Restaurants with great cocktails in DC

October 21, 2019 8:32 AM

Hi! Please tell me about your favorite restaurants in Washington, DC that have excellent cocktail programs. Thanks!
posted by DavidNYC to Food & Drink (15 answers total)

Iron Gate is my favorite! It’s right by DuPont Circle and was my go-to spot to grab drinks before I moved out of DC.
posted by saltypup at 8:37 AM on October 21, 2019 [1 favorite]

Tiger Fork has some really tasty, unique cocktails.
posted by solotoro at 8:41 AM on October 21, 2019 [1 favorite]

There are a lot of great options. My two personal favorites are Copycat on H St and Passenger in Shaw. Unless you want to get ridiculous, then you can hit up Columbia Room in Blagden Alley or Dram & Grain in Adams Morgan.
posted by General Malaise at 8:58 AM on October 21, 2019

General Malaise, if I'm not mistaken, those are by and large bars rather than restaurants, yes? I also believe Dram & Grain is still closed.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 10:11 AM on October 21, 2019

The Royal in Shaw. A cafe more than a full-on restaurant but excellent.
posted by ferret branca at 10:15 AM on October 21, 2019

Little Coco's (Italian, Petworth), Room 11 (upscale American, Columbia Heights), Daikaya Izakaya (Japanese small bites, Chinatown), Teddy & the Bully Bar (American, Foggy Bottom) and sister restaurant Lincoln (American, Logan Circle) are all restaurants I would rate as having great cocktail programs.

Service Bar (American, U St), Archipelago (tiki bar/Sichuan, U St), Petworth Citizen (Petworth), and Hank's Cocktail Bar (seafood, inside Hank's Oyster Bar, Dupont Circle) are all great cocktail bars that also serve good food.
posted by capricorn at 10:16 AM on October 21, 2019

HM to Hanumanh (Laotian/tiki cocktails) in Shaw, but only if a shorter menu/lighter meal works for your group.
posted by capricorn at 10:18 AM on October 21, 2019 [1 favorite]

I had a cocktail I loved and made several times thereafter at Jaleo.
posted by less of course at 10:34 AM on October 21, 2019 [1 favorite]

The Hamilton is good and I love Room 11!
posted by jgirl at 11:43 AM on October 21, 2019

In nearby Silver Spring, MD: don't miss Mrs. K's Toll House. Opened in the 1930s, full of charm, and (rumor has it) is where Eleanor Roosevelt used to pick up the occasional ladyfriend winkwink nudgenudge. Cocktails 10/10.
posted by SinAesthetic at 2:00 PM on October 21, 2019 [1 favorite]

If you're OK getting cocktails at a place that doesn't serve food, I highly, highly recommend barmini by José Andrés. I don't even like cocktails all that much, but I still daydream a bit about the ones I had here and thought they were worth every penny. (It's a good idea to make a reservation in advance.)
posted by Key Lime at 4:22 PM on October 21, 2019 [2 favorites]

Rasika (Penn Quarter) and its sister restaurant Rasika West End have great food and a small list of unusual cocktails.
posted by Preserver at 7:07 PM on October 21, 2019

Bar mini does serve some food. Every single drink and bite that I had there was delicious and worth the cost. Truly delicious and a fun experience. Seconding key lime's suggestion to make reservations.
posted by jennstra at 2:33 PM on October 22, 2019

A Rake's Progress and Brothers and Sisters in the Line Hotel in Adams Morgan both have excellent food and very serious cocktail programs—Brothers and Sisters is a bit more Asian-inflected, A Rake's Progress is focused on very local ingredients and fairly historical-influenced preparation. I once had a Ti' Punch at A Rake's Progress that was a local-ish agricole-style rum, plus verjus and sugarcane juice that they pressed behind the bar. Amazing.

The Dabney in Blagden Alley also does excellent cocktails and locally sourced food, for more of a cozy rathskeller vibe compared to ARP's second-floor balcony ex-church space.
posted by zingiberene at 6:47 PM on October 22, 2019 [1 favorite]

OMG, I forgot The Green Zone! It's a Middle Eastern cocktail bar in Adams Morgan with some of the most interesting drinks in DC. I was also thinking earlier about Lucky Buns (Adams Morgan, burger place with awesome cocktails and Southeast Asian flair, though n.b. it's tiny) and No Kisses (Park View, "secret" (but not really) 70s throwback cocktail bar in the back of a no-frills pizza place).
posted by capricorn at 6:14 AM on October 23, 2019