A high-end cocktail and dessert garden just opened at the foot of a fancy Wharf condo building. Zooz comes from the family behind Urban Roast DC, Penn Quarter’s popular cafe and sangria bar. For their showy sophomore project, a 4,000-square-foot shell space was transformed into a polished lounge that takes extravagant design tips from Vanderpump Cocktail Garden in Caesars Palace Las Vegas. Elaborate cocktails, presented tableside on roaming bar carts, can come with a single-serving dessert pairing like tiramisu or creme brulee. 

Building on its success in Bethesda (Planta) and the West End (Planta Queen), the stylish vegan chain’s newest location in Logan Circle shows lots of love for agave spirits and earthy ingredients. Cocktails like the Herb Your Enthusiasm (Thai chili-infused tequila, lime, pineapple, mint, and Thai basil) are half-off during weekday happy hour from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Vegetarian spins on Mexican dishes include spicy ahi watermelon “tuna” tacos, pumpkin seed guac, and cashew mozzarella croquetas.

Voodoo brings a year-round taste of Mardi Gras to D.C. The brand-new bar dripping with shiny beads comes from the team behind Alchemist, the subterranean speakeasy situated in the same brick building. The two-story sibling bar with room for 90 — not including a life-sized voodoo doll — serves communal fishbowl drinks alongside potent New Orleans cocktails like Hurricanes and Sazeracs.

Downtown’s high-brow izakaya Shōtō doubled down with a next-level lounge in the back. The 2-month-old weekend respite does big-ticketed table service with high-caliber DJs to match. The sprawling time capsule of a space pays homage to circa-1970s Tokyo, when its rock-and-roll era rose to fame. Managing partner Arman Naqi’s vision for the Arcade came to light while wandering the flashing streets of Shinjuku and Shibuya.

The iconic Clarendon dive that recently relocated to new Shaw digs sets sail from Georgetown and Navy Yard this spring. The tiki-styled bar started floating around the Potomac on St. Patrick’s Day weekend with an opening lineup of seltzers, beer, wine, bar fare, and room for 48. A thatched roof and tropical decor pay homage to the original Whitlow’s on Wilson. The joint collaboration with Sea Suite Cruises is now the largest vessel in its Potomac Tiki Club fleet. Book public and private excursions here.

Mt. Vernon Triangle scored a sleek new spot to pour your own beer in March. Situated inside D.C.’s Marriott Marquis hotel, the casual lobby-level hangout pairs 48 rotating beers on tap with brick-oven pizzas and sharable pub grub. A DIY beer wall invites guests to pour one-ounce tastings or a full pint, along with regular service (plus cocktails) at the bar. Open daily from 5 p.m. to midnight.

After 10 years downtown, the taco-and-tequila stalwart by celebrity chef Todd English relocated one mile north up 14th Street NW last month. The festive newcomer slings all sorts of margs by the glass and pitcher along with Old Fashioneds and espresso martinis made with tequila. For its fresh start in Logan Circle, sushi master Noriaki Yasutake of Sei fame teams up with English to bring a creative assortment of Mexican-influenced rolls to the table (think eel-meets-mole or tuna, miso, serrano peppers, and jicama).

Flashy sports (betting) bar Expat made a long-awaited debut inside Western Market, just in time for the March Madness basketball tournament. The 8,000-square-foot hangout specializes in Southern-leaning spins on bar food with playful drinks and plenty of tap lines. Patrons can compete in an opening bracket to win free beer for a year. 

Adams Morgan’s towering American beer hall and restaurant since 2014, reopened under new ownership this year. Partners from Code Red, the Prohibition-styled speakeasy next door, stepped in to revive and reinvent the three-story institution following its surprise closure in November. Its first-floor space, most recently home to Agave Room, simultaneously resurfaces as Level 1 Cocktail Lab with variations of Rickeys, Old Fashioneds, and Negronis, plus classics like a Sazerac and Paper Plane.

Surrounded by murals of infamous bootleggers, custom cages filled with liquor bottles, and golden odes to the Great Gatsby, this dimly-lit speakeasy sauntered into Chase Chase in January with Prohibition-era cocktails served from a streetcar bar. A list of rich bar bites include a “Sleep With the Fishes” order of wonton tuna tacos and New England-style lobster rolls. Turncoat, the last piece of Common Plate Hospitality’s month-old Heights food hall, has its own dedicated door tagged with a tiny emblem. The Heights also has its own bar up front.

Born as a pandemic pop-up in Columbia Room, this inventive sandwich shop-meets-cocktail bar from Paul Taylor and Sherra Kurtz opened permanent Shaw digs in January. Go for the chicken nugget-influenced handheld slathered with Nashville hot or Mort(adella) & Mootz sub, plus funky sides like cacio e pepe fries. A stained-glass ceiling honoring its Duke’s mayo muse hovers over a retro-styled bar serving a celery gimlets, sherry appletinis, and Salvadoran white rum-and-(clear!) Cola cocktails.