George Washington University - Nightlife

Bravo Bravo is a huge, primarily Latin club popular enough to have been around for years (not too common when it comes to DC clubs). On weekends, when Bravo is open until 4 a.m., expect to find it packed pretty much all night. As with most major DC clubs, don’t show up looking like you just rolled out of bed.

Andalu plays a lot of house, trance, and international music, creating a different vibe from most clubs and bars around. Catering to a mostly European crowd, Andalu attracts GW students because of its dark atmosphere and interesting clientele. Drinks are expensive, people dress well, and you are likely to hear several languages being spoken. Andalu is a nice change from GW’s scene.

Very popular especially in the very first weeks of the fall semester, Fur has a little bit of everything. Numerous bars and lounge areas compliment an enormous dance floor that brings in big-name DJs for late-night dancing.

This gay club/bar is very popular among the gay community at GW, offering multiple bars, a huge dance floor, drag shows, and weekly karaoke.

A great sports bar (affiliated with the Red Sox, among others) with great bartenders, Rhino was included among the 20 best dive bars in the country by Stuff magazine. The bar offers 25 cent wings during football games on Saturday and Sunday (the price drops to 10 cents during Monday Night Football). Bud and Bud Light are $2 on Tuesdays, which is also poker night (with no buy-in).

A must on Thursday nights, Front Page has the best drink specials around—Coronas and Miller Lights are $1.50 from 5 p.m. until closing. The bar is a hotspot with the after-work and after-class crowd, so happy hours prove to be a blast. Front Page is a GW favorite because of its close proximity to campus, good music, hot and sweaty environment, and decent population of college students from around the city. Georgetown and American students frequent Front Page, as well.

Citron is a half-bar, half-lounge that offers much more reasonable prices (on food, and often on drinks) than its Dupont peers. The bar features live music and DJs, and a flamenco show on Mondays. After 10 p.m., Citron is 21-and-up.

Featuring games and dozens of TVs turned to sporting events (including one 16-foot screen), ESPN Zone is a great place for 18-and-over students to catch a game. Be aware, though, that during certain times of day (NFL Sundays, for instance), the establishment imposes a $10 per person, per hour minimum.

Like many other Dupont Circle bars, Lucky Bar offers decent drink specials—$2 Budweiser on Fridays, $1 Rolling Rock during happy hour. It does offer something those other bars don’t, however: soccer. Serving a diverse, international crowd, Lucky Bar shows soccer matches on its TVs almost exclusively, particularly for important World Cup or Champions League matches (during which there’s usually a drink minimum).

Located two doors down from Madhatter, Sign of the Whale is usually a blast. GW students sometimes refer to this classic-looking bar as a “dive,” but that does not stop them from downing cheap drinks and hanging out with friends. The bar sometimes attracts an older crowd, but there are usually plenty of GW students on hand. Plus, Sign has good food. On certain nights, there are half-price burgers and chicken sandwich specials, which go well with a beer.

Tom Tom is right in the heart of Adams Morgan, a beloved spot for students looking to bar hop. Tom Tom is a relatively casual bar that is usually packed with students and 20-somethings looking for music, drinks, and dancing. After hitting up Tom Tom and other Adams Morgan bars such as the Reef, head over to Pizza Mart for a late-night snack. The restaurant offers huge slices of pizza that students gobble up on their way home from a night of partying.

McFadden’s opened in spring 2003 and instantly became one of the hottest bars in the area. On weekend nights, the line to get in usually winds around the block. McFadden’s is casual but somewhat upscale, offering good drinks, good friends, and good times. Tuesday’s dollar beer night is especially popular. But don’t try using a fake ID—Metro Police are constantly patrolling McFadden’s because of its popularity.

Though it seems at first like a pleasant but small hole-in-the-wall, Brickskeller can boast something not many bars can—it’s in the Guinness Book of World Records, due to the enormity of its beer selection (at the time it was awarded its title, Brickskeller carried 1,072 commercial beers). What’s more, quite of few of these are reasonably priced around $3, making the bar a decent place to visit whether you’re looking for a cheap domestic or a $20 imported Trappist.

Japone offers a sushi bar and full karaoke stage, in addition to the Sango Sho lounge hidden in the back of the building which hosts DJs and an “under the sea” theme.

Touting itself as “DC’s oldest Irish bar,” Hawk ‘n’ Dove is a more sedate, laid-back alternative to bars in Dupont or Foggy Bottom; the patrons are mostly political staffers and other Capitol Hill employees. The $9 breakfast, available at night, is a sizable meal for the price. Drink specials range from $1.50 Coors Light bottles on Mondays to $3.25 microbrews on Fridays.

When bar hoppers approach Froggy, they have two choices: follow the “Grub” sign upstairs to the eating area or the “Pub” sign downstairs to the bar area. Choose the latter if you’re looking for the typical college bar. Adjacent to GW’s campus, students come to Froggy after class or at night for some close-to-home partying. Students drink beer out of plastic cups, play pool, and chill with friends. Froggy is very casual, so students can walk in wearing sweatpants and feel comfortable.

Madhatter is a GW favorite and one of the best bars in the area. Every night of the week, but especially on Thursdays and Fridays, GW students are at the Hatter dancing to their favorite tunes and drinking the night away. The music is fantastic at Madhatter, where everyone’s favorite DJ alternates classic rock hits and pop tunes. If you’re looking for a bar with a causal environment and a lot of dancing GW  students, Madhatter is the place to go. On Fridays, Budweiser and Bud Lights are only $2 all night, and rail drinks are $2.50.

The majority of DC’s clubs allow students in if they are 18 years old. Fun clubs such as Hawk ‘n’ Dove and Fur have events on Thursdays and college nights for students who are 18 or older, especially at the beginning of the semester. Students can also check out the 9:30 Club, a relatively small concert venue that attracts some of the biggest names in music. The Black Cat is another bar and concert venue that has some theme nights such as “Brit Pop Night” and “Indie Rock Night” that 18-year-olds can attend. The ESPN Zone, a sports bar with televisions that broadcast games and arcade games, is a good place for the 18-and-up crowd to mingle with 21 year olds. There are always plenty of things going on at GW and in the DC area for those under 21.