Fly Lounge 1802 Jefferson Place N.W., near the Dupont Circle Metro stop's south exit. Hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 10 p.m.-2 a.m.; Friday-Saturday, 10 p.m.-3 a.m. No dress code No cover
Nestled at the corners of 18th Street and Connecticut Avenue, Fly Lounge is preparing for its nightly takeoff. A hot spot for international jetsetters, Fly is much more than a lounge; it's an experience.
Replacing the old dance club, Red, Fly has been remade and refurnished to resemble the interior of a 747, complete with aluminum wall paneling and flat-screen monitors showing images of passing clouds. The entire layout is designed to make customers feel like they are soaring at 30,000 feet.
Equipped with exclusive tables cordoned off with velvet rope and a glass bar with an extensive rare alcohol selection, Fly is quickly becoming popular with D.C.'s nightlife community. The small dance floor treats guests to a mix of chill music from handpicked disc jockeys.
Fly's hosts and wait staff share in the unique ambience of the lounge, sporting sexed-up stewardess outfits with flight wings pinned on their lapels.
Everything is reminiscent of flight, even down to the overly salted bags of peanuts. Fly's curved walls, which replicate the cylindrical fuselage of a 747, are not much more spacious than an aircraft's interior.
With a space of only 1,000 square feet and a maximum capacity of 140 passengers, this flight is often overbooked and turns away many people with its typically long lines.
DJ Dirty Hands, a local D.C. superstar also known as Chuck Koch, and his friend Richard Eidman, founded the lounge. Koch's love for flying inspired the layout and concept. Koch, a licensed pilot, has an extensive history of rocking the turntables at legendary D.C. locales such as the nightclub Dream, now called Love, and at all-exclusive NBA after-parties in New York.
Fly received much publicity before its grand opening, including a feature in hip-hop magazine Vibe. Now it is mobbed nightly, with a long line that forms not long after its doors open for the evening.
Still, it is possible for parties of five or six to reserve a table at the trendy lounge if they are willing to drop around $100 each for drinks, which is not difficult to do at Fly. The menu features an incredibly unique drink list, including Snow Queen, a rare vodka from Kazakhstan.
Fly Lounge is unique among D.C.'s nightlife and is quite an experience. If the opportunity ever presents itself, it may be worth booking a nighttime excursion to Fly.
