Hotel bars at a glance

Looking to get away from the stress and noise of Capitol Hill? Why not escape and enjoy the quiet, low-key luxurious confines of a hotel bar. Washington has a plethora of options, many of which offer regal, upscale settings, drinks and fare.

The Mayflower
The bar, Town and Country, offers a happy hour 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Food offerings, which are free, can include fajitas with beef and chicken, chicken wings, spring rolls and a ham-and-cheese display. Drinks are pricier — the martini costs $13.95, domestic beers $6.
1127 Connecticut Ave. N.W.
(202) 347-3000

The Jefferson Hotel
This European-style hotel is the setting of scandal in Washington, namely the site where former Bill Clinton aide Dick Morris (and current Hill columnist) had his dalliance with a prostitute. The incident got him fired from his job in 1996.

The hotel bar, located in the lounge, does not do happy hours and offers no specialties. Fare includes crab cakes, spring rolls, salads and sandwiches. The bar is open from 11 a.m. to midnight daily.
1200 16th St. N.W.
(202) 347-2200

The Four Seasons
In the heart of Georgetown, the hotel’s Garden Terrace Lounge and Bar offers no happy hour but does have a high tea daily. The tea comes with five small pastries and five small sandwiches and an optional glass of champagne.

The bar has a light-fare menu with delectable dishes such as mini crab-cake burgers, thin-crust pizza and salads. A specialty drink, the Ice Age martini, is composed of Ciroc vodka and Canadian Ice wine. Spring drinks include the Singapore spring — a cocktail of Bombay gin, sloe gin, Captain Morgan rum and pineapple juice — and the apricot sour — Remy Martin, peach schnapps and orange juice.

Soon the bar will serve summer cocktails such as frozen margaritas, piña coladas and several other takeoffs of classic frozen drinks.
2800 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
(202) 944-2022

The Willard
The hotel’s Round Robin Bar is famous for being the setting where Henry Clay introduced Washington to the mint julep. There are no official happy hours at the bar, but they do offer special seasonal promotional cocktails.

The springtime lineup includes the Cherry Blossom spritzer, a refreshing, cherry-flavored cocktail that has the consistency of a gin fizz, almost like a cherry milkshake; the Daisy May, a cocktail made with gin, parfait amour, triple sec and fresh mint; and the Anagoda rum swizzle, a cocktail made with light and dark rums.

The Round Robin opens at noon and closes at 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday; on Sunday the bar shuts down at midnight.
1401 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
(202) 628-9100