Showtime on Rhode Island Avenue is Paul Vivari's 2013 living-room dive, the Esquire America's Best Bars pick with a free R&B jukebox curated by Vivari and the cheapest combos in Bloomingdale.
Tip: Cash only, $5 Natty Boh and shot combo. Live band Granny and the Boys plays regular sets led by the 81-year-old neighbor upstairs.
Address: 113 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001, Washington DC
Boundary Stone on Rhode Island Avenue is the Bloomingdale neighborhood pub that reopened April 2021, a quieter alternative to Showtime two doors down with a long whiskey list and bar food until late.
Tip: Trivia and bingo nights through the week; the kitchen runs through to last call. Weekend brunch from 10:30 is the easier walk-in slot.
Solly's on the corner of 11th and U is the three-floor U Street dive with karaoke upstairs, a beer garden out back and the cheapest happy hour pour on the strip Tuesday to Friday.
Tip: Karaoke runs Tuesday and Thursday upstairs from 21:00. Trivia Wednesday is the easier walk-in night; weekends fill at 22:00.
Boundary Stone on Rhode Island Avenue is the Bloomingdale neighborhood pub that reopened April 2021, a quieter alternative to Showtime two doors down with a long whiskey list and bar food until late.
Tip: Trivia and bingo nights through the week; the kitchen runs through to last call. Weekend brunch from 10:30 is the easier walk-in slot.
Echostage in Northeast DC is the 3,000-capacity electronic dance megaclub that took the #5 spot in DJ Mag's 2025 Top 100 Clubs poll and books headline techno, house and EDM acts on weekends.
Tip: Tickets sell out for the headline parties; buy on the venue site rather than at the door. Coat check is mandatory in winter and the line forms before 22:00.
Flash on Florida Avenue NW runs national and international house DJs across three spaces: a Funktion-One club room, the ground-floor Flash Bar and a rooftop Green Room with retractable cover.
Tip: Doors Friday and Saturday only most weeks. Coat check fills early; pre-buy tickets through the Flash site to skip the cash-only door line.
Decades on Connecticut Avenue runs across five floors of retro themes: each level cycles a different era of hip-hop, pop and dance, with eight bars and five DJs spinning at once.
Tip: Each floor sets its own decade; the 90s and 2000s rooms fill first on weekends. Reserve a bottle for guaranteed entry past 23:00.
DC9 on 9th Street NW pairs a bar and small ground-floor venue with an upstairs dance space that runs DJ nights through to 03:00 Friday and Saturday, open since 2004.
Tip: Live shows on the lower floor, DJ dance nights upstairs. Late-night kitchen runs until midnight; the rooftop is the easier walk-in early.