The Top 19 Cocktail Bars Near Un je ne sais Quoi...

1. The Pinnacle Guide 2 Pins
2. 50 Best #34 · North America's 50 Best Bars
3. Eater Best Night Out · The 2025 Eater DC Award Winners

1. Spirited Awards 2025 · Winner · U.S. Bartender of the Year · Christine Kim
2. The Pinnacle Guide 1 Pin
3. 50 Best #39 · North America's 50 Best Bars

1. The Rammys Finalist · Best Bar of the Year
2. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.

1. The Pinnacle Guide 2 Pins
2. 50 Best #55 · North America's 50 Best Bars
3. Esquire Silver Service Martini · The Best Martinis in America

Sichuan cooking and serious cocktails share equal billing at this Dupont Circle spot, which holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and lands on Eater's list of D.C.'s top cocktail bars. The menu runs funky and affordable, with cumin lamb that arrives tender and vivid with spice. No reservations needed if you're happy at the bar, which always has room and is probably where the better conversations are happening anyway.

1. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
2. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.

1. Difford's Guide 4 stars · Difford's Guide
2. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.

1. The Rammys Finalist · Cocktail Program of the Year
2. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.

1. James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Outstanding Bar Program
2. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.
3. Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East

1. Washingtonian #75 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
2. Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East

1. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.

A back-alley cocktail bar from Erik Bruner-Yang and Paola Velez, where the food refuses to stay in its lane. The menu riffs on Taiwan and El Salvador in the same breath, papusas share space with gochujang mayo, and the baked Alaska, a Washingtonian dish of the year, arrives under torched Dominican meringue hiding guava shaved ice and whatever surprises the kitchen buried underneath. Bon Appétit named it one of America's best new bars, and the room earns the fuss.

1. Bon Appétit America's Best New Bars
2. Punch Ni de Aqui Ni de Alla · Our Favorite Cocktails
3. Eater Bar of the Year

1. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.

1. The Pinnacle Guide 1 Pin

1. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.
2. Spirited Awards 2025 · Top 10 U.S. Nominee · U.S. Bartender of the Year · Andra “AJ” Johnson
3. Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East

1. Eater Best New Bar · The 2025 Eater DC Award Winners
2. Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East

The martini here comes with pickled shiitake mushrooms, kombu, and bonito flakes, which tells you most of what you need to know about Bar Chinois. It's a French wine bar by aesthetic and an Asian dim sum spot by appetite, and the kitchen takes both halves seriously. The cocktails are genuinely theatrical, and the dumplings, shrimp toast, and braised pork meatball give you every reason to stay past the second round.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
2. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.

1. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.

1. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.

1. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.