Bethesda Music & Nightlife

Bethesda Local Bars

Flanagan's Harp and Fiddle
4844 Cordell Ave., Bethesda, Maryland; Tel. 301.951.0115
The old Flanagan's was an Irish dive bar that had the most devoted following you could possibly imagine because it was always a rocking good time, the bartenders were the best in town and the food and drink streamed out with equal good flavor and cheer. Well, the new Flanagan's in Bethesda has gotten a sophisticated makeover, but has lost nothing of what made the old Flanagan's one of the very best bars to relax in, down a pint, munch on some authentic Irish food and catch some football and rugby games. Seriously, you can leave Bethesda or the Metro DC area, search far and wide, and we firmly believe that Flanagan's Harp and Fiddle will top the list of any Irish bar you may plop your harried butt down in. Also, there's live Irish folk music on the weekends.

Hard Times Café
4922 Del Ray Ave., Bethesda, Maryland; Tel. 301.951.3300
If you've ever gotten a serious jones for some chili, then you've been to the Hard Times Café in Bethesda that serves four authentic kinds like pure Texan or Cincinnati styles. A perennial mainstay on best of lists for years, Hard Times Café is simply a place where you can come as you are, grab a seat, down a beer and feast on some of the best homemade chili around—all at absolutely dirt cheap prices.

Parker's Classic American
4824 Bethesda Ave., Bethesda, Maryland; Tel. 301.654.6366
Hands down the best burgers in Bethesda are at Parker's Classic American and those in the know pack this new American bistro on Mondays when the burgers are buy one, get one for 99 cents—not that Parker's everyday prices are outrageous, it's just nice in this day and age to be treated to specials where the food is actually good. The rest of Parker's Classic American menu is no slouch either and the drinks are always flowing from the bar. Also, Parker's has a good happy hour and there's specials offered every night of the week with an excellent brunch served on the weekends.

Ri-Ra Irish Restaurant Pub
4391 Elm St., Bethesda, Maryland; Tel. 301.657.1122
Ri-Ra Irish Restaurant Pub brings the quintessential Irish pub to Bethesda with authentic Irish fare, Irish, as well as, other tap beers and more Irish whiskey than we care to recount (hangovers). For those of you not into the heart stopping and mind bending fare from the Emerald Isle, Ri-Ra Irish Restaurant Pub doesn't just serve the tastes of Ireland, they throw a hearty dash of Maryland in there to boot. Ri-Ra in Bethesda gets rocking on a nightly basis, actually they get rocking right after the work day ends, so whether it's happy hour or later at night, there's a party.

Saphire Café
7940 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, Maryland; Tel. 301.986.9708
Sporting one of the largest bars in Bethesda doesn't mean the Saphire Café is just packed at night. During lunch—which is phenomenal by the way—it is nearly impossible to get a table and the take out orders have the phones ringing off the hook; tells you something about the food right there. But, you probably wanted to know what the Saphire Café in Bethesda was like at night; right? Well, with one of the best priced happy hours in town, this chic looking bar and restaurant, after the lunch rush, starts getting packed and usually stays that way right through closing because they usually take their cheap happy hour pricing philosophy and apply some aspect of it to any given night. Pluses include an outdoor patio and a late night menu so you can soak up that fifth martini.

South Beach Restaurant & Bar
7904 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda, Maryland; Tel. 301.718.9737
South Beach Restaurant and Bar brings a little taste of Miami to Bethesda with its' signature Caribbean, Cuban and Latin American cuisine. Awash in the funky, light colors of South Beach patrons get transported to that number one vacation spot even in the dead of winter. The art deco joint attracts the younger set who want to experience the extreme south without traveling there, also Bethesda business types pack the bar after work to get taken care of very well by the outstanding staff.

The Barking Dog
4723 Elm St., Bethesda, Maryland; Tel. 301.654.0022
In a town dominated by more sophisticated restaurant and bar experiences, Bethesda has to thank its lucky stars that a joint like The Barking Dog is still yelping away. The Dog is a quintessential hole in the wall neighborhood bar that gets rocking nearly every night of the week with a better than average happy hour (4-7pm), a decent pub style menu, more than their fair share of televisions broadcasting every kind of sport and just a general party atmosphere with people downing drinks and having a darn good time.

Tommy Joe's
4714 Montgomery Ln., Bethesda, Maryland; Tel. 301.654.3801
Tommy Joe's has been around a long time in downtown Bethesda, so you know they must be doing something right. Tommy Joe's serves up some good food and keeps the liquid solace flowing 'til close. Usually at night, Bethesda college kids come streaming in looking to hook up or show their often drunken chops on karaoke night. Weekend days you can find numerous sports fans staring at one of Tommy Joe's many TVs to catch the latest scores.

Uncle Jed's Roadhouse
7525 Old Georgetown Rd., Bethesda, Maryland; Tel. 301.913.0026
Uncle Jed's Roadhouse is striving to become the neighborhood bar in Bethesda by serving up more than reasonably priced food and drinks to their growing pantheon of regulars. Uncle Jed's also sports about 23 TVs that show any sporting event that you could possibly think of—seriously even if it's almost a sport and if it's televised then Jed's has it. Also, there's plenty of other diversions, other than the usual liquid ones, at Uncle Jed's Roadhouse like pool tables, air hockey and arcade games for when there's nothing on TV, but if you've read the above then you pretty much know that's an impossibility.

Union Jack's
4915 St. Elmo Ave., Bethesda, Maryland; Tel. 301.652.2561
With three separate rooms done up to resemble British pubs, Union Jack's in Bethesda is bringing a little bit of jolly old England to town. The main room sports a large bar where you can sip on some ales and groove to DJ stylings, then there's the main dining area complete with a stone fireplace, but the real party is in the billiard and dart parlor located in back. The restaurant itself serves up tradintional British fare like fish and chips and shepherds pie with some classic American fare rounding out the menu.

Willie & Reed's
4901-A Fairmont Ave., Bethesda, Maryland; Tel. 301.951.1100
Every TV in Willie & Reed's in Bethesda is tuned to some sort of sporting event making this downtown bar and restaurant the place to be on game days. You can usually find Willie & Reed's teeming with twenty-somethings looking for good food, cheaper than average drinks and the latest score of the game of the day. Willie & Reed's has plenty of seats, so unless the sporting event is astronomically huge, you usually won't have to stand.

—Bethesda bar and club reviews by Ryan Osterbeck

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