The Best Places to Drink and Stay in Downtown D.C.

1. James Beard Awards 2025 · Winner · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Carlos Delgado
2. Esquire The Best Bars in America
3. The Rammys Finalist · Cocktail Program of the Year

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

A few blocks from the Capitol, this Irish-owned hotel chose to name itself after a Dublin park rather than lean into its politically charged zip code, which tells you something about its personality. Guest rooms run deep indigo against silver and white, elegant without being stuffy. The Dubliner downstairs is exactly the Irish pub you'd conjure if you closed your eyes and wished hard enough. Lobbyists tend to book elsewhere, which is probably a point in its favor.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

A ten-story glass atrium sets the tone for this Capitol Hill hotel, which hangs commissioned artwork where most business-district properties hang generic prints. Rooms are spacious by DC standards, with pillow-top beds and Egyptian cotton sheets, and the gym and yoga studio are genuinely solid. Bistro du Jour turns out French classics in a room ornate enough that you almost believe it. Union Station is a short walk; the Supreme Court, a little less so.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

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. Washingtonian 9 Great Pubs for a Full Irish Breakfast Around DC

1. Washingtonian 9 Great Pubs for a Full Irish Breakfast Around DC