Choose your location
Sat / May 18
Club / Lounge
Party Earth Review Even with six bars and four DJ booths spread over five floors, Ultrabar still isn’t the largest club in the city – but the hundred-deep line of partiers that forms out front every Saturday suggests it may be the most popular. Those lucky enough to be waved through the arched entryway find themselves in the high-ceilinged ... more
911 F Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
Club / Lounge
Party Earth Review Besides its sleek minimalist décor, high ceilings, and ample VIP areas, the most talked-about element of Shadow Room is how the venue blends technology with all the signature trappings of a high-end club. Even when the narrow hardwood dance floor gets packed, and accessing the polished bar requires navigating a mass of ... more
2131 K Street NW
Washington, DC 20037
Party Earth Review Although the garden of Eden is described as a luscious enclave where man was taught to be fruitful and multiply, it’s doubtful the prettied-up Adams and Eves at Eden nightclub need any such education. A bamboo-fronted bar, faux water features, and emerald-lit walls lined with grass create a different kind of paradise in ... more
1716 I Street NW
Washington, DC 20006
Party Earth Review Set atop the city’s elegant W Hotel, P.O.V. Roof Terrace and Lounge delivers exactly what its name promises – an expansive panorama that encompasses several of DC’s most beautiful monuments. Occupying two distinct spaces on the hotel’s top floor, the venue attracts a wide range of political elites, professionals from nearby ... more
W Hotel
515 15th Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
Party Earth Review It’s a never-ending battle of donkeys vs. elephants in the District of Columbia, but Off the Record, a chic lounge in the basement of the historic Hay-Adams hotel, brings both parties together for a cordial cocktail after an exhausting day of work. Located a block from the White House, this venue’s name is no accident ... more
Hay-Adams Hotel
800 16th Street NW
Washington, DC 20006
Club / Lounge
Party Earth Review Formerly a sports bar, Modern is now an upscale club – and one of the first to take root in an area better known for its pubs and taverns. Few jocks remain at this subterranean den, whose intimate size and varying theme nights attract a lively mix of dance-happy patrons. In the lounge area, plush white ottomans surround ... more
3287 M Street NW
Washington, DC 20007
Bar / Lounge / Restaurant
Party Earth Review A cavernous upscale temple to its namesake drink, Dirty Martini is popular for everything from a midweek working lunch – liquid or otherwise – to a post-work pre-party, to a classy after-hours soiree. Exposed white brick, sleek hardwood, and modern Italian furniture provide a classy backdrop for the foreign policy bigwigs ... more
1223 Connecticut Avenue
Washington, DC 20036
Bar / Club / Lounge / Restaurant
Party Earth Review Popular since its opening in late 2010, Barcöde quickly gathered a loyal following due in large part to its multifaceted combination of flashy modern décor, big bargain drink specials, and dress code/cover charge-free club scene. Surrounded by office buildings, the venue hosts the corporate crowd for lunch when business ... more
1101 17th Street NW
(entrance on L Street)
Washington, DC 20036
Bar / Club / Lounge / Restaurant
Party Earth Review Savory crêpes, champagne cocktails, and sultry décor bring a French flare and upscale vibe to Napoleon Bistro & Metropolitan Lounge, setting it apart from the raucous twenty-something scene that often dominates Adams Morgan. Royal tones of black, gold, and red, coupled with intricate emblems and coats of arms, grace the ... more
1847 Columbia Road NW
Washington, DC 20009
Cocktail Bar / Lounge
Party Earth Review Bartenders in this unmarked lounge like a challenge, and the simple, one-page menu at The Gibson is better regarded as a place to start than the sum of what’s available. The intimate candlelit space is fitted out with a long bar running down the middle of the ground floor with enough room for a few dozen thirsty patrons ... more
2009 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
Club / Lounge
Party Earth Review The flush of neon leaking from the entrance and the prominent sign featuring the silhouette of a provocatively posed lady in place of the “I” make Miami-styled lounge MIA hard to miss. Then there’s the six-foot rabbit. More on that later. Catering to a young crowd of clubbers dressed to impress ... more
1214 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Hotel Bar / Lounge
Party Earth Review A respite from the boisterous weekend crowds of college kids piling out of the metro a block away, Bar Dupont in The Dupont Circle Hotel is ideal for quiet evenings or a stylish slow start to the night before hitting a nearby club. Light lounge music plays overhead as guests arrive through the street entrance, first passing ... more
The Dupont Circle Hotel
1500 New Hampshire Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036
Whether lounges in Washington, DC are plentiful because its denizens love to chill out or because nobody in the capital actually works for a living is a matter of opinion, but the DC lounge scene is still a great one no matter the reason.
With a prevalence of swanky rooftop lounges full of international fashionistas, chic subterranean cigar lounges packed with political fat cats, and festive music blues and jazz lounges reminiscent of DC’s fantastic music history, there’s a lounge for everyone in DC – regardless of their political affiliation.
After all, the District basically doubles in size when its governmental workforce swoops in, and the end of the day means a lot of people out there need to cool off from running the world. Lobbyists and embassy heavyweights hit the upscale lounges along Dupont Circle or K Street before cutting loose at a swanky nightclub Downtown, while hip gay couples relax at the many gay and gay-friendly lounges along P Street and 17th Street.
Music lovers know the lounge scene doesn’t get any better than along the U Street Corridor, home to everything from smoky jazzy lounges to trance and electronica-filled DJ hotspots, and Georgetown socialites don’t have to travel far from their own cozy enclave to fork over mad cash for some exclusive R&R in a fancy lounge.
Even H Street, perhaps known best for its kitschy themed clubs, has new neighborhood lounges popping up almost every day. From dingy to divine, Washington, DC lounges bring the elephants and donkeys together.
Dan's Café
Quench
Thunder Burger & Bar
American Ice Company
Capitol Lounge
The Reef
Rhino Bar & Pumphouse
The Tombs