Cafe Citron; a little taste of Miami in DC

Continuing on with the Miami theme from the last post, I decided to review a spot I've only been to once so far, about a month ago. Cafe Citron is situated in the Dupont area of Washington D.C. Now how does this fall into last week's Miami theme? Well, for starters, I've been to just about every fashionable club/lounge in DC at least once to get a feel for the scene. Cafe Citron is one of those places I'd always heard about, but never heard enough hype about it to bother to check it out. On the night that I ended up going there, it just so happened that the weather was warm and a breeze was coolly wafting through DC's avenues. It felt like only Miami could.

Cafe Citron is tucked away on a dark street, hidden between several other bars. When I say hidden, I mean hidden. If it wasn't for the bouncers and the line along the sidewalk coming out of the door, this place would hardly be noticable. Once inside, however, this place really flies right out at you. Despite being situated in the heart of DC, Cafe Citron has a fresh Latin vibe, starkly reminiscent of some of the smalltime bars along Ocean Drive in South Beach. Citron isn't too Latin though; the patrons are a diverse ethnic blend, and the DJ spins house music with subtle Latin flavors, making the scene accessible to anyone.

The club itself isn't particularly fancy; like most DC clubs, you're going to feel some overcrowding, and the setup is a bit like a wide hallway. It can get a bit humid in here, so don't wear a sweater. And in that regard, I recommend going to the airy upstairs balcony overlooking the lower-level dance floor. Unlike most clubs, Citron's second floor doesn't have a separate DJ and sound system. It literally functions only as a balcony.

Cafe Citron: first floor, http://img.clubvibes.com/listings/logos/18599.jpg

So Citron is a smaller club, but definitely a good place to come by and pre-game before walking up the street and hitting some of the better-known spots in Dupont, such as Current or Midtown. Even Josephine is right up the street, about a 5 minute drive away towards K Street. While I wouldn't recommend Citron as a place to spend your entire night, it's definitely a quaint little place to come for some shots before heading to the bigger venues, and for anybody that is open to meeting fun and classy people of international origins, Citron is a venue that will play host to the crowd that you don't see anywhere else in DC.