Dupont’s Heist Makes Off With Title of ‘Top Lounge in America’

Dupont Circle club Heist, which recently welcomed basketball king LeBron James to its dance floor, was named “Lounge of the Year” at the annual Nightclub & Bar Awards in Las Vegas — marking the first time a D.C. spot has scored the industry title.

Winners were selected across 18 different categories, based on criterion including “a strong demonstration of expertise, professionalism, and sales success” and voted on by industry members and board members. Other 2018 honorees include New York’s Blacktail for “cocktail bar of the year”; San Francisco’s Love+Propoganda for “dance club of the year”; and Chicago’s Roof at the Wit for “hotel bar of the year.”

“In recent years, the District has been recognized as one of the best cities to live in, hippest cities in America and now we are also home to the best lounge in the country,” D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser said in an official statement. Past winners of the “best lounge” award have included the I|O Godfrey at the Godfrey Hotel Chicago, Tiki Ti in Los Angeles, and Ling Ling Lounge at Hakkasan in Las Vegas.

Celebrities spotted at five-year-old Heist, which sports a central DJ booth, minimally dressed bartenders, and a racy thief-themed decor, have included musician Adam Levine and entertainer Jamie Foxx. It’s one of the few D.C. clubs that does Vegas-style “bottle parades” to deliver bubbly to tables; the spectacle costs $400 for three bottles of Perrier-Jouët Nuit Blanche and $1,000 for 10.

D.C. got another unexpected honor last summer, with Blagden Alley’s Columbia Room named “Best American Cocktail Bar” at the 2017 Spirited Awards during Tales of the Cocktail.

• A Look inside Heist, D.C.’s Opulent New Club [EDC]