautiful ceiling decorated with fleur-de-lis tiles.
Veteran bartender Evan Cablayan’s excellent cocktail menu at Alias on 14th avoids Prohibition-era drinks in favor of greater flavors and theatrics. A drinkable bubble tops a brilliant pink cocktail made with citrus vodka and raspberry, while a dram of bourbon, bitters, and orange peel is infused with smoke before serving.
Alias is a sexy and elegant social club nestled underneath sister site Dolce Vita, serving distinctive handmade cocktails, the finest champagnes, and Executive Chef Elier Rodriguez’s mezze selection of Mediterranean fusion nibbles from Dolce Vita. Guests are urged to stay and enjoy lovely cocktails and a bite to eat as the night progresses with music, mingling, and mystery, all while surrounded by masqueraded characters gracing the walls.
A floor filled with masqueraded people, flowers, and candle-lit tables lead to the great finale: jewel-toned velvet sofas perched on a black-and-white checkerboard stage. During a weekend preview party, several of D.C.’s finest sports stars broke into the rear VIP section, with Commanders and Capitals players sipping side by side.
So, this bar is one of the best bars Washington DC has to offer. If you are in the city, we recommend you check out the bar at least once! Go with your family, friends, or loved ones for a memorable time.
Kaimaki
In June, Michelin-starred chef Nicholas Stefanelli expanded his Midtown Center presence by opening Kaimaki, a contemporary Greek wine bar. The informal, next-door companion of his prix-fixe showcase Philotimo serves Greek wines, street delicacies, and experimental cocktails made with Mediterranean spirits. Kaimaki, named after the micro-bubbled top layer of Greek coffee, seats 12 at the bar and another 25 at high-top tables with floor-to-ceiling windows.
Tuesday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. to midnight. Kaimaki, named after the rich, micro-bubbled top layer of Greek coffee, is located across the breezeway from sister restaurant Philotimo—fine Stefanelli’s dining ode to Greece—and provides a more relaxed experience.
The cocktail program, led by Joseph Kocjan, will include a rotating selection of classic cocktails as well as originals such as Red Dragon (gin, cucumber habanero shrub, pomegranate juice); Quintessence (tequila, sake vermouth, strawberry lacto phosphate); and medacone (tequila, sake vermouth, strawberry lacto phosphate) (Kleos Mastiha, Jamaican rum, house fassionola, lime, bubbles).
Stefanelli hand-selected a wide variety of Greek wines, showcasing lesser-known locations and brands from his travels around Greece and the Greek isles. Mezze nibbles such as dolmades, fava bean fritters, and loukoumades (savory doughnuts topped with caviar) are available, as are a range of cheeses and Greek-style cured meats. With a focus on street food, Kaimaki celebrates the basic pleasures of gyros and souvlaki—all with a heaping helping of french fries.
Stefanelli and design studio Grupo 7 are responsible for the transforming and airy design, which is a homage to coastal retreats throughout the Mediterranean. The setting is ideal for the classic high-energy party sensations in Greece’s top bars. An enormous bar with seating for 12 anchors the room, while high-top tables provide seating for an additional 25 along the 360-degree, floor-to-ceiling windows that offer views of the downtown skyline.
Stefanelli also intends to launch Greek coffee, lunch service, and grab-and-go options in the coming months. Kaimaki can seat up to 75 people for a standing cocktail-style reception and is available for private occasions. So, this bar is one of the best bars Washington DC has to offer. If you are in the city, we recommend you check out the bar at least once! Go with your family, friends, or loved ones for a memorable time.
Pink Taco
Pink Taco is a hip hangout with a high-energy vibe for innovative street tacos & margaritas. So, join us for lunch, dinner, weekend brunch, and happy hour! The taco-and-tequila bar in West Hollywood and Miami unveiled its massive Navy Yard outpost in June.
The striking chain’s first-ever D.C. store debuts with eight different varieties of tacos, enchiladas, burritos, fajitas, churros, and four different types of margaritas by the glass or pitcher. D.C. also has its taco to try: lamb barbacoa on a corn tortilla with roasted beets, goat cheese, pepita, and gremolata.
The 236-seat area includes a wraparound terrace with 72 seats. To begin, weekday hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (with a happy hour from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends), and weekends are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Taco Tuesday will debut later this month.
The drink “The Gospel of Pink” (tequila, strawberry-beet agave, and lime juice) is available on the rocks and frozen. Pair your passions with authentic flavors. They are Locally-inspired. The beverages are handcrafted. Enjoy daring, uncompromising compositions that use guitar solos as crucial parts—epic experiences tailored to your specifications. If you go, they will construct it.
They cater to events such as birthdays, bachelor/bachelorette parties, and company meetings. There are a variety of locations available to accommodate any size gathering—a truckload of passion and taste. Brandy, LA Woman, and Gypsy Queen are the names of the three taco trucks that carry the Pink Taco brand and reputation around the country.
Our restaurants bring together intense flavors and tastemakers. We build playlists, quiz ourselves on taco trivia, and write odes to our favorite ingredients that would make Shakespeare weep into his tortilla. All in honor of the world’s best delivery system: the all-powerful tortilla.
Anybody may make tacos. Plenty of places are excellent at it. Pink Taco is more than simply a taco stand; it’s hallowed turf. They are not the type to play things safe. No, they want a flurry of tastes dancing on your tongue—a lovely shambles. There is no filler. No BS. They are made with the same wild spirit that goes into our house-made margaritas.
Takoda Restaurant & Beer Garden opened in Shaw six years ago and opened a second site across from Nationals Park in June. The 7,000-square-foot millennial hotspot, roughly double the original’s size, has a second-floor area and a third-story rooftop that the fast-growing Better Hospitality Group (BHG) describes as the largest in the neighborhood.
Takoda brings its famed tots, boneless chicken wings, sliders, bottomless brunch, frozen, drinks on draught, and new items like build-your-own burgers and taco salads, to the new location. Starters like truffle fries and fish and chips are also part of a late-night weekend menu, with a new takeout window dedicated to orders (11 p.m. to 1 a.m.). Takoda’s 213-person perch fills a rooftop bar void in the area.
This rooftop beer garden first established itself in Shaw as a go-to destination for everything from weekend brunch to late-night drinks. Now, it arrives in Navy Yard with nearly twice as much space as the original, making it the waterfront neighborhood’s largest rooftop.
The location is prime, across from Nationals Park and close to other popular hangouts, including Mission and Atlas Brew Works. The bar features dozens of beers on draft and a handful of frozen cocktails churning away. For food, expect riffs on your standard bar eats and, of course, bottomless brunch. TAKODA Navy Yard is the famous D.C. hangout’s second location, giving the same colorful bar experience as TAKODA Shaw, but this time just a block from Nationals Park.
We want to create a vibrant rooftop bar setting with magnificent views of the area, replicating all of the fan-favorite characteristics that made the original idea a cornerstone of Washington nightlife. With 150 percent greater square footage than Shaw, you and your guests will have even more room to enjoy your evening or bottomless breakfast with our wide variety of draught beers, exciting tap drinks, and tasty snacks from our cuisine. TAKODA Navy Yard, the newest addition to Washington, D.C.’s rapidly rising Capitol Riverfront region, is the ideal location for holding spectacular events. Our event venues may handle private and semi-private reservations, with the latter having no minimum fee.
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Conclusion
The greatest bars in DC are as dynamic and diverse as the city itself, which should come as no surprise. The city is teeming with craft beer enthusiasts, wine bar devotees, and cocktail joint connoisseurs – from the capital’s diplomatic drinkers to university youths looking for camaraderie, there’s a place for all types of venues and clients.
The fact that DC isn’t legally a state has its advantages: residents have access to alcohol-related loopholes that aren’t available in other areas of the country.
Local restaurants and bars, for example, may acquire their liquor stock directly from distilleries and breweries, bypassing the wholesale intermediary that serves as a distributor in other jurisdictions (a victory for mom-and-pop breweries, to say the least). So raise your old-fashioned glass, clink your beer stein, or salute with your favorite vintage as you uncover the top bars in DC.
