This week’s Happy Hour Crawl takes us to the Northwest neighborhood of Petworth, which is sort of like the shyer, quieter younger sister of the hip and booming Columbia Heights just to the south. Centered around the Georgia Ave/Petworth Metro, and accessible via the 14th and 16th St buses, Petworth is a primarily residential neighborhood that in turn breeds cozy bars that attract fiercely loyal patrons.

Long-standing favorites like the Red Derby and Looking Glass Lounge are the perfect neighborhood dives—dark, a little dirty, but with cheap drinks and good friends. The area hasn’t been immune to the DC restaurant boom though, so newer and hipper joints have popped up over the last decade bringing more upscale options but still retaining the homey feel that locals have come to love.

The happy hours listed below cover a wide range of times, so if you start at 5 PM, we’ll have you drinking solidly til midnight with only an hour break from 9–10 PM. Use your hour to take advantage of the better than average pub food available in the neighborhood, and then get back to work.

Enjoy!

The Pinch: This cozy bar manages to elevate the standard neighborhood dive concept by offering up genuinely good food—Mondays are for the duck bacon mac-n-cheese, “Mac 'n' Quack Attack”—in addition to their great beer list and unusual selection of meads (brews fermented with hops and honey). Try their great selection of local and national craft brews, from the likes of Evolution, Founders, Ommegang and Du Claw. (3548 14th St. NW; 202-722-4440)

Happy Hour Monday–Friday, 5–7 PM
$2 off Drafts and Premium Liquors

Red Derby: A perennial local favorite, the Derby has it all—great rooftop, arcade games, friendly staff, excellent sweet potato fries and reliably cheap prices (note that it’s cash-only). All beers are in cans, which helps keep prices down and allows for foreign and specialty brews to be offered for less than you’ll find elsewhere, like 21st Amendment’s Marooned on Hog Island Imperial IPA brewed with oyster shells (10% ABV). They’ve also got eight beers that are always $2 or $3. (3718 14th St. NW; 202-291-5000)

Happy Hour Everyday, 5–8 PM
$1 off All Bar Drinks
Daily Food Specials

Domku Bar & Cafe: This charming Eastern European/Scandinavian mashup is the perfect place to go for comfort food and relaxed vibes. Order up some herring, borscht or Swedish almond cake and enjoy it with one of their house-infused vodkas with flavors like cardamom, earl grey and beet. (821 Upshur St. NW; 202-722-7475)

Happy Hour Tuesday–Friday, 6–8 PM
$5 Draft Beer and Wine
$1 off Appetizers

Chez Billy: One of Georgia Ave’s classiest restaurants, don’t be intimidated by this perfect-for-a-first-date French spot. The place is warm and cozy with an invitingly laid-back atmosphere, and their happy hour won’t break your bank. Have a glass of one of their top-notch wines or try the Apertif Maison—a perfect summer cocktail with gin, sparking wine, strawberry, lemon and mint. (3815 Georgia Ave. NW; 202-506-2080)

Happy Hour Tuesday–Friday, 5-30–8 PM
$5 Beers
$5 Wine
$5 Cocktail Du Jour
$7 Appetizers

Looking Glass Lounge: Rocking a quirky aesthetic (think Christmas lights, hunting trophies, chandeliers and scattered mirrors), this divey pub with an outdoor beer garden is another local favorite in this neighborhood. Their beer list isn’t huge but has plenty of cheap bottles (Millers, PBR, Natty Boh), and solid drafts (Bells, Brooklyn Brown, Dogfish Head). And the $6 whiskey and beer combo is always a good option. (3634 Georgia Ave NW; 202-722-7669)

Happy Hour Everyday, 5–8 PM
$2 off Drafts
$1 off Rail Drinks
$1 off Imported Bottles
Half-Price Half Smokes

Mad Momos: Eco-friendly outpost Momos serves up a unique combination. Their beer deck, crafted with salvaged wood from the original house that was here, is a great spot to enjoy a craft brew—they offer an excellent array of beer from microbrews like Colorado’s Breckenridge Brewery and Vermont’s Long Trail Brewing Co. (3605 14th St. NW; 202-829-1450)

Happy Hour Tuesday–Friday, 5–7:30 PM and 10 PM–Midnight
Half-Price Drinks
Daily Specials like $3 Narragensett Tall Boys or $20 Pitchers of Sangria (check website for specials)

Petworth Citizen & Reading Room: Started by the same people behind Room 11, this relative neighborhood newcomer is intimate and cocktail-focused like its 11th Street predecessor but with a darker, homier feel. The bartenders behind the gorgeous copper-topped bar whip up both classic and (cheekily-named) inventive cocktails like the Fernet About It (Fernet Branca, Green Chartreuse, Lazzaroni Maraschino, lime juice, star anise) and Kill Bill Volume 1 (Old Overholt rye whiskey, sesame-ginger syrup, Angostura bitters). (829 Upshur St. NW; 202-722-2939)

Happy Hour Mondays 5 PM–Close, Tuesday–Friday, 5–7 PM
Late Night Happy Hour Sunday–Thursday 11 PM–Close and Friday–Saturday 12 AM–Close
$4 Selected Drafts and Wines
$4 Daily Punch Bowl

DC Reynolds: Frequently cited as one of DC’s best happy hours, this dive with a huge back patio filled with picnic tables and good vibes offers up their famous BOGO (Buy One, Get One) happy hour each weekday. It’s exactly what it sounds like—order one drink, get your next for free. You don’t even have to do the usual beat-the-clock double-fisting either, just save your receipt and show it to your server at the next round. The draft list here is predominantly local. (3628 Georgia Ave. NW; 202-506-7178)

Happy Hour Monday–Friday, 5–9 PM
Buy One, Get One Drinks

Photo via DC Reynolds