Bodega is a Spanish tapas and wine lounge on M Street in the heart of Georgetown, with hammered-copper bars, a fountain patio, and flamenco on Thursday nights. It pours Spanish wine and sangria alongside paella and a long tapas list.
Published March 20, 2026 · By Daniel Okafor
Bodega sits at 3116 M Street NW in Georgetown, a two-level Spanish tapas and lounge that the georgetowndc.com business guide and Tripadvisor both list as a neighbourhood fixture. Yelp shows it open through June 2026 with more than 1,100 reviews. The room is built around hammered-copper bars, boldly patterned walls, and a Matador Lounge for drinks and dining. The hook is a Spanish wine and tapas night with live flamenco every Thursday.
The room
The room runs over two levels, with tables set in intimate alcoves, a mural of a bullfighting arena in the Matador Lounge, and a fountain patio that opens in warmer months. Reviewers describe a warm, design-led space that suits both a long dinner and a late lounge drink. Its draw is the atmosphere, since few Georgetown rooms commit this fully to a Spanish theme.
What to order
Order a pitcher of sangria or a glass off the Spanish wine list, then build a table of tapas, with the paella the dish reviewers come back for. Bodega lists tapas dining at roughly $30 to $50 per person, so a shared spread of small plates with wine is the standard order. For a lounge-only visit, a Spanish gin tonic and a few plates at the bar works. The list leans Spanish by the glass and the bottle, so a Rioja or a glass of cava pairs cleanly with the jamon and cheese plates that reviewers order to start.
What regulars say
Reviewers consistently name the sangria, the tapas, and the Thursday flamenco as the reasons to book a table, with many calling it one of Georgetown's go-to rooms for a Spanish night out. Regulars praise the patio in warm weather and the lounge atmosphere after dinner, and several point to the flamenco evenings as the standout. The caution that repeats is that it can run busy and loud on weekend nights, so the standing advice is to reserve ahead, especially for the patio. A few note the bill adds up across a full tapas spread, a fair warning for a sit-down Spanish room rather than a quick drink stop. Several reviewers also highlight the weekend brunch and the happy-hour sangria as lower-cost ways into the room, and they name the Matador Lounge as the seat to request for a quieter cocktail away from the dining tables. Others recommend the patio for groups in warm weather, when the fountain seating opens.
Who it is for and best time
This is for tapas diners, wine drinkers, and anyone touring Washington DC wine bars. It opens midday and runs into the evening seven days a week, with later hours Friday and Saturday, so a long dinner or a late lounge drink both work. Skip it if you want a budget round; this is a full Spanish dining room. For the wider city, see the full Washington DC bar guide.
The verdict
Bodega earns its place as Georgetown's Spanish tapas and wine lounge, a design-led room worth booking for sangria, paella, and Thursday flamenco. Reserve ahead, build a tapas spread, and aim for the patio when the weather turns. For more DC wine rooms, compare the 14th Street standard at Barcelona Wine Bar, the natural list at Cork Wine Bar, and the Shaw bottle shop at Maxwell Park. Our wine bars guide rounds out the category.
