Washington, D.C./Adams Morgan-Columbia Heights

Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant, and Columbia Heights are three bordering neighborhoods in Washington DC, each with a different character, but united in an unmistakable sense of dynamism, diversity, youth, and nightlife. There are plenty of great ethnic restaurants, most often offering a better value for your money than in Dupont Circle, downtown, or Georgetown. These neighborhoods are good places to see the city at its most dynamic; people from all walks of life, culture, race, sexual orientation, immigrants, natives, transplants, etc. all converge here to have a good time.

Understand

Adams Morgan is north of Dupont Circle and the U St Corridor. It is best known for the nightlife district on 18th St between Florida and Columbia Rd, which after midnight on weekends gets so packed full of revelers that it's hard to move down the sidewalk. It's more than that, though—it's a lovely, historic, culturally vibrant neighborhood, full of eccentric shopping, outdoor markets, great restaurants, and community murals! The name "Adams Morgan" is derived from the names of two formerly segregated area elementary schools — the all-black now-defunct Thomas P. Morgan Elementary School and the all-white John Quincy Adams Elementary School.

Mount Pleasant, with a population of approximately 11,000 people, is more of a small town in the city. Mount Pleasant Street is full of small shops, bars, and restaurants, primarily serving Latin American food. Although 50% white, the population here is 25% Hispanic and is the cultural center of the city's Salvadoran population, although the vast majority of the area's enormous Salvadoran population lives outside the city proper. It is nice for a Saturday stroll to soak up the Latin vibes, see some chanchona bands, and delve into one of the city's famous pupuserías.

Columbia Heights, like much of the city, was devastated by the 1968 riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The neighborhood includes the Tivoli Theatre, home of the GALA Hispanic Theatre, and the DCUSA shopping mall, which includes several major chain retailers including Target, Best Buy, Marshall's, and Bed Bath & Beyond. There are many restaurants, bars, and hipster hangouts, lending to a vibe as close to that of New York's Williamsburg.

Columbia Heights is marked dramatically on its southern border by a geological formation known as the Fall Line, which runs along Florida Avenue. This steep escarpment divides America's Piedmont Plateau from the Tidewater region of Virginia. If you are looking for a good view of the city, head to the hill on 13th St just north of Florida near Cardozo High School. This natural formation is also responsible for the dramatic terraces and fountains of Meridian Hill aka Malcolm X Park which, aside from restaurants and bars, is the major point of interest in the neighborhood.

Get in

By Metrorail

For more information on riding the Metrorail in Washington DC, see Washington DC#Get around.

The closest stop to Adams Morgan is the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan stop on the Red Line, which is actually a 10 minute walk from Adams Morgan's bars on 18th street. The Columbia Heights metro station on the Green Line is located at the main commercial intersection of Columbia Heights and is a few blocks from Mount Pleasant.

By bus

The following are the main bus routes operating in these neighborhoods, along with links to timetables and route maps. For more information on riding buses in Washington DC, see Washington DC#Get around.

  • #52, #53, and #54 operate north-south along 14th St from the East End through Shaw to the Columbia Heights metro station, and then north to the Takoma metro station in Takoma.
  • #H2, #H3, and #H4 run east-west from the Cleveland Park Metro station on the Red Line Upper Northwest through Mount Pleasant, past the Columbia Heights metro station, the Washington Hospital Center, and on to Catholic University in Brookland.
  • #L2 runs north from West End through Dupont Circle, then straight up 18th St in Adams Morgan before veering west to the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan metro station in Upper Northwest and continuing past the National Zoo.
  • 42 connects DC's downtown West End with the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. Like the L2, it begins at Farragut Square and travels north on Connecticut Ave, with stops in DuPont Circle, before turning right onto Columbia. The 42 has a handful of stops in Adams Morgan on Columbia Road before turning north into Mount Pleasant.
  • D.C. Circulator's Woodley Park-Adams Morgan-McPherson Square Green Line stops at the intersection of 18th St & Columbia Road, then the Columbia Heights metro stop, and then goes west to the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan metro station in Upper Northwest, and then south along 14th street through Shaw, and on to the West End.

By car

The main streets for driving north-south are 16th St and Georgia Ave, although 14th St can be a surprisingly quick route north of U St. Major east-west routes are fewer and more confusing: Columbia Rd is the best route to go between Connecticut Ave in Dupont Circle and the Washington Hospital Center and Catholic University and points in Brookland.

Parking & safety considerations

It's not very hard to find street parking on side streets in Columbia Heights and to a lesser extent Mount Pleasant. Adams Morgan, on the other hand, is packed. Since these neighborhoods have an above-average frequency of muggings, be careful when walking back to your car at night by yourself.

By taxi

Taxis are easy to catch on the main drags in Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant, and pretty much anywhere within Adams Morgan.

See

The Adams Morgan Heritage Trail is a 2-hour self-guided walking tour around the neighborhood. The tour will take you to 18 poster-sized street signs that include historical information, pictures, and maps. Important sites on the trails are marked by large poster-sized signs attached to lampposts. Each of Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant, and Adams Morgan have a separate Neighborhood Heritage Trail.

  • 🌍 Mexican Cultural Center, 2829 16th St NW, ☏ +1 202 728-1628. Gallery: M-F 10AM-6PM, Sa 10AM-4PM. Housed in the beautiful former Embassy of Mexico, the cultural center has a nice collection of Mexican artwork, and puts on frequent classical and other musical performances, as well as film screenings, lectures, and other events. The gallery and many of the events are free but some require hefty donations. 
  • 🌍 Stoddard Baptist Nursing Home (Ingleside Estate), 1818 Newton St NW, ☏ +1 202 328-7400. Mount Pleasant's residential streets are filled with beautiful old single-family homes and rowhouses, and several old estates. This former 19th century estate, which was far larger than the present day property, now houses what is probably the city's most architecturally significant retirement home! 
  • 🌍 Latin American Youth Center's Art & Media House, 3035 15th St NW, ☏ +1 202 319-7312. M-F 8AM-8PM, Sa 10AM-5PM. A colorful house dedicated to teaching and encouraging art in the community. Features a small art gallery showing exhibits of works by local youths. 

Parks
  • 🌍 Meridian Hill Park (aka Malcolm X Park) (bordered by 15th St, 16th St, W St, & Euclid St), ☏ +1 202 895-6070. A 12-acre park centered on a long, stunning, cascading waterfall, surrounded by European-style terraced landscaping, and administered by the National Park Service. The grounds have long been an esteemed commodity in the city, first surrounding an 1819 mansion that became President James Quincy's home following his presidency. Around 1900, Mary Foote Henderson, who owned the land, petitioned Congress to move the White House to or establish the Lincoln Memorial at Meridian Hill, since the National Mall was just north of the putrid stench of the mosquito and sewage-infested Washington City Canal in Waterfront. The plan didn't pass the House of Representatives. However, she did convince Congress to create a park and, in 1910, the federal government purchased the ground and later converted it into the extravagant Italianate park that you see today. After the 1968 DC riots, the park was a haven for open-air drug markets, which got worse and worse throughout the crack epidemic of the 1980s. Following the murder of a teenager in 1990, the community decided to take back control of the park, and organized regular citizen patrols throughout the day and night. They were very successful, and the park is quite safe today. The sword from the statue of Joan of Arc—the only female equestrian statue in the city— was stolen and replaced several times. 
  • 🌍 Walter Pierce Park, Calvert Street & Biltmore Street. A beautiful park with a community garden, dog park, basketball court, chess tables, and children's area. 

Murals

This part of the city has plenty of colorful neighborhood murals, worth seeking out if you like public art, and worth noticing even if you couldn't care less!

  • 🌍 Canto a la Esperanza, 2000 Klingle Rd NW. Song for Hope is Mount Pleasant's mural, covering a whole block. 
  • 🌍 Champorama Park Mural, 2270 Champlain St NW. One of several murals around the city by the city's legendary Nigerian artist, Aniekan Udofia. 
  • 🌍 Cows on a Bicycle, 2437 15th St NW. This one is a fun advertisement of sorts for both City Bikes and Ben & Jerry's. 
  • 🌍 Madams Organ, 2461 18th St NW (over the bar of the same name). The unmistakeable mural that is (to the consternation of some of the more uptight residents) the somewhat risqué symbol of Adams Morgan. 
  • 🌍 Un Pueblo sin Murales (The Adams Morgan Mural), 1779 Columbia Rd NW. "A Town without Murals." is an odd title in these parts—clearly, it isn't referring to Adams Morgan. On the contrary, there is an element of Pinochet's Chile here, as the mural was painted by two asylum seekers from that oppressive regime, and the caption's "demuralized people" likely refers to that society. The diverse group of people in the mural, however, resemble Adams Morgan. 
  • 🌍 Toulouse-Lautrec, 2433 18th St NW (above Jyoti Indian Cuisine). Contrary to popular belief, this huge two-story mural is not of the famous French painter, it is a mural reproduction of one of his paintings. The man in question is Aristide Bruant, a then-popular French cabaret performer. 
  • 🌍 Walter Pierce Park Mural (Between Calvert St & Adams Mill Rd NW). This is a sadder mural, a memorial by Aniekan Udofia to two teenagers who were murdered near this park. 

Do
  • 🌍 District of Columbia Arts Center (DCAC), 2438 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 462-7833. Gallery: W-Su 2PM-7PM. The Arts Center has an art gallery with rotating high-quality shows by local artists, as well as a very cool black box theater, and regular and special events (like avant garde poetry nights). Shows/events: $3-20. 
  • 🌍 GALA Hispanic Theatre at Tivoli Theatre, 3333 14th St NW, ☏ +1 202 234-7174. Shows usually Th-Sa 8PM, Su 3PM. GALA stands for Grupo de Artistas Latino Americanas. The Tivoli Theatre was the grandest of D.C.'s early 20th-century movie palaces, built in ornate Italianate Renaissance style for a whopping one million dollars in 1921. Today the theatre is mixed use, with the important use being the small stage for GALA. Most of GALA's performances are in Spanish, with English subtitles, and range from classical Spanish drama to contemporary Latino theater. They also put on frequent non-dramatic performances of dance, music, etc. 
  • Hotbed Comedy Club, 2477 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 455-5604. Underground comedy club. Many free shows. Age 21 to enter. 
  • 🌍 Suns Cinema, 3107 Mt Pleasant St NW. Tiny local gem of a movie theater in a converted townhouse. Features a bar and screenings of indie and other obscure films. $7-10. 

Festivals and events
  • 🌍 Sunday Drum Circle @ Meridian Hill Park (at the Joan of Arc statue, top of the steps in the park). Nice weather: Su 3-9PM. The weekly Drum Circle has been going on for nearly 50 years, and is one of the coolest events in the city, with the most diverse section of drummers, acrobats, and dancers. Come to hang out and enjoy the vibe, or bring your drum and join in the jam session! 
  • 🌍 Tuesday Swing Dancing, 2437 15th St NW, ☏ +1 202 569-8329. Tu 8:30PM-midnight. Weekly swing dancing in the Josephine Butler Parks Center, a 1920s marble-filled mansion that once housed the Brazilian and Hungarian Embassies. The weekly event attracts most of the dedicated swing dancers from the area and there are always a couple top notch instructors around to get beginners started for free. The limited number of window air conditioning units and restrictions on opening the windows due to noise can make the dance floor as hot as a sauna in the summer, but free ices are provided. BYOB. 
  • Columbia Heights Day. Early October. Annual street festival with music, yoga workshops, eating contests, etc. 
  • Adams Morgan Day. September. Annual street festival with music, karaoke, etc. 

Buy

Columbia Heights is the location of the DCUSA Shopping Mall, the largest retail development within the city limits, which includes the large discount chains of Best Buy, Target, Marshall's, and Bed Bath & Beyond.

Imports
  • 🌍 Tibet Shop, 2407 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 387-1880. Su-W 10:30AM-9:30PM, Th-Sa 10:30AM-11:30PM. The Tibetan import store, run by an acclaimed Tibetan journalist and photographer, packed with upscale, handmade arts and crafts, as well as ritual items, carpets, clothes, etc. 

Fashion
  • 🌍 Mercedes Bien Vintage, 2423 18th St NW (second floor), ☏ +1 202 360-8481. Sa noon-6PM, Su noon-5PM. A small men's and women's vintage store run by long-time D.C. fashionista of the same name. In a unique twist, the items on display are well organized, carefully selected, and don't require extensive browsing. Considering the careful attention to detail, the prices are quite affordable, and the fashions skew 1970s-ish, but other periods are also well-represented. 
  • 🌍 El West, 3167 Mt Pleasant St NW, ☏ +1 202 265-6233. M-F 10:30AM-7:30PM, Tu 11AM-7:30PM, Sa 9AM-8PM, Su 9:30AM-7PM. One-stop gaucho shop. Snakeskin check, leather (crocodile, cow, and others) check, cowboy boots, check, large cowboy belt buckles, check. OK, it's not just gaucho apparel, and there are women's items here too, but most of the items are leather of some sort. And it's expensive. 

Music
  • 🌍 Smash Records, 2314 18th ST NW, ☏ +1 202 387-6274. M-Th noon-9PM, F noon-10PM, Sa 11AM-10PM, Su noon-7PM. D.C.'s punk rock scene was legendary in the 1980s, and this was its most famous record store. It has a great collection of both old and new punk and other local indie CDs, as well related books. Also on offer is a small selection of cheap punk fashion. 

Farmers' markets

These outdoor markets, held on Saturday mornings year-round except winter, are extremely popular places to buy locally produced goods from farmers and bakers.

Eat

Jumbo Slice Pizza is the food specialty of Adams Morgan. Various take out stores along the 18th St nightlife strip, between Columbia Rd and Florida Ave, serve enormous, greasy slices of pizza for around $8 per slice to hungry drunks until 4AM. There are different opinions about which of the jumbo slice pizza places is best, but the truth is that it's never good pizza --- but it can be very satisfying late at night if you need a quick fill, especially after drinking at the adjacent bars. The three most well-known pizza stores are Pizza Mart (2445 18th St NW), Jumbo Pizza (2341 18th St NW), and Pizza Boli's (1511 U St NW), a DC-area chain with a location in Shaw.

Salvadoran Cuisine, provided by the area's enormous Salvadoran community, is the food specialty of Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant. There is one word that you will know after a visit, and that is pupusa. Pupusas are thick corn maize tortillas stuffed with soft cheese, cheese + loroco (a Salvadoran flower), squash, pork, refried beans, or all sorts of other things, then topped with pickled cabbage (curtido) and tangy red sauce. They generally cost $1.50-2.00 each, but you will need at least a few if you are hungry. Pupusas revueltas include more than one filling, such as bacon and cheese - a local favorite. They are delicious. Pupusas in D.C. are serious business; they are always cooked to order, and will take at least ten minutes to prepare. Someone will almost always speak some English, but it's a good idea to keep a little Spanish in your pocket (dos pupusas de loroco con queso, por favor). Aside from pupusas, look for Salvadoran soups and delicious atoles. An atol is somewhere between porridge, hot chocolate, and a milkshake, made from corn meal, most of the spices you'd expect in pumpkin pie, and occasionally chocolate.

Beware Mexican food served in the Salvadoran restaurants, or anywhere in D.C., as there is virtually no Mexican immigrant community. With the exception of Taquería Distrito Federal and Super Tacos and Bakery, the Mexican dishes are inauthentic rubbish. Stick to the Salvadoran entrees. The Salvadoreños do Peruvian food quite well, though, so you'll find good lomo saltado everywhere, and occasionally some incredible pollo a la brasa.

Budget
  • El Pollo Sabroso, 3153 Mt Pleasant St NW, ☏ +1 202 299-0374. M-Sa 10:30AM-9PM, Su 11AM-8PM. Peruvian roast chicken, with its spices and green salsa, is good. This is the place in the city to get it, with a side of fluffy Spanish rice, yucca, fried plantains, etc., and washed down with some fruit licuados or horchata. It's a Peruvian place so skip the pupusas. $5-11. 
  • Pollo Campero, 3229 14th St NW, ☏ +1 202 745-0078. 10AM-9PM daily. A Guatemalan fast food chain offering fried chicken which is of significantly higher quality than the garbage you would get at a KFC or Popeye's, along with Central American sides and drinks. It's hardly the best food in the area, but it is fast food, and a fun experience. $4-8. 
  • The Diner, 2453 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 232-8800. 24 hours daily. It's a 24-hour diner on the booziest street in the city. Amazingly, the food is actually good! D.C. is rather lacking in 24 hour establishments, so this location is very popular. Weekend nights include performances by local DJs, so expect to brave crowds late nights F-Sa. $4-15. 
  • Sakuramen, 2441 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 656-5285. M closed, Tu-Th 6PM-10:30PM, F Sa 11:30AM-11PM, Su 11:30AM-10PM. A hole-in-the-wall ramen shop in the basement of a row house, featuring Japanese ramen with a Korean twist. Among the menu options is a "fireball" ramen (featuring a ball of spices that pops in the broth for a nice kick), a kimchi ramen, and a number of broths featuring Berkshire pork belly. The saku-ramen dish on the menu is actually a vegetarian ramen that is widely acclaimed. $10-15. 

Pupuserías
  • Don Juan Restaurant, 1660 Lamont St NW, ☏ +1 202 667-0010. 11AM-2AM daily. Don Juan is less accessible to non-Spanish speakers, but the pupusas are some of the best in the city. The atmosphere is a little weird, with a big disco ball complementing the big flat-screen TV, some deer heads on the walls, and the requisite thumping polka on the jukebox, but that can heighten the experience with the right attitude. Separate take-out entrance is in the back. $1.50-15. 
  • Ercilia's Restaurant, 3070 Mt Pleasant St NW, ☏ +1 202 387-0909. M-W 8AM-10PM, Th-Sa 8AM-11PM. Mount Pleasant's nomination for friendliest Pupusería in town. It's not just a take-out; there is a nice little restaurant inside, so you can sit back, linger over tasty soups or snack on yuca frita. $1.50-9. 
  • Gloria's Pupusería, 3411 14th St NW, ☏ +1 202 884-1880. 6AM-11PM daily. This is the best known of all the pupuserías in D.C. Cash only. $2-9. 

Mid-range
  • El Tamarindo, 1785 Florida Avenue NW, ☏ +1 202 328-3660. M-Th 11AM-3AM; F 11AM-5AM; Sa Su 10AM-5AM. This Salvadoran place offers solid food and solid drinks at reasonable prices, in a nice, comfortable dining room. Another establishment catering to the ultra-late night crowd. $12-25. 
  • Il Supremo Italian Restaurant, 3209 Mt Pleasant St NW. 
  • Johnny Pistolas, 2333 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 817-3255. Mexican. 
  • Jyoti Indian Cuisine, 2433 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 518-5892. Traditional Indian cuisine with outdoor seating. 
  • Lapis Bistro, 1847 Columbia Rd NW, ☏ +1 202 299-9630. Afghani food in a restaurant decorated with rugs. 
  • Lucky Buns, 2000 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 506-1713. 5PM-midnight. Specialty burgers. The popular Aussie inspired Bogan burger comes with gouda and bacon jam, and the El Jefe has hatch green chili relish and queso fresco. Sides include thick cut British style fries with ketchup, mayo or curry. Also features a Tropical-esque cocktail program inline with the nightlife in AdMo. $10-35. 
  • Meze, 2437 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 797-0017, . M-Th 4:30PM-1:30AM, F 4:30AM-2:30AM, Sa 10:30AM-2:30AM, Su 10:30AM-1:30AM. A Turkish restaurant with an extensive offering of fresh mojitos. Open since 2001. 
  • Pho 14, 1436 Park Rd. Arguably the best Vietnamese food within the city limits. 
  • Mama Ayesha's, 1967 Calvert St NW, ☏ +1 202 232-5431. Authentic Middle Eastern food. 
  • The Grill from Ipanema, 1858 Columbia Rd NW, ☏ +1 202 986-0757. M-Th 4:30PM-11PM, F 4:30PM-11:30PM, Sa noon-11:30PM, Su noon-10PM. This is no gimmicky downtown place—this is a real taste of Brazil in D.C. Brazilian food is meat heavy, and the steaks here are excellent. If steak is too one-dimensional, try the feijoada, a stew of various smoked meats, southern greens, fruit, and black beans. Too much meat? Try one of the seafood moquecas. And the potent caipirinhas are among the neighborhood's favorite cocktails. It is a little overpriced, but if you don't mind the extra $5-10, this makes for a great dinner date. $20-35. 

Splurge
  • No Goodbyes @ The Line Hotel, 1770 Euclid St NW (inside the Line Hotel), ☏ +1 202 864-4180. 8AM-midnight. This restaurant, bar, and coffee shop all-in one has a mix of casual dining options from day to night. The menus feature Mid-Atlantic cuisine. Standout dishes include a crab dip and Chesapeake oysters. $10-80. 
  • Perry's, 1811 Columbia Rd NW, ☏ +1 202 234-6218. M-Th 5:30PM-10:30PM; F 5:30PM-11:30PM; Sa 11AM-3PM, 5:30-11:30PM; Su 10:30AM-2:30PM, 5:30-10:30PM. There are a lot of reasons to come here, the biggest being the rooftop patio seating and the masterful cooking (mostly Japanese and Middle Eastern "tapas") by famous local chefs as well as an import from New York's Bond Street. Other attractions include drag queen brunch ($39.95 + tax & gratuity) on Sundays, and happy hour specials on sushi and tapas (M-F 5:30-7:30PM) $20-45. 
  • Tail Up Goat, 1827 Adams Mill Rd NW (at Calvert St NW), . Daily 5-10PM. A fusion of Caribbean and Mediterranean flavors with a daily changing menu based on local and seasonal ingredients. Despite its focus on fine dining, the restaurant is very welcoming and unpretentious, making it a neighborhood staple. $30-100. 

Drink

You have plenty of choices for drinking in Adams Morgan - you'd be well-served to do your own reconnaissance by walking up and down 18th St. Several bars and clubs have sidewalk or rooftop patios that are open during the warmer months. Bars serve anything from cheap pitchers of beer to expensive cocktails.

Be aware that on Friday and Saturday nights, the crowd is young and drunk and the whole thing can look a bit like the capital's take on Mardi Gras. That's either a plus or a minus depending on your view, but you can escape this crowd if you choose your bar carefully. Regardless of your tastes, you should be sure to stop by the legendary New Orleans themed Madam's Organ, which offers live music every night of the week.

Bars/Lounges
  • A League of Her Own / Pitcher's Bar, 2319 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 733-2568. Lesbian bar promoting a safe space for queer women. 
  • Bedrock Billiards, 1841 Columbia Rd NW, ☏ +1 202 667-7665. Offers billiards and shuffleboard and displays artwork by local artists. 
  • Dan's Cafe, 2315 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 265-9241. Su-Th 7PM-2AM, F Sa 7PM-3AM. This family run operation is a true dive bar and most colorful bars in the city. Operated since 1965 by owner Clinnie Dickens, who is now in his 80s. SoCo lime shooters are served in squeeze ketchup bottles. It's a one of a kind experience. If you want a dive on 18th St, this is it. Cash only. 
  • El Chucho, 3313 11th St NW, ☏ +1 202 290-3313. M-Th 4PM-2AM, F 4PM-3AM, Sa 11:30AM-3AM, Su 11:30AM-2AM. This taqueria and bar is known for happy hour specials. Specialities include margaritas (including a habanero spiced margarita that has a real kick), tacos, and grilled corn with cheese. The kitchen closes before the bar does. 
  • Grand Duchess, 2337 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 299-1006. Classic cocktails, beer, and wine with varied music & occasional vinyl nights. 
  • Jack Rose Dining Saloon, 2007 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 588-7388. Su-Th 5PM-2AM, F Sa 5PM-3AM. A whiskey-themed bar with huge windows for smoking cigars. 
  • Roofers Union, 2446 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 518-3800. Su-Th 5PM-2AM, F Sa 5PM-3AM. The biggest bar in the area, with three-levels plus a more relaxed rooftop deck offering great views of the neighborhood from its tables. The club, and of course the rooftop patio, can get extremely crowded, so show up early on the weekends. No dress code, no cover. 
  • Shenanigans Irish Pub, 2450 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 588-7405. A good selection of Irish beers and drinks. Popular with the young and drunk crowd. 
  • Tight Five Pub, 2471 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 629-2190. Sports bar that claims to have the hottest wings in DC. 
  • Town Tavern, 2323 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 387-8696. A bar on the first floor; dancing upstairs. 
  • The Wonderland Ballroom, 1101 Kenyon St NW, ☏ +1 202 232-5263. 5PM-2AM daily. Columbia Heights' neighborhood bar is beloved by the neighborhood's residents, especially the hipsters for the welcoming, local neighborhood bar vibe. There's a lot of history at this bar. Its previous incarnation as Nob Hill was a legendary gay bar that had quite a run from 1954–2004. Weekends are crowded, but people will be happy to let you squeeze. Dance floor upstairs. 
  • Zeba, 3423 14th St NW. A multi-level bar with a dance floor, friendly bartenders, hookah, and good pizza. 

Clubs
  • Club Heaven & Hell, 2327 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 667-4355. Su-Th 5PM-2AM, F Sa 5PM-3AM. This club is a bit unordinary, but the theme is fun. Basement is hell (who would've thought hell would be the most low-key and conversation friendly?), first floor is purgatory (appropriate for anyone stuck in line), and the upper floor is of course heaven, with its large celestial dance floor. Other than the gimmick, the no dress code policy and $5 covers make this a popular stop. Hell does not have A/C. 
  • Club Timehri, 2439 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 518-2626. Reggae and dancehall. 
  • Grand Central, 2447 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 986-1742. During the week, it's a sports bar. On the weekend, top 40 pop songs are blasting and the venue attracts a younger, drunker crowd. 

Live music
  • Bossa, 2463 18th St NW (Next to Madams Organ), ☏ +1 202 667-0088. The food is subpar, the drinks are pricey, but the bands are usually great. Admission $5-8; Mojito $10. 
  • Bukom Cafe, 2442 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 265-4600. M-Th 4PM-1:30AM, F 4PM-2:30AM, Sa 2PM-2:30AM, Su 2PM-1:30AM. The "cafe" bit refers to the food, which is fine Ghanaian cuisine (don't miss the "beer meat"). But the attraction that draws the crowds is the nightly live music—mostly reggae bands, but also West African music. The friendly crowd is mostly African, and a good deal older and more laid back than the rowdy neighbors. No cover. Food: $8-16. 
  • 🌍 Madam's Organ, 2461 18th St NW. Su-Th 5PM-2AM, F Sa 5PM-3AM. Virtually anyone who's been to Adams Morgan has been to the fixture that is Madams Organ. Live music every night—mainly blues but also jazz and bluegrass. Tuesday night is acoustic Delta blues. It owns its own atmosphere, with its stuffed animals, appliances and nick-nacks hanging from the walls and ceiling. Playboy magazine once named it one of the best bars in America, and redheads get discounts. Cover: usually $3. 
  • Shanklin Hall, 2325 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 629-1606. Art gallery with live music and comedy nights. 

Cafes
  • Tryst, 2459 18th St NW, ☏ +1 202 232-5500. M-Th 6:30AM-2AM, F Sa 6:30AM-3AM, Su 7AM-2AM. Very hip café-by-day/bar-by-night strategically placed next to The Diner (same owners). The atmosphere is very friendly and encourages you to just hang out for a while. Free WiFi M-Th. Food: $4-10. 

Sleep

Budget
  • HighRoad Hotel DC, 1804 Belmont Rd NW, ☏ +1 202 735-3622, . Check-out: 11AM. A nice hotel/hostel right near the action on 18th St. Clean rooms and helpful staff on duty 24-hours per day. 2-night minimum stay. Dorm room: $40-47+tax; Private room: From $130+tax. 

Mid-range
  • American Guesthouse B&B, 2005 Columbia Rd NW, ☏ +1 202 768-0335. It's hard not to like this place, with its beautiful rooms in an Adams Morgan 1880s Mansion. Double check that you are OK with the size of your room, though, as a couple towards the low end of the price-range are very small. $120-220. 

Splurge
  • 🌍 Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave NW, ☏ +1 202 483-3000. The 1,070-room luxury hotel, with a great location near both Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan, underwent a $150 million restoration in 2010. It is famous as the place where former President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley, Jr. $220-400. 
  • The Line DC, 1770 Euclid St NW, ☏ +1 202 588-0525, . Its lobby is a former church. Features 3 restaurants by top chefs. Full Service Radio broadcasts live from the hotel lobby. Includes a 1,600 square foot fitness center. $135 weekend; $300 weekday. 

Stay safe

Crime

Muggings are a serious problem in Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights. Muggings happen more often on quiet side streets, so simply restricting your walks to the main streets and traveling in groups of three or more will lower your odds of a problem.

Pickpocketing is rampant on 18th St on weekend nights. Immense crowds of drunk people bumping into each other makes for a pickpocketing bonanza.

Connect

In addition to the cafes/coffeeshops above, the Mt Pleasant Branch Library is a great place to surf the web on the public terminals or the free Wifi:

  • 🌍 Mt Pleasant Library, 3160 16th St NW, ☏ +1 202 671-0200. M,W 1PM-9PM, Tu,Th-Sa 9:30AM-5:30PM, Su 1PM-5PM. This is one of the city's loveliest libraries, the third oldest in the city (1925), built in the Italian Renaissance style. 

Go next
  • Dupont Circle - a wealthier neighborhood to the south.
  • Shaw - a nightlife destination to the south.
  • Brookland-Petworth-Takoma - the neighborhoods east of Columbia Heights.
  • Upper Northwest - the Zoo and parts of this neighborhood are in easy walking distance, just across the Duke Ellington Bridge along Calvert St. from Adams Morgan.
  • Wheaton - the location of more fantastic ethnic dining options in nearby Maryland.
Routes through Adams Morgan-Columbia Heights
Greenbelt ← Petworth ←  N  S  → Shaw → East End


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