The COVID-19 pandemic still casts a pall over St. Patrick’s Day this year, but the Irish holiday sure looks a lot brighter than it did in 2020. Days before enacting a dine-in ban, D.C.rescinded licenses for major bar crawls, and a year of extreme challenges for the hospitality industry was just beginning. This year, Washington bars and restaurants are used to navigating restrictions such as a 25 percent limit on indoor dining and a 10 p.m. cutoff for alcohol consumption. They’ll be turning their tap lines green, offering specials on Irish whiskey and Guinness galore, and sending out Emerald Isle favorites from the kitchen. St. Patrick’s Day falls on Wednesday, March 17, but many establishments got the party started earlier. Here are 19 places to celebrate in D.C.
D.C. allows indoor dining at 25 percent capacity. Many restaurants offer outdoor seating, but this should not be taken as endorsement for dining out, as there are still safety concerns. The Washington Post istrackingcoronavirus cases and deaths in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. More information can be found atcoronavirus.dc.gov. Studies indicate that there is a lower exposure risk when outdoors, but the level of risk involved with patio dining is contingent on restaurants following strict social distancing and other safety guidelines.
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