Off the Record below the Hay-Adams across Lafayette Square from the White House pours classic cocktails under red velvet and cartoon-portrait walls of presidents and justices.
Tip: Manhattan and Old Fashioned are the order. Light fare until 22:30; the bar runs daily 11:30 to 23:30 every night of the week.
Address: 800 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20006, Washington DC
Quill at The Jefferson is the literary cocktail lounge with parquet floors patterned on Monticello and 18th-century maps of Jefferson's wine routes on the walls, walk-in only.
Tip: First-come, first-served seating, no reservations. Bar runs 11:30 to midnight; the kitchen closes 23:00 weekdays.
Black Jack sits above Pearl Dive Oyster Palace on 14th Street, a pinball-and-cocktail second-floor room with a hidden speakeasy cocktail menu you order by name.
Tip: Ask the bartender for the speakeasy menu by name; the printed list runs the standard cocktails. Pizza from the wood oven runs through close.
JR's on 17th Street has anchored the Dupont LGBTQ block since 1986, a video bar that runs Showtune Sundays, Wednesday karaoke and 4-9 happy hour every day of the week.
Tip: Happy hour runs 16:00 to 21:00 every night, the busiest in Dupont. Wednesday karaoke is the standing tradition; arrive before 21:00 for a seat.
Annie's on 17th Street has welcomed Dupont's LGBTQ community since 1948, the James Beard America's Classics 2019 awardee that became a queer gathering place before there were gay bars.
Tip: Open 363 days a year for brunch, lunch and dinner. Reserve for parties of six or more; the bar walks in any hour the kitchen serves.
Number Nine on P Street faces Whole Foods in Logan Circle, a two-story indoor-outdoor lounge and video bar open since 2010 with a 2-for-1 happy hour the strip's busiest.
Tip: 2-for-1 happy hour opens until 20:00 daily, the busiest in DC. Outdoor patio closes at 22:00 weekdays and 23:00 weekends.
Trade on 14th Street is the dive-end of the DC gay-bar spectrum, an Esquire America's Best pick that expanded in 2025 to four spaces: bar, patio, dance floor and a subterranean room.
Tip: XL Happy Hour runs opening to 21:00 daily, oversized drinks at standard prices. The basement dance floor opens after 22:00 Thursday to Saturday.