Zach Margolis's Recommendations

Washington, DC

I lived in DC for a year back in 2016–2017 while I was working for the USDS, and really liked it! I lived near Logan Circle, so it probably shouldn’t be too big of a surprise that many of these are walking distance from there. Since moving out, I’ve been back a few times so I try to keep this list as up-to-date as I can.

I've marked a few favorites with a ★. I like pretty much everything on this list, but I love those.

Contents

Recent Additions

• Spark (June 4, 2025)

• Levain Bakery (June 4, 2025)

• The Green Zone (June 4, 2025)

Bars

• 🔗 ★ All Souls (Shaw): Small bar with a nice patio. Their All Souls special is basically made for me: it’s a whiskey and some sparkling rosé. Sometimes can get crowded.
• 🔗 ★ Archipelago (U St.): I love their piña colada, they’re my favorite tiki bar on the planet now. I legit almost went there once a week after I was introduced. Good bar food too! (Except the nachos, they look amazing and tall but didn’t taste as good as I imagined they would) Update: Sadly, this has closed. Thanks for all the good times!
• 🔗 ★ metrobar (Edgewood): Bar with a repurposed/retrofitted DC metro car! And some repurposed shipping containers as well. Great outdoor space! Naturally, it’s walking distance from the metro red line too.
• 🔗 Columbia Room (Shaw): Hidden gem, in an alley. Has a fun menu and and super cool interior. Update: this is closed now, RIP.
• 🔗 Dacha (Shaw): A great beer garden, lots of people bring their dogs.
• 🔗 The Green Zone (Adams Morgan): Middle eastern cocktail bar, I really liked the NA cucumber lemonade. Other folk’s french fries smelled amazing and I will definitely get the fries next time I go back. Added June 4, 2025

Food

• 🔗 ★ Levain Bakery (Georgetown): The best cookies in NYC are in DC too now, and still incredible. Added June 4, 2025
• 🔗 ★ Zaytinya (Metro Center): Amazing Greek/mediterranean. Right by the National Portrait Gallery.
• 🔗 Barcelona (Logan Circle): Fun tapas place on 14th St.
• 🔗 Captain Cookie (Foggy Bottom): Really good cookies (and ice cream cookie sandwiches) that were just far enough from my office to not be a regular problem. But close enough to my office to be an occasional problem.
• 🔗 Chaia (Georgetown): “Seasonal vegetarian tacos” in Georgetown. Fun space, great food! Has a Chinatown location too.
• 🔗 Espita Mezcaleria (Shaw): Mexican food, and you can get tasting flights of mezcal. Update: this is closed now.
• 🔗 Etto (Logan Circle): Great pizza right on 14th St.
• 🔗 Gloria’s (Columbia Heights): Hole in the wall Salvadorian place with amazing pupusas.
• 🔗 Le Diplomate (Logan Circle): It’s an institution. French food, really tasty fries, french onion soup.
• 🔗 Mission (Dupont Circle): Mexican restaurant near Dupont Circle. Owned by a friend of a friend. Fajitas and churros are great there.
• 🔗 Red White and Basil (Adams Morgan): Adorable pasta place on U St. Update: this is closed now.
• 🔗 Ted’s Bulletin (Logan Circle): I never actually sat down and ate the food but they have some really good pastries and homemade poptarts, which you can get from their bakery. They have multiple locations.

Museums

• 🔗 Hirshhorn Museum (National Mall): Free! Part of the Smithsonian. More modern art in a really cool circular building. Don’t forget to check out the basement level too!
• 🔗 National Portrait Gallery (Metro Center): Great museum, it shares the same building with another museum (the National Gallery of Art) so it’s not just all portraits. Has a stunning atrium in the middle.
• 🔗 National Postal Museum (Union Station): Neat museum about the historal of the Postal Service (USPS, not the band). There was a fun interactive game in the zipcodes/automation exhibit where you can try to type on the specialized keyboards they used to use to sort mail by zipcode.
• 🔗 Renwick Gallery (Downtown): Free! Right by the White House, super fun kitschy/craft stuff.

Gay Bars

• 🔗 Crush (U St.): Their namesake is their “crush” drinks, flavored vodka sodas. Has a lot of space! Three bar areas and a patio too.
• 🔗 Dirty Goose (U St.): Another 3-story bar with a roof. The roof has some seating. This has closed now.
• 🔗 Her Diner Duplex Diner (Adams Morgan): Recently renamed/reopened! Cute bar/diner with booths, and the current home of the wonderful SmartAss Trivia on Wednesdays.
• 🔗 Kiki (U St.): 2-story bar with a back patio. When I stopped in here on a Sunday afternoon, it was happening with lots of folks from some of the rec sports leagues.
• 🔗 The Little Gay Pub (Logan Circle): New gay bar with a cute outdoor patio (great people watching) and gorgeous tiled bathrooms famous for selfies on Instagram (and a few dating profiles too).
• 🔗 Nellie's (U St.): The sporty gay bar in DC, sometimes it has enough of a mixed crowd that people call it a former gay bar. Love their Wednesday night trivia (Update: the trivia hosts have moved to Duplex Diner). They serve pretty good food. On weekends the upstairs turns into more of a dance space.
• 🔗 Number 9 (Logan Circle): Two stories, upstairs is a little more of a club feel. They have a great (aka dangerous) 2-for-1 special before 9pm, save the receipt they give you for a free second round. I really like their jalapeño margarita.
• 🔗 Spark (U St.): Queer sober bar. All the drinks are NA, I really liked my dirty horchata. My friend got the “Jalapeño Business” which was so spicy and so amazing, an awesome sub for the japaleño margarita at Number Nine. The grilled cheese sandwich is supposed to be an ideal late-night snack. (I accidentally listed this as Flash, which is a venue here in DC, but I’ve never been.) Added June 4, 2025
• 🔗 Trade (Logan Circle): Divey bar, feels very neighborhoody. Has a nice patio in the back, and some ballroom/drag events at least on Thursdays and probably other nights too.
• 🔗 Uproar (U St.): 3-story bar with a great roof.