The Best Bars in Washington D.C. Right Now

Washington, D.C., the city that invented the Rickey (spirit, lime, soda and not a syllable more), has spent the last few years proving it can be far less buttoned-up after dark. I say that with affection. This is a town where people choose their words carefully at work and their bars even more carefully at night, and from a former bank vault in Penn Quarter to a basement across from the White House, the 12 cocktail bars below are the ones I’d steer anyone toward right now, along with exactly what to order at each.

A word of warning: the drinks here have a sense of humor. Some taste like breakfast cereal. One is named after a Scottish lake monster. And at least one bar asks you to choose your record before your round. Go with it.

Photo Credit: Eaton D.C.

Allegory — Downtown

You find Allegory the way you’d find a secret in a novel: through the library. The bar sits off Eaton DC’s book-lined room, and the story continues on the walls, where artist Erik Thor Sandberg’s mural casts civil rights icon Ruby Bridges as Alice in a Wonderland of his own imagining. The cocktail menu picks up the narrative, too, which sounds like homework until the drinks arrive and turn out to be great fun. Ask for whatever the bartender considers the menu’s plot twist. And arrive early (it’s walk-in only, and the regulars know it).

Service Bar — U Street

There’s no such thing as one drink at Service Bar. You arrive with good intentions, somebody at the next table orders fried chicken, and that’s the end of that. The U Street bar takes its cocktails very seriously and itself not at all, which is precisely the balance you want on a weeknight. Start with something from the seasonal list, then commit to the chicken. You were always going to.

barmini by José Andrés — Penn Quarter

José Andrés doesn’t do anything halfway, and his cocktail lab next door to minibar is no exception. At barmini, drinks might change color, smoke, foam or arrive looking like a science fair entry that won. The cocktail flight is the move if you have the time (and the curiosity), and the bartenders are happy to steer. It’s theatrical, yes, but the drinks hold up after the show is over, which is the part that counts.

Off the Record — The Hay-Adams

If Washington has a nightcap, it’s here. Off the Record is in the basement of The Hay-Adams, across Lafayette Square from the White House, with red banquettes and coasters printed with political caricatures. The conversation in the next booth is almost certainly none of your business, and that’s half the thrill. Order a martini, keep your voice down, and remember: whatever you hear stays off the record.

Silver Lyan — Penn Quarter

Ryan Chetiyawardana, the London bartender behind some of the most decorated bars in the world, chose a former bank for his first American address, and I can’t think of a better place to spend your money. Silver Lyan sits in the old Riggs Bank building, now the Riggs Washington D.C. hotel, all low light and plush seating, with drinks that are as clever as they are pretty. The Loch Ness Martini has been the one to spot on the menu; if it’s rotated off, tell the bartender you want something stirred and a little strange, and let them surprise you.

The Alchemist — U Street

At The Alchemist, the entrance is helpfully marked. The mystery begins when you sit down. This dimly lit U Street speakeasy has a soft spot for cocktail theatrics and a menu that reads like someone raided both the liquor cabinet and the fantasy section. Ask for the Goblet of Fire if it’s on the menu. A perfectly sensible order for anyone who’s ever looked at their drink and thought, This could use a little more Harry Potter.

Florería Atlántico — Georgetown

Buenos Aires’ most famous flower shop has a twin in Georgetown, and the same rule applies: buy the flowers if you must, but the real point is downstairs. Tato Giovannoni’s bar brought its Argentine, Atlantic-inspired sensibility to Washington in 2025, and the result is one of the most transporting rooms in the city. Ask for the house take on a Negroni, which leans into the sea in the best way, and expect to stay longer than you planned.

Amazonia — Blagden Alley

Upstairs from Causa, the Peruvian restaurant in Blagden Alley, Amazonia treats pisco the way most American bars treat bourbon: with reverence and a very long list. It’s a breezy rooftop with plenty of room to settle in, and the food comes from the Causa kitchen downstairs. Start with a pisco sour, because that’s what you came for, then order a few plates for the table and see how the evening unfolds.

Photo Credit: Rey Lopez

Press Club — Dupont Circle

In a city full of reporters, the name is a little joke, and the joke is on vinyl. Press Club is a Dupont Circle lounge that looks like a 1990s record shop and feels like a 1970s cocktail bar, from bar veterans Will Patton and Devin Kennedy, and the music gets as much care as the menu. If you can, book the Play List, a four-drink flight that changes every couple of months and comes to the table with bites. If you’re only staying for one, ask for whatever’s on heavy rotation. I always do, and I’ve yet to regret it.

Death & Co — Blagden Alley

The East Village original is the bar that gave the world the Oaxaca Old Fashioned and the Naked & Famous, so the D.C. outpost had something to live up to when it opened in Blagden Alley in 2023. It does, and then some. The menu is long and gleefully specific, which is part of the fun: tell the bartender what you normally drink, then let them talk you into something you’d never have ordered on your own.

Bar Betsie — Union Market

Bar Betsie is a dark-booth, stay-a-while kind of place, the sort you’d happily wander into without a plan near Union Market. The menu runs from proper cocktails to tiny shooters for when a full drink feels like a commitment, and the snacks are unashamedly comforting. Order a Negroni variation and settle in. It’s the bar I’d choose for the friend who texts “Where are you?” at 9 p.m.

No Goodbyes — Adams Morgan

The LINE DC lives in a converted church in Adams Morgan, and its bar makes a persuasive case for never leaving the building. No Goodbyes has vaulted ceilings, deep couches and bartender Lukas B. Smith, who has a habit of making his own ingredients in-house and an even better habit of putting them in classics. On a cold night, order an Old Fashioned and claim the deepest seat you can find.

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Planning a bar crawl beyond the Beltway? See Haute Living’s guide to the best cocktail bars in Los Angeles.