DC area bars are scaring up drink specials, pop-up events, and ghoulish vibes to celebrate Halloween. Here’s where to get your spook on:
Black Lagoon at Trouble Bird
1346 Fourth St., SE
Black Lagoon—the self-described “Halloween cocktail pop-up of your nightmares”—is now in its fourth year and will take over 35 bars across North America this month, including a return to Navy Yard’s Trouble Bird. From Tuesday, October 8 to Saturday, November 2, visitors can party with the pop-up’s upside-down neon crosses and pentagram decor while sipping on a variety of themed cocktails and shots.
Dirty Habit
555 Eighth St., NW
The restaurant/bar inside Penn Quarter’s Hotel Monaco will host its “Haunted House Soiree” on Saturday, October 26. The costume contest is no joke—the first-prize winner will take home $300. Tickets, which start at $20, are required for entry and include a welcome cocktail.
dLeña
476 K St., NW
Richard Sandoval’s Mexican eatery is celebrating Día de los Muertos with a special menu, available until Sunday, November 3. Limited-time cocktails include the Papel Picado Paloma—tequila, créme de violette, agave, red wine, and hibiscus—and the Monarch, made with Mexican whiskey, carrot, chili liqueur, and orange bitters. The Mount Vernon Triangle spot is also serving two entree specials inspired by the Day of the Dead: lobster empanadas made with squid-ink masa and black enmoladas with duck confit and mole negro.
Little Blackbird
3309 Connecticut Ave., NW
Honor your inner child at this Cleveland Park wine bar with a selection of alcohol and candy pairings, available from Thursday, October 31 to Saturday, November 2. For $16, guests can get a piece of candy and a three- or six-ounce wine pour. Think chardonnay and candy corn or amontillado sherry and peanut butter cups, among other combinations. The special menu will also feature five cocktail and candy pairings ($20). Plus, there are sweet twists on classic drinks like Nerds martinis and Reese’s old fashioneds.
McClellan’s Retreat
2031 Florida Ave., NW
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This Kalorama joint is back with another slew of Halloween-inspired cocktails, running throughout October. This year, the menu pays homage to the 1962 hit “Monster Mash,” with kitschy cocktails like the wasabi-fueled Crypt-Kicker Five, Tell Them Boris Sent You (described as “the PSL of margaritas”), and It Caught On Like A Flash—served smoked with cinnamon.
Morris American Bar
1020 Seventh St., NW
On Friday, October 25, revelers are invited to shroud themselves in mystery at this chic Mount Vernon Square spot’s masquerade party. A live DJ will provide the soundtrack as the bar serves up Halloween-themed cocktails. Tickets go on sale Friday, October 4–the $20 price tag includes entry and a Lillet spritz cocktail.
Nightmare on the Avenue
2312 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria
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Del Rey’s rotating pop-up bar is back in the Halloween spirit with its Nightmare on the Avenue installation, running through Monday, November 4. Wash down bar bites like “Devilish Eggs” and “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice Buffalo Sliders” with drinks that pay homage to frightful figures like Ichabod Crane and Jack Skellington.
The Nightmare Before Bar at the National Union Building
918 F St., NW
If the Halloween season makes you want to crawl inside a Tim Burton movie, this is the place for you. A 90 minute immersive experience—complete with costumed characters, scary-movie trivia, mini-pumpkin carving, and mask-making—is housed inside the National Union Building in Penn Quarter from Saturday, October 5 to Sunday, November 3. Themed cocktails include The Pumpkin King—spiced rum and pumpkin puree—and Edward’s Elixir, a vodka drink made with blackberries and sage. Dressing up isn’t required, but prizes will be awarded for standout costumes. Tickets are $12.
