Pub Recommendations in D.C.

Hi Everyone, I'll be visiting washington d.c. this weekend w/my gf and was wondering if anyone could recommend some good places to go for a beer. We'll be staying in the Dupont Circle area if that makes a difference.

Brickskellers (sp?) is near Dupont and has a ton of beers on tap. I'm thinking 100 was the magic number but it's been a while. Not quite a pub but the atmosphere can be interesting at the least.

There is also RFD, which is owned by the same guy that own the Brickskeller. RFD has good food and a great draft/bottle list. It's also not too far from the Mall (5 blocks or so), if you plan to go see museums, etc.

There is also Capitol City Brewing (two locations, one downtown and one near Union Station) - which makes their own beer. Decent beer, decent food.

Have a great trip!

Any chance you will also be in the Baltimore area? Max's Over Broadway is my favorite bar of all time.

Jared311 said:

Any chance you will also be in the Baltimore area? Max's Over Broadway is my favorite bar of all time.

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We might be headed that way for one of the nights of our stay. I'll definately keep Max's Over Broadway in mind. Thanks to everyone else with the suggestions! I'll check them out.

had lunch last year at Birreria Paradiso. Pretty good pizza with an excellent bottle list.

Pizzeria Paradiso, Washington, DC

I'll second Max's, freakin' incredible place. DuClaw is just around the corner too, good beer.

RFD in DC is nice, lots of good beer.

There's a Dogfish Head Alehouse too in Gaithersburg, MD, north of DC.

One warning about Brickskeller, have several backups to your first, second and third choices. They boast about their huge beer list, but often times don't have half of it in stock at the moment.

Kilted Brewer said:

One warning about Brickskeller, have several backups to your first, second and third choices. They boast about their huge beer list, but often times don't have half of it in stock at the moment.

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This is why I would recommend RFD - I have heard that service and food are not great at Brickskeller (but have not been there personally).

If you have an AHA card, I believe the Dogfish Head in Gaithersburg will give you a discount.

Further north to Frederick (if you happen to want to drive through towards Gettysburg) is Brewer's Alley, which right now has a Wedding Alt that will make you want to smack yo' mama!

The Saloon on U-Street is located next to Ben's Chili Bowl between 13th and 12th is a must visit pub (its right across the street from the metro station). Great atmosphere (NO TV's and no loud music). The bar has 10 German beers on draft (Incl. Hefeweizen, Helles, Dunkles, Maibock, Oktoberfest, Pils) as well as about 30 different belgian bottles. I've been drinking at this bar once per week ever since I moved to the DC area and I love it.

BTW this it the only place in the USA where you can have Ur-Bock 23 on draft.

If you get tired of the Saloon, you can walk 1 block to the corner of 13th and U and visit Bar Marvin which has about 8-10 belgian brews on tap.

+2 maybe 3 to John_Peters' Saloon reccomendation. I would also suggest Brasserie Beck Brasserie Beck, Washington, DC - Robert Wiedmaier for their killer selection of otherwise unavailable Belgian (some great sour beers).

Both those places are a ~25 minute walk from Dupont Circle or a cheap cab ride. If do you go to Pizzaria Paradiso go to the Georgetown location and get a seat at the down-stairs bar.

I never knew about Brasserie Beck. I need to check it out.

WDC: Have you ever eaten there? IF o is the food any good?

I sure have. I stick to the sandwiches and mussels but my friends are very happy when they go in for the entrees. It seems like, in general, the quality of the food in the city is a little lower than its price tag (RFD&Brickskeller) but I'm happy with the ratio at BB. And at the Saloon for that matter.

FYI: I have always needed to wait for a table when I've shown up at prime dinner hour. You could call ahead or just know that you'll drink the first beer standing up.

Same neighborhood: have you checked out Matchbox (wine/cocktails/pizza) down in Chinatown? Usually five or six solid beers on rotation and the pizza is excellent.

Haven't been to Matchbox yet, but its on the list now. I have a group of friends coming to visit in December, so I'll have to hit that place while they're here.

I usually stick to the U-Street area when I go out, so I don't know much about places around Chinatown.

Same problem, different neighborhood. I'm going to have to get up to U street and check out Bar Marvin.

WDC said:

Same problem, different neighborhood. I'm going to have to get up to U street and check out Bar Marvin.

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Marvin is worth a look. The beer is reasonably priced and they have 3 bars (2 upstairs and 1 downstairs), but the place is absolutely packed to the gills on thursday/friday nights. During the summer they have an open air bar on the roof and by about 11:00pm the entire place is standing room only.

Just wanted to thank all of you for your recommendations. Unfortunately SWMBO pulled rank and we had to hangout with her family instead of sampling the local brews I'll keep all these in mind for next time I'm in D.C.

Happens to the worst of us. At least there's a new brewery in NYC for you to explore.