Snapshot: Dupont Circle

A local’s guide to this artsy and inclusive DC neighborhood

The nation’s capital is home to a surprising amount of green space, from the grassy expanse of the National Mall to the urban wilderness of Rock Creek Park. But if The Mall is nicknamed “America’s Front Yard,” the park at the center of Dupont Circle might as well be known as Washington, DC’s unofficial backyard.

On warm days, this ring of grass surrounded by benches with a circa-1921 fountain at the center is a convivial hub for sunbathers and picnickers, chess players, and drum circle musicians. The avenues surrounding the park are just as picturesque, lined with embassies, mansions, and impressive rowhouses. Take a look as you walk to Dupont’s constellation of both classic restaurants—like Sushi Taro or Bistrot du Coin—and a recent influx of cool new eateries serving everything from Big Mac-inspired pizzas to espresso martinis, blue corn masa empanadas, and oatmeal cookie ice cream.

It’s a neighborhood that visitors from around the globe will discover this year, as the historic LGBTQ hub will play a role in the celebrations when DC hosts WorldPride 2025. While June’s Pride Parade began in Logan Circle, the WorldPride 17th Street Block Party was located on a Dupont Street known for its collection of gay-owned local businesses.

STAY

The wall of windows in some of the rooms at the aptly-named The Dupont Circle looks directly out at the park, the beating heart of the neighborhood. It doesn’t get more central than the location of this Irish-owned hotel from The Doyle Collection, and rooms can feel like a refined, gray-scale pied-à-terre (albeit one with heated bathroom floors and thoughtfully stocked with Malin+Goetz rum body wash). Suites with terraces, soaking tubs, and even fireplaces make this feel like posh apartment living.

EAT AND DRINK

Booking at 5 p.m. on a Saturday may be the only way to squeeze in a reservation at Dupont’s much-anticipated new drinking den Press Club, and behind the unassuming facade, this basement-level cocktail and record bar might be at capacity. The menu is made up to look like a record (to go along with the minimalist bar’s crates of vinyl), complete with a “track list” of drinks as well as izakaya-inspired snacks. Think fried karaage, Japanese fried chicken served with a plethora of sauces, from Old Bay white barbecue to sweet hot aïoli. A key drink to understanding cofounders Will Patton and Devin Kennedy’s vision is the In a Cadillac, featuring two dueling mini martinis made by each bartender with ingredients from shiso to grapefruit.

Looking for more drinking haunts in the neighborhood? Raise a glass at the tiki-leaning Astoria, espresso martini-fueled Residents, or gilded classic cocktail bar The Golden Age.

For dinner, duck across the street back to the hotel’s restaurant The Pembroke, a glowing, glassed-in bistro ringed with coral-toned leather banquettes and greenery. Don’t miss the made-in-house grilled levain bread with butter and then burrata, and follow it up with radicchio salad and crispy half-chicken with fried rosemary and confit garlic. That evening, walk to 17th Street’s Gemini, where crowds gathered for sips of natural wine and scoops of grapefruit brulée or olive oil with cocoa crumble from the Happy Ice Cream cart stationed outside.

A visit to the sprawling Dupont Circle Farmers Market is a Sunday morning must, spread over multiple blocks packed with more than 50 farmers and producers selling everything from Ethiopian cuisine to traditional Austrian strudels. Then it’s time to contemplate your brunch move: turkey and potato chip-topped subs at Compliments Only? A quixotic slice of pizza from Boogey & Peel, like the kale caesar pie? Or maybe a big Mexican spread from Amparo Fondita, where chef Christian Irabién Gamboa grinds his own corn for tortillas and flash-fried masa cakes.

DO

A trip to Dupont isn’t complete without scanning the new titles at bustling indie bookshop Kramers (and maybe getting a latte to go with a new hardcover). The Phillips Collection, known as America’s first museum of modern art, is essential if you haven’t visited before. You can even venture under Dupont Circle itself: stairs lead down to Dupont Underground, an arts organization located in an abandoned streetcar station that’s now emblazoned with graffiti art and the site of temporary pop-ups and exhibits.

It’s impossible to fit everything Dupont has to offer into one weekend, but hit these highlights and you’ll leave well-fed and with a good sense of this welcoming and eclectic neighborhood, and want to come back for more.

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