Nightlife

Based on all the scandals that sweep through Washington, D.C. on a seemingly ongoing basis, it’s no secret that politicians and those who work in politics love to party. The same is true for many of the business travelers and tourists who visit the D.C. area. To accommodate this late-night need people have to drink, party, dance, and be wild, there is no shortage of clubs, bars, and lounges.

Although the nightlife here is plentiful and diverse, don’t expect a heavy dose of Los Angeles–style glitz or New York–style up-’til-dawn decadence. Instead, like the dining scene, after-hours diversions in Metro Washington include a little bit of everything, from cutting-edge music halls and stand-up comedy venues, to funky watering holes, sports saloons, yuppified fern bars, and high-energy dance clubs.

First, here are a few things to keep in mind before venturing out for an evening on the town. As a general rule, the District offers the widest variety of nightlife, but you can almost always expect to pay a bit more for such things as drinks, cover charges, and live entertainment.

Suburban establishments are generally a bit less expensive. Whether you live in the Virginia suburbs or far-flung Maryland counties, chances are your nightlife will occur in one of three places: Montgomery County, Maryland; Washington, D.C.; or the Northern Virginia suburbs immediately surrounding Washington—that is, Arlington or Fairfax Counties and Old Town Alexandria. Accordingly, we’ve used only three geographical divisions in the listings that follow: Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, and Suburban Maryland.

“Last call for alcohol,” as the saying goes, is typically around 2 a.m. in the city, and 1 to 1:30 a.m. in the ’burbs. Some of the downtown haunts may not finish shooing people out the door until 3 or 4 a.m., but alcohol cannot be legally served after 3 a.m. in the District.

Incredibly, soft drinks aren’t always that much cheaper than booze at many bars and clubs in Metro Washington, although they certainly should be in this age of heightened awareness about the lunacy of drinking and driving. Some places do, however, occasionally offer free, unlimited nonalcoholic beverages to the designated driver in a group, so it pays to inquire.

The scourge of underage drinking and the increasingly tough penalties levied against those who serve minors have convinced many business owners—grocery, convenience, and liquor store operators included—to be extra cautious about who’s buying. So take the request to see your driver’s license as a compliment, not an insult. On your drive home don’t be surprised if you encounter roadblocks where police check for drunk drivers—it’s a common practice on weekends in the Metro Washington area.

In 2007 Washington, D.C. joined the list of major U.S. cities that have banned smoking in public places—including bars and restaurants. Nonsmokers are delighting in the clean air, while smokers have resigned themselves to stepping outside. (In this chapter you’ll find a few listings for hookah bars and cigar clubs—which, as of press time, were exempt from the new regulations. We encourage you to double-check before you head out.) Bars and restaurants in Maryland are also smoke-free.

For updates on what’s happening in the local nightlife scene and advice from local experts, we encourage you to check in with WashingtonPost.com’s “Going Out Gurus.” You can also check the “Weekend” and “Washington Weekend” sections of the Washington Post and Washington Times, respectively, or pick up a copy of the Washington City Paper.

As with the Restaurants chapter, this is far from an exhaustive roundup of Metro Washington nightspots, and again we’ve tried to emphasize the local places. Entries bearing an asterisk (*) beside their name are also covered in the Restaurants chapter, so please refer to that section for more details.