Location: 604 H St. NW
Readers’ pick: Wok and Roll

Celebrating your birthday at a fancy restaurant or in your residence hall may seem like a good idea at first, but dining out can break the bank and parties at home quickly become cramped.

Instead, book a karaoke room at Wok and Roll. With room sizes ranging from 10 guests ($45 per hour) to 25 guests ($65 per hour), the Chinatown karaoke bar makes for an affordable and memorable birthday with friends, especially if you divvy up the room cost among attendees.

Each room features a television that projects the song lyrics, some black leather booths and microphones to sing into all night long.

With about 150,000 songs to choose from, you may need to sift through some Japanese songs to find decade-old hits or the most recent single. But you’re sure to eventually find the perfect song to belt out lyrics to.

If you need some liquid courage to perform in front of your friends, order one of Wok and Roll’s many Japanese beer offerings, like Sapporo ($8.50) and KIRIN Ichiban ($5.50), or go for a cocktail like a mai tai ($7.50) or a pina colada ($7.50).

Wok and Roll also does not impose an age minimum, meaning your under-21 friends can join in on the fun for your celebration.

After an hour or two of singing, you and your friends may get hungry. Luckily, Wok and Roll is mainly a restaurant so you can order snacks to your private room like curry fish balls ($8.95), garlic chicken nuggets ($13) or shrimp tempura ($7.95).

Check out the song list ahead of time online, gather a group of friends and head over to Wok and Roll to celebrate turning another year older.