Need a new place to get your drink on? D.C. has no shortage of new watering holes; in fact, bars keep opening up so fast that our livers can barely keep up. So we’ve taken an inventory of drinking establishments that have opened within the past 12 months and selected our favorites. These are the places that stuck with us: the bars we kept coming back to and will be getting our hard earned dollars into 2015 and beyond.
Photo by Clif Burns.
ALL SOULS: Already settled into an unassuming, make-it-your-home-away-from-home kind of space in Shaw, All Souls is the kind of neighborhood bar every neighborhood wishes they had. They’ve pared everything down to a manageable size, from the number of seats available (30) to the number of drinks on the menu (limited but with no duds). You can nosh on nuts and a few other snacks that won’t distract from your drinking, or you can bring your own food when you need something more substantial. There’s a jukebox to feed if you feel so inclined. Don’t leave without trying the bar’s eponymous cocktail, a glass of sparkling rose revved up with a shot of Maker’s Mark.—Jenny Holm
All Souls is located at 725 T Street NW.
BARREL: Classy is not a word I associate with my visits to the now-shuttered 18th Amendment on Barracks Row. It’s replacement, however, is another story. The beautifully remodeled Barrel is a send-up to all things Southern, especially bourbon. Their “brown water” menu features over 100 different varieties of whiskey with prices to suit both the casual drinker to the connoisseur. If brown liquor isn’t your thing, there’s also a solid domestic craft beer list as well as house barrel-aged cocktails. Head downstairs to the rustic Elixer Bar for a rotating selection of “elixers”; each week, the bar staff picks a different featured flavor and devises creative cocktails utilizing unexpected ingredients, like basil-infused olive oil. While the setting kind of looks like a scene out of Boardwalk Empire, Prohibition never tasted this good —Alicia Mazzara
Barrel is located at 613 Pennsylvania Avenue SE.
BROOKLAND PINT: Nestled in the Monroe Street Market development, Brookland Pint brings a much-needed infusion of craft beer to Northeast Washington. While there are a number of similarities to sister spot Meridian Pint in Columbia Heights—starting with the name—this is a much more laid back bar. But the beer selection continues to impress. Brookland Pint boasts two dozen drafts plus a slew of bottles that include familiar favorites as well as more rare finds. The rotation here is heavy on local beers. 3 Stars Basement At The Alamo and Right Proper’s Bringing In The Sheaves are currently among the local beers on tap. Brookland Pint is perfect for a casual date, trying a few new brews alone (pull up a stool at the bar), or grabbing a solid and reasonably priced dinner. When warmer temperatures return, don’t forget to check out the patio or snag a seat by the windows at the counter between the restaurant and patio. —Juana Summers
Brookland Pint is located at 716 Monroe Street NE.
BROOKLAND’S FINEST: This bar certainly lives up to its name—it’s located in Brookland, the burgeoning northeast neighborhood, and is quite fine. There’s an assortment of tasty pub food on offer, lots of local brews, and even a cute patio for lounging in warmer months. Definitely fits the bill if you’re looking for a charming and understated spot, even if it requires a trip across town.—Victoria Finkle
Brookland’s Finest is located at 3126 12th Street NE.
CHAPLIN’S RESTAURANT AND BAR: A sexy vibe and happening crowd surrounds the bar at Chaplin’s Restaurant and Bar in Shaw. Black and white films play. The wall by the entrance sports an old-timey mural paying tribute to Charlie, the silent film actor. Many ingredient cocktails, named after his movies, like The Tramp and A Woman of Paris, spout out of 13 taps. Brothers and co-owners Micah and Ari Wilder have brought in chef Myo Htun, previously of Ren’s Ramen in Wheaton, to take over the kitchen. The connection between Charlie Chaplin, ramen, and draft cocktails, can be a little hard to understand just as the concept of adult dumpling shooters is, but it makes for an appealing hodgepodge.—Josh Novikoff
Chaplin’s Restaurant and Bar is located at 1501 9th Street NW.
COPYCAT CO.: Copycat Co. may be another bar on H Street NE with a concept. Potstickers, steamed bao, and meat skewers are all available over the counter downstairs and upstairs at the bar, which has a theme a little like the movie “Chinatown.” Cocktails are all $11, and they keep it interesting by focusing on a style…one week smashes, fizzes the next. If every place has to have a concept, I hope that we see more like this one: fun, not super serious, and not super expensive. —Josh Kramer
Copycat Co. is located at 1110 H Street NE.
DRAM AND GRAIN: The premise behind Dram and Grain is, admittedly, pretty convoluted. The tiny basement “speakeasy” underneath Jack Rose requires you to text a number for reservations for one of three seating times (6:30, 9, or 11:30 p.m.) on Friday or Saturday. A much-coveted seat can book up weeks in advance. There is a two drink minimum, and that meticulously crafted cocktail will run you in the range of $15. Oh, and they kick everyone out after 2 hours to make way for the next seating. If this sounds like an elitist nightmare, Dram and Grain is not your kind of bar. But for cocktail enthusiasts looking to try a drink that might be at home on the menu of The Columbia Room or PX, then Dram and Grain is worth jumping through all the hoops. Bartender theatrics can sometimes border on the Harry Potter-esque (think fire, smoke, and things in weird-shaped bottles), but that’s all part of the experience. If you want to level-up your cocktail game, this is the hip place to do it. Pro-tip: Dram and Grain has added a limited number of walk-in only standing tables and recently began opening on Thursdays on first-come, first-serve basis.—Alicia Mazzara
Dram and Grain is located at 2007 18th Street NW.
Photo by Aaron Del Giudice.
IVY AND CONEY:Climbing the stairs up to Ivy and Coney is like walking into a college friend’s apartment, one that welcomes you in with an assortment of couches and arm chairs, lots of cold beer, and TVs playing sports. No-frills is the phrase that comes to mind. It’s a laid-back place, opened in January of this year as an ode to the owners’ home cities of Detroit and Chicago&mdashlwhen baseball season starts, Cubs and Tigers games take precedence over the Nats—so if you’re feeling nostalgic for the Midwest, you’ll feel right at home. Regardless of your origin, Ivy and Coney is a great spot for cheap beer, free peanuts, and relaxed conversation. —Elizabeth Packer
Ivy and Coney is located at 1537 7th Street NW.
LOST AND FOUND: I live around the corner from Lost and Found, so I awaited its November opening with eager anticipation. It’s a great neighborhood bar, with friendly bartenders, a large selection of rotating, reasonably priced drafts, and an extensive list of whiskey to keep you warm through the winter. Plus, while they offer bags of chips and sandwiches from the Carving Room, you’re also welcome to bring your own food (hello Sundevich!), which is a nice perk. Lost and Found recently started a happy hour, and come spring, the back bar’s glass garage door will open up. In the meantime, if you happen to have an old stool laying around, you can try bringing that by—in keeping with the bar’s name, found objects like bar stools can potentially be traded in for beer, not a bad deal in my book. Though the narrow space, with its license-plate covered walls, can get loud when crowded, Lost and Found is a welcome addition to Shaw. —Elizabeth Packer
Lost and Found is located at 1240 9th Street NW.
LYMAN’S TAVERN: Lyman’s Tavern has it all: cheap beer, friendly bartenders, pinball, delicious bar food, pinball, free drinks on your birthday, pinball, a hand-stitched sign in the bathroom politely asking patrons to not do coke, jello shots, pinball, a good jukebox with at least three non-shitty Metallica albums, pinball, and a cozy, unpretentious space that’s ideal for hanging out with friends. Oh, did I mention they have pinball? I didn’t? They have five machines there. I’ve probably spent $300 on pinball there since it’s opened. Oh well. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ —Matt Cohen
Lyman’s Tavern is located at 3720 14th Street NW.
MCCLELLAN’S RETREAT: One thing that new bars struggle to capture is the illusion that they are not new. People want their neighborhood watering hole to have a history; they want it to feel like a lived in and long beloved cornerstone of the community. McClellan’s Retreat achieves this historical presence through attention to detail in their drinks and décor. Just opened in November, this small bar is a retreat in many ways. It is a place to wind down, regroup, and fortify oneself in a 19th Century atmosphere. Guests sit at heavily grooved wooden tabletops and order from menus that look like Civil War era maps. Iron-cased lanterns dimly light the bar, and even the liquor on the shelves seems to belong to the pre-Prohibition era of subtler labels. Josh Fatemi’s cocktails are forefront on the menu with interesting revisions to classics—the Sazerac, Martini, and Old Fashioned—as well as Civil War-themed drinks. All of the cocktails come with an interesting house-made ingredient: like orange bitters in the Martini, the spiced gomme syrup present in the 39th Infantry, and the pistachio, saffron tincture that highlights the Barren Hill. The cocktails take time, both in the preparation of these ingredients and in the meticulous process of mixing and chilling the liquor, but it is well worth the wait. —Nathan Wilkinson
McClellan’s Retreat is located at 2031 Florida Avenue NW.
McClelland’s Retreat. Photo by Nathan Wilkinson.
POP’S SEA BAR: Pop’s is a great place to end an evening with a late night weekend happy hour of $3 beers, $5 cocktails, and $1 oysters after midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. This taste of the Jersey Shore comes off casual but a little classier than the MTV version of the summer getaway. The orange crush goes all fancy by adding aquavit and combier to the standard orange juice and vodka combo. And you can drink amaro poured down the side of an ice cream sandwich. Well, maybe that’s a little trashy, as is putting Taylor pork roll on a burger with egg and American cheese. But Jersey you came for, and Jersey you shall get! Plus there are fried smelts. —Josh Novikoff
Pop’s Sea Bar is located at 1817 Columbia Road NW.
RIGHT PROPER BREWERY: Although Right Proper opened in December last year, we felt that it was important to give them their due here. After all, we’ve included Right Proper on our lists for Best Grilled Cheese, Best Sandwiches, and Best Cheese Plates. We even reviewed their bathrooms. They make their own beer, and it’s good. The food is quirky, tasty, and reasonably priced. Right Proper has helped Shaw establish itself this year, and refined the idea of a D.C. Brewpub. Next year, look forward to more from Right Proper as they expand into a new brewery and beyond. —Josh Kramer
Right Proper is located at 624 T Street NW.
Photo by Rob Kunzig.
ROOFER’S UNION: Adams Morgan got a little classier this year when Roofers Union started grilling up sausages and pouring craft beers in the building formerly home to The Reef. The bar has since expanded its options to include music performances and a laid-back brunch. The three-story bar is likely to satisfy any boozy craving, whether you choose to enjoy a cocktail at the first floor bar or head to the roof for some local brews. —Travis Mitchell
Roofer’s Union is located at 2446 18th Street NW.
SAUF HAUS BIER HALL: It can get crowded, but its hard to top the location and festive atmosphere of this Dupont Circle bar, which includes multiple floors and a rooftop beer garden. Settle in with a liter of one of many available German draft beers, including multiple styles from Hofbrau, Spaten and Franziskaner. Should hunger strike, consider gathering some friends to help tackle the monster, two-pound pretzel. —Travis Mitchell
Sauf Haus is located at 1216 18th Street NW.
THE SHEPPARD: The path to Spike Mendelsohn’s speakeasy runs through a nondescript office building lobby and up an unassuming elevator. The small, dimly-lit bar serves classic and modern cocktails from a frequently-changing menu. Drinkers also have the option to order from a list of light bar snacks. —Travis Mitchell
The Sheppard is located at 1337 Connecticut Avenue NW.
AND A FAREWELL TO THE BARS WE LOST IN 2014: While it’s exciting to think of all the new places the city gained this year, let’s also take a moment to remember the bars that we lost. This year saw the closure of several popular watering holes, places that will be missed by their loyal attendees. Mount Pleasant Street had its stock of bars cut in half when Tonic closed in June, though fans should know that the owners’ second location, in Foggy Bottom, remains in business. While very different, the menu still has tater tots. In August, the Dupont basement dive Townhouse Tavern closed, eliciting a range of reactions and many recollections of its notoriety as a coke den. Duffy’s, a favorite of Nationals fans and considered by many the home of D.C.’s tastiest chicken wings, shuttered abruptly in November. And over on 7th Street, the trio of bars from the Brown brothers will soon all be gone…tiki-themed Hogo said goodbye in August, and The Passenger and Columbia Room will go dark on January 1st. The Columbia Room already has plans to relocate to Blagden Alley, but The Passenger’s future is less certain. For those wanting to get in a last visit, here’s a handy countdown to follow. —Elizabeth Packer
