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The new Swingers Navy Yard houses three bars under one roof.
Paul Winch-Furness

The Hottest New Bars in D.C. Right Now

Fresh destinations for bottle service, rooftop spritzes, margaritas, and more this spring

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The new Swingers Navy Yard houses three bars under one roof.
|Paul Winch-Furness

New bars continue to open and invigorate the District’s drinking scene with snazzy views, solid happy hours, and light bites. This map includes 13 bars that have opened in the past month or so. For a list of essential bars,go here.

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Johnny's All American Cafe and Bar

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Johnny’s All American recently backfilled the space beloved Filipino restaurant Bad Saint left behind. Owner and Ohioan Branden Givand bills the bar as a fancy dive with margaritas, Sazeracs, burgers, beer-and-shot combos, DC Brau’s Old Time Lager, and Miller High Life. The laid-back setup adds morning hours this weekend with coffee, egg sandwiches, doughnuts, and a cherry blossom-themed brunch on Sunday, April 2.

Alegria Bar

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Situated in Edgewood’sshiny new Bryant Street Market food hall, Alegria Bar builds on the success of 14th Street NW’s agave standbyTequila & Mezcal. Its 26-seat offshoot in Northeast showcases more than just margaritas and Mexican spirits, looping in Latin flavors like hibiscus, various fruits, and cacao to make an espresso martini. A draft and bottled beer list swings from Mexican brews like Pacifico to local favorites like Streetcar 82 Brewing Co. in Hyattsville, and a canned cocktail system lets patrons to take the party to-go. In lieu of traditional happy hour, a “martini hour” lets drinkers at the L-shaped setup sample dirty and pineapple martinis in mini portions. The same family also imported their popular Columbia Heights taco spotTaqueria Habaneroto the food hall.

Cocktails at Alegria Bar.
Bryant Street Market

CODE RED

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A Prohibition-era cocktail barsauntered into Adams Morgan in Marchwith smoked Old Fashioned service, time-intensive Chicago fizzes, and throwback nods to the Roaring ’20s. Code Red, the brainchild of AC Hotel GM Mark Namdar and his son, takes the lengthy space that housed Bom Korean Fried Chicken up until a year ago (and was Millie & Al’s before that). The surf-and-turf menu, listed as “Bill of Fare,” includes apps and small plates like wagyu beef sliders, crispy artichokes, charcuterie, and char-grilled prawns, with more to come.

Two cocktails are part of Code Red’s tableside “crystal” service.
Life Expressed Online

Baja Tap

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Adams Morgan welcomed a massive new Mexican bar in time for spring, complete with two floors, a patio, and rare feature for the nightlife strip: an airy rooftop. Le Diplomate’s former sous chef and Guerrero native Alfredo Solano leads the kitchen with a lengthy menu full of ceviches and towers of tacos, chimichangas, salsas, and guacamoles. Weekday happy hour (4 p.m. to 7 p.m.) calls for $5 margaritas, Mexican drafts, and sangrias, plus $3 street-style tacos and $2 Coronas on Wednesdays. Baja Tap comes from Wave Group, the team behind Arlington’s Nighthawk Brewery & Pizza. Decor includes retro wallpaper, a suspended motorcycle upon entry, and California-cool photographs shot by aSan Diego-based friendof Baja partner and fellow JMU alum Scott Parker.

Baja Tap bring all sorts of margs to Adams Morgan.
Open Ventures

The Owl Room

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The Owl Roomwent live this month在舊的馬文的兩層樓房。華盛頓特區nightlife veterans Scott Herman and Ken Brobeck conceptualized the new club that pays homage to D.C.’s underground dance scene alongside Marvin’s returning co-owner Eric Hilton. The anticipated, DJ-driven replacement operates more like a bonafide music venue with a box office. A full-scale, ’70s-chic renovation dripping with disco balls and artsy odes to owls reimagines the space with a main dance floor and stage for live performances, plus a second-floor bar with an open-air patio.

Retro-styled Owl Room is decked out with burnt orange seating and walls.
Mykl Wu

District Alley

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This neon-lit hideaway made its debut in an alleyway off U Street NW earlier this year. The versatile venue features all-night happy hour on Thursdays, sports-watching parties, themed hip-hop nights, table reservations, and bottle service options.

Rakia Bar at Ambar Shaw

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去擁抱它new nightlife neighborhood in Shaw, all-you-can-eat Balkan brand Ambar turns its upstairs level into a lounge-y, garden-like space with a retractable roof, lots of greenery, and pink touches during cherry blossom season. The second-floor rakia cocktail bar, fueled by the famous brandy-style Balkan liquor and weekend DJs, sets this new Ambar apart from the others in Capitol Hill and Clarendon. Once unlimited dinner concludes on weekends, the bar continues to serve a limited menu based on Belgrade street food like cevapi and bacon-wrapped chicken. Late-night service on Fridays and Saturdays runs 11:30 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Ambar’s “Kao Cacao” cocktail features aged rum, cacao Campari, pineapple, and raspberry cordial.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

Duke's Grocery

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The British-style gastropub for fancy sandwiches and snack platesunveiled its fourth D.C. location— and biggest bar yet — in Navy Yard in late February. Located a one-block walk from Nationals Park, Duke’s imports familiar favorites like its epic weekday happy hour (noon to 7 p.m.), when beers, wines, and cocktails cost $5-$9, bottomless brunch, multiple types of mules served in copper cups, beer-battered fish and chips, and of course, itsessential burgerthat carries a registered trademark.

British icons like Kate Moss and Alfred Hitchcock watch over the 40-seat bar at Duke’s.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

The Little Gay Pub

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A cute Logan Circle corner formerly home to the Commodore got a new life in March as a stylish new gay bar outfitted with leather seating, an elegant marble bar, and artwork, serving a selection of snacks and cocktails. The Little Gay Pub’s founders Benjamin Gander, Dito Sevilla, and Dusty Martinez have a combined 30-year hospitality career working at places likeNumber Nine,Trade, and the bar underFloriana. Meanwhile, D.C.’s LGBTQ club scene grew this yearwith the arrival of subterranean DJ/dance hallBunkerin the old Tropicalia space on 14th and U Streets NW.

Upstairs at the Morrow

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Michelin-starred chef Nicholas Stefanelli, who broughtFrench restaurant Le Clouto the foot of the stylish new 200-roomMorrow Hotelin December,just addeda chic upstairs counterpart to enjoy Champagne, top-shelf tequila, spritzes, fancied-up pickleback shots, playful drinking snacks, and sushi. The sprawling rooftop venue near the Union Market district, with room for 75 outside and 60 inside, is outfitted with lounge-style couches, fire pits, heaters, and a wraparound bar with views of the Capitol to the Washington Monument.

Order fireside spritzes at Upstairs at the Morrow.
Nico Castro

Playa Ocho Cantina

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Hill Restaurant Group turned itsCaribbean seafood spot Tortuga變成一個活潑、二級dresse墨西哥餐廳d in Day of the Dead decor with a fire pit-lined rooftop overlooking Barracks Row. Color-soaked Playa Ocho opened in March with guacamole prepared tableside, frozen sangrias, a long list of agave spirits, Mexican beers, and generous goblets of margaritas made with its own sour mix. Dishes include stuffed peppers, enchiladas, sizzling fajitas, and a $30 bottomless Taco Tuesday deal.

Swingers Crazy Golf - Navy Yard

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Adults-onlySwingers Crazy Golfteed off in Navy Yard in March. Situated a block away from Nationals Park, theridiculously large, 23,000-square-foot entertainment venueboasts three bars, three golf courses, four eateries, multiple lounges, a merchandise shop, and 3-D photo booth. It’s thesecond D.C. locationfor the wacky, British-born brand that builds its 21-and-up bars around “crazy golf,” or the British term for miniature golf. Navy Yard’s Swingers takes its proximity to the water and the ballpark to heart, going for a British seaside resort-meets-sports pub.

Swingers offers a mix of modern lounge and bar seating.
Paul Winch-Furness

Trouble Bird

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D.C. sommelier and restaurateur Brent Kroll flipped hisMaxwell Parkwine bar in Navy Yard into a cool cocktail bar decked out in disco ballsin late February. Bartenders and friends Justin Cara-Donna and Andrew Hurn, alums of D.C.’s award-winning cocktail denSilver Lyan, open with a breakfast-for-dinner cocktail theme. Think: a “flapjack” Old Fashioned (bourbon and mezcal with brown butter, maple, and buckwheat bitters) and “Everything Bagel Sazerac” punched up with sesame aquavit and chive gomme.

Trouble Bird replaced Maxwell Park last month.
Tierney Plumb/Eater DC

Johnny's All American Cafe and Bar

Johnny’s All American recently backfilled the space beloved Filipino restaurant Bad Saint left behind. Owner and Ohioan Branden Givand bills the bar as a fancy dive with margaritas, Sazeracs, burgers, beer-and-shot combos, DC Brau’s Old Time Lager, and Miller High Life. The laid-back setup adds morning hours this weekend with coffee, egg sandwiches, doughnuts, and a cherry blossom-themed brunch on Sunday, April 2.

Alegria Bar

Situated in Edgewood’sshiny new Bryant Street Market food hall, Alegria Bar builds on the success of 14th Street NW’s agave standbyTequila & Mezcal. Its 26-seat offshoot in Northeast showcases more than just margaritas and Mexican spirits, looping in Latin flavors like hibiscus, various fruits, and cacao to make an espresso martini. A draft and bottled beer list swings from Mexican brews like Pacifico to local favorites like Streetcar 82 Brewing Co. in Hyattsville, and a canned cocktail system lets patrons to take the party to-go. In lieu of traditional happy hour, a “martini hour” lets drinkers at the L-shaped setup sample dirty and pineapple martinis in mini portions. The same family also imported their popular Columbia Heights taco spotTaqueria Habaneroto the food hall.

Cocktails at Alegria Bar.
Bryant Street Market

CODE RED

A Prohibition-era cocktail barsauntered into Adams Morgan in Marchwith smoked Old Fashioned service, time-intensive Chicago fizzes, and throwback nods to the Roaring ’20s. Code Red, the brainchild of AC Hotel GM Mark Namdar and his son, takes the lengthy space that housed Bom Korean Fried Chicken up until a year ago (and was Millie & Al’s before that). The surf-and-turf menu, listed as “Bill of Fare,” includes apps and small plates like wagyu beef sliders, crispy artichokes, charcuterie, and char-grilled prawns, with more to come.

Two cocktails are part of Code Red’s tableside “crystal” service.
Life Expressed Online

Baja Tap

Adams Morgan welcomed a massive new Mexican bar in time for spring, complete with two floors, a patio, and rare feature for the nightlife strip: an airy rooftop. Le Diplomate’s former sous chef and Guerrero native Alfredo Solano leads the kitchen with a lengthy menu full of ceviches and towers of tacos, chimichangas, salsas, and guacamoles. Weekday happy hour (4 p.m. to 7 p.m.) calls for $5 margaritas, Mexican drafts, and sangrias, plus $3 street-style tacos and $2 Coronas on Wednesdays. Baja Tap comes from Wave Group, the team behind Arlington’s Nighthawk Brewery & Pizza. Decor includes retro wallpaper, a suspended motorcycle upon entry, and California-cool photographs shot by aSan Diego-based friendof Baja partner and fellow JMU alum Scott Parker.

Baja Tap bring all sorts of margs to Adams Morgan.
Open Ventures

The Owl Room

The Owl Roomwent live this month在舊的馬文的兩層樓房。華盛頓特區nightlife veterans Scott Herman and Ken Brobeck conceptualized the new club that pays homage to D.C.’s underground dance scene alongside Marvin’s returning co-owner Eric Hilton. The anticipated, DJ-driven replacement operates more like a bonafide music venue with a box office. A full-scale, ’70s-chic renovation dripping with disco balls and artsy odes to owls reimagines the space with a main dance floor and stage for live performances, plus a second-floor bar with an open-air patio.

Retro-styled Owl Room is decked out with burnt orange seating and walls.
Mykl Wu

District Alley

This neon-lit hideaway made its debut in an alleyway off U Street NW earlier this year. The versatile venue features all-night happy hour on Thursdays, sports-watching parties, themed hip-hop nights, table reservations, and bottle service options.

Rakia Bar at Ambar Shaw

去擁抱它new nightlife neighborhood in Shaw, all-you-can-eat Balkan brand Ambar turns its upstairs level into a lounge-y, garden-like space with a retractable roof, lots of greenery, and pink touches during cherry blossom season. The second-floor rakia cocktail bar, fueled by the famous brandy-style Balkan liquor and weekend DJs, sets this new Ambar apart from the others in Capitol Hill and Clarendon. Once unlimited dinner concludes on weekends, the bar continues to serve a limited menu based on Belgrade street food like cevapi and bacon-wrapped chicken. Late-night service on Fridays and Saturdays runs 11:30 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Ambar’s “Kao Cacao” cocktail features aged rum, cacao Campari, pineapple, and raspberry cordial.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

Duke's Grocery

The British-style gastropub for fancy sandwiches and snack platesunveiled its fourth D.C. location— and biggest bar yet — in Navy Yard in late February. Located a one-block walk from Nationals Park, Duke’s imports familiar favorites like its epic weekday happy hour (noon to 7 p.m.), when beers, wines, and cocktails cost $5-$9, bottomless brunch, multiple types of mules served in copper cups, beer-battered fish and chips, and of course, itsessential burgerthat carries a registered trademark.

British icons like Kate Moss and Alfred Hitchcock watch over the 40-seat bar at Duke’s.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

The Little Gay Pub

A cute Logan Circle corner formerly home to the Commodore got a new life in March as a stylish new gay bar outfitted with leather seating, an elegant marble bar, and artwork, serving a selection of snacks and cocktails. The Little Gay Pub’s founders Benjamin Gander, Dito Sevilla, and Dusty Martinez have a combined 30-year hospitality career working at places likeNumber Nine,Trade, and the bar underFloriana. Meanwhile, D.C.’s LGBTQ club scene grew this yearwith the arrival of subterranean DJ/dance hallBunkerin the old Tropicalia space on 14th and U Streets NW.

Upstairs at the Morrow

Michelin-starred chef Nicholas Stefanelli, who broughtFrench restaurant Le Clouto the foot of the stylish new 200-roomMorrow Hotelin December,just addeda chic upstairs counterpart to enjoy Champagne, top-shelf tequila, spritzes, fancied-up pickleback shots, playful drinking snacks, and sushi. The sprawling rooftop venue near the Union Market district, with room for 75 outside and 60 inside, is outfitted with lounge-style couches, fire pits, heaters, and a wraparound bar with views of the Capitol to the Washington Monument.

Order fireside spritzes at Upstairs at the Morrow.
Nico Castro

Playa Ocho Cantina

Hill Restaurant Group turned itsCaribbean seafood spot Tortuga變成一個活潑、二級dresse墨西哥餐廳d in Day of the Dead decor with a fire pit-lined rooftop overlooking Barracks Row. Color-soaked Playa Ocho opened in March with guacamole prepared tableside, frozen sangrias, a long list of agave spirits, Mexican beers, and generous goblets of margaritas made with its own sour mix. Dishes include stuffed peppers, enchiladas, sizzling fajitas, and a $30 bottomless Taco Tuesday deal.

Swingers Crazy Golf - Navy Yard

Adults-onlySwingers Crazy Golfteed off in Navy Yard in March. Situated a block away from Nationals Park, theridiculously large, 23,000-square-foot entertainment venueboasts three bars, three golf courses, four eateries, multiple lounges, a merchandise shop, and 3-D photo booth. It’s thesecond D.C. locationfor the wacky, British-born brand that builds its 21-and-up bars around “crazy golf,” or the British term for miniature golf. Navy Yard’s Swingers takes its proximity to the water and the ballpark to heart, going for a British seaside resort-meets-sports pub.

Swingers offers a mix of modern lounge and bar seating.
Paul Winch-Furness

Trouble Bird

D.C. sommelier and restaurateur Brent Kroll flipped hisMaxwell Parkwine bar in Navy Yard into a cool cocktail bar decked out in disco ballsin late February. Bartenders and friends Justin Cara-Donna and Andrew Hurn, alums of D.C.’s award-winning cocktail denSilver Lyan, open with a breakfast-for-dinner cocktail theme. Think: a “flapjack” Old Fashioned (bourbon and mezcal with brown butter, maple, and buckwheat bitters) and “Everything Bagel Sazerac” punched up with sesame aquavit and chive gomme.

Trouble Bird replaced Maxwell Park last month.
Tierney Plumb/Eater DC

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