Dupont Circle

A long-time neighborhood coffee shop that roasts its own beans. The biggest draw is the plentiful, shaded outdoor seating, which fills up with laptops free WiFi and plenty of outdoor outlets! checking emails while enjoying some good 17th St people watching.

Jolt 'N Bolt

Another neighborhood outdoor seating and WiFi coffee shop, this one with a more private seating area on the side of the building. The inside is attractive, decorated with local artwork.

Steam distinguishes itself from the other independent neighborhood coffee shops by staying up late. It's mellow, plays classical music, and has particularly reliable WiFi.

Gay central! On weekends, and even weeknights, JR's is packed with fashion-conscious yuppie gay men, although there is no dress code, and the crowd isn't snobby-judgmental. In general, the friendly people are the reason to come—otherwise it's just a very crowded bar. Monday show tunes nights are very popular.

A classy place at the bottom of the Dupont Hotel with the best people watching in town through its wall of windows right on Dupont Circle. The drinks are excellent, and the happy hour special—$5 for their signature cocktails—is quite a bargain for this location.

The Big Hunt is another very popular, very large bar right off the circle, full of friendly twenty and thirty-something singles. The safari theme throughout is interesting, but those comfy booths are the number one reason to have your beers here—if you can get one, that is. If not, there are plenty of other places to explore. The red basement has extraordinarily bizarre decor, and is a lot quieter for conversations. There are three levels including a rooftop and and second bar room and basement that occasionally open to accommodate overflow.

Huge bar located in basement right off Dupont Circle. Popular among fraternity boys, but a good place to watch football games, drink beer, and play billiards. Serves appetizers till late.

Black men's gay bar that serves decent brick-oven baked pizzas. Always crowded—to the point of spilling out onto the street—after dark. Upstairs sees dancing on a very dimly lit dance floor.

There's one big reason to visit this bar, and it's the big, friendly, low-key patio on the street—this is some of the best people watching in the city. Not a bad place to spot celebrities of the entertainment variety.

An upscale lounge where you can hear yourself talk is a find in Dupont Circle, but that's hardly the only hook. The excellent mixed drinks take a back seat in popularity to the hookahs, old Looney Tunes cartoons run on big flatscreens, and then there is the inaccessibly crowded patio overlooking the street.

Remodeled in 2010, this bar features 500 different beers on the menu, including around 20 on tap. The servers are remarkably knowledgeable if you are looking for particular recommendations—and they might talk you out of that second rate Zimbabwean lager you just ordered in favor of a far superior Mosi from Zambia. Try the sweet potato fries.

A fratboy-ish fake Irish pub/sports bar is really a breath of fresh air in this pretentious neighborhood. The big hook here is the soccer—about 25 TV screens of it every night. Weekends are when the frat-boy ethos can start to get tiresome, unless you really like the crowded, drunken, yuppie-college bar scene. $3 beers during happy hour 4PM-8PM.

This address, despite being just off the circle, has a doomed reputation—not one business has had long term success here. One can only hope that One Lounge proves an exception, because it has the best drinks in the area bar none. The small portions of gourmet food are also very welcome, and it is a comfortable, fashionable, and usually not-too-noisy space to have some good late night conversation.

Townhouse Tavern

This may be Dupont's only neighborhood bar. No red bulls, no $15 drinks, no pretension of any sort. Just a good ol' dive bar.

A romantic, dimly lit wine bar with comfy seating. Perfect for a date. Unless it's F-Sa, when it's far too crowded to be romantic, or really worth going to at all. Unlike many wine bars, you come here just for the wine and cheese—it's not really a restaurant. Wine by glass, flight, or bottle.

D.C.'s most famous club may have gone to lengths not to become so no sign, no publicity, but was destined to fail to be obscure. Thievery Corporation, the owners, have long been the biggest name in the local music scene, but lately they have become one of the bigger names in electronica internationally. It's a multi-level house party most nights of the week, with the best DJs in town, bossa nova weekends on the third floor, and a swanky atmosphere. The door policy is strict, so dress nicely and wear your best fashion. The crowd inside is both sophisticated, older, and pretty low-key. If you're not in the mood for a party, check out Thievery Corp's music anyway—you'll probably recognize a few tracks from movies, TV commercials, etc. Popular for their Wednesday night Reggae shows.

A very trendy 18+ gay club, popular particularly among Asians. Features a glass dance floor on the second floor. many contemporary paintings throughout the club. Hypnotic imagery on flat screen TVs and the wave walls. Many professional dancers wearing mesh clothing. Free entry on Thursdays.

A super-crowded Latin salsa/reggaeton dance club that is one of the best bets for a good party on a weekday. Weekends are too crowded to dance. Definitely try one of their renowned mojitos. No cover, strict door policy i.e. no shorts allowed.

Cafe Japone

The upper floor of this sushi restaurant is one of the only karaoke bars around, and a good place to watch drunken crooners, or become one. Downstairs is a little-known no-cover lounge, that actually draws some very respected DJs on occasion, and has very funky decor.

This club is one of many gay hotspots in D.C., set apart mostly for the fact that people with differing tastes will be happy. The first floor is a fairly relaxed bar scene where you can chat, while the upstairs club is thumping, raucous, and dancing. The shirtless bartenders are also a draw.

An 18+ gay club, with free entry on Thursdays with a Student ID. The crowd here is young, with a large contingent of college students on any given night, particularly from GW. It's a big multi-level venue, with more than its fair share of campy dance music. Weekly drag shows on Saturdays.

A gay/lesbian bar/club friendly to all, but particularly popular with the ladies for its more laid-back atmosphere on weeknights and regular dyke nights, especially the popular "A Different Kind of Ladies Night" every Friday.

A relative newcomer, this is one of the more fun hip hop clubs in the city, designed to look like you're dancing inside a 747 airplane, with waitresses in stewardess costumes, and home to the hottest hip hop DJs in D.C. The downside here, rather obviously, is that it's a bit cramped dancing inside an airplane.

One of D.C.'s most venerable gay clubs formerly The Frat House, with a little something for everyone and anyone. There's an always caffeinated dance floor, a piano bar, and even a cigar and martini bar where you'll run into some tired puns. Locals like to claim that they're too cool for this place, under the rationale that it's old news, but everyone still comes and has a good time.

A self proclaimed cigar and martini bar, which at times seems much more of a swanky, upscale, four-floor dance club than anything else. The crowds get thick F-Sa, which makes for a good night of dancing, while weeknights are better for heading to the first floor bar for that cigar and martini. The cigar menu is long and impressive.