Karaoke in DC

April 28, 2011 12:45 PM

What is the best Friday night karaoke joint in DC (or Metro-accessible)?

Here are the criteria:

* The place should have karaoke all night on Friday ("all night" meaning "until bar close"). Noraebang works, but it should be an affordable rate for, let's say, 12 people, and we should be able to reserve with <24 hrs. notice.

* If we roll into this place at 9 p.m. with 7 or 8 people really keen to sing some stuff, they should get a turn at the mic. In other words, it shouldn't be so crowded that you have to get on the DJ's list by 8 p.m. to sing.

* Metro-accessible: We'd prefer a location in the city itself, but VA or MD are OK if we can get there via Metro (subway, not bus).

* A nice-sized songbook would be great. We'll be looking for goodbye-themed and/or Colorado-themed music to sing. (It's a going-away outing for a friend who's moving to Colorado, if you couldn't figure that out.)

posted by mthomps00 to sports, hobbies, & recreation (6 answers total)

Perhaps Sticky Rice on H St NE or Champps in Pentagon City?
posted by zombieflanders at 1:02 PM on April 28, 2011

You could go the private-room direction at Muzette in Adams Morgan.

Alternatively, if you're actually getting there at 9, Brass Monkey (also Adams Morgan) could be okay; it definitely gets crowded/has long wait times, but usually not until a bit later. Kind of a crapshoot, though.
posted by inigo2 at 2:50 PM on April 28, 2011

I know there is a Japanese Bar/restaurant thing just west of Dupont Circle on P street between 20th and 21st that has karaoke that is almost always deserted (and slightly sketchy), though I would check with them ahead of time as when a bunch of my friends and I went there for the same purpose they didn't want us using the machine. Three blocks from the Dupont Circle metro.
posted by Blasdelb at 11:03 PM on April 28, 2011

That's Cafe Japonais (or something like that).
posted by inigo2 at 4:08 AM on April 29, 2011

inigo2 and basdelb are thinking of Cafe Japone. I'm not sure I would describe it as always deserted or sketchy - it's always full when I've been there on weekends, and its definetly not a dive.

That being said, Muzette (for a private room) and a lot of people is AWESOME. But you're gonna want to call ahead and reserve. It's pricey but a blast.
posted by waylaid at 5:20 AM on April 29, 2011

Thanks for the feedback, folks! We're going to start at the Brass Monkey at 9, and I reserved a room at Muzette for later in the evening.
posted by mthomps00 at 6:58 AM on April 29, 2011