Arlington Nightlife Tips by Ewingjr98 Top 5 Page for this destination

Crystal City's 23rd Street

23rd Street is the heart of Crystal City's nightlife and restaurant scene. This short, two-block strip has a variety of local restaurants such as the Crystal City Sports Pub, the Tortoise and Hare, Kabob Palace, and the Crystal City Diner. It also has a few good chain restaurants such as Legal Seafoods.

Theme: Eating and Drinking

Tortoise & Hare - Crystal City

"Hop in, crawl out." That's the motto at friendly neighborhood Tortoise & Hare pub on 23rd St in Crystal City, Arlington. This great little corner bar has a nice dining area and a big bar, most within view of their numerous flat screen TVs. They have various specials and events, such as Tuesday night Mexican food, Tecate beers, and Trivia, as well as half price burgers on Wednesdays, and live bands on Fridays.

I stopped in for dinner on a recent Tuesday and stayed for half of trivia. I started with a draft Yuengling lager and enjoyed their house burger, called the T&H burger. This came served with fries or a side salad, which is an unusual, but welcome option, and the burger was cooked to order and served with a fantastic chipotle ketchup. My meal was about $22, since the cool bartender comped me a drink or too.

The trivia was interesting, and it drew a good, young crowd. There were about 10 teams of 4 to 6 people participating, which was most of the bar and dining area crowd. Seems like a fun little neighborhood spot, but it also attracts its share of business travellers from the nearby hotels such as the Radisson, Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn, and others. The metro is about 6 blocks away, most of the walk sheltered from the weather by the Crystal City underground. Also nearby are the Kabob Palace and the Crystal City Sports Pub, two of my favorite places in the DC area.

Theme: Eating and Drinking

In the Rosslyn Holiday Inn: Vantage Point Bar & Restaurant - Rosslyn

This is a hotel bar... definately a negative. I have always hated hotel bars, probably always will, until I'm about 60 and around the same age as the other customers. But this bar has one big draw that other greasy hotel bars lack: a stunning view over the Potomac River to Georgetown and beyond.

We stopped in one Friday afternoon around 6pm and grabbed a few seats at the bar. Lhenne1 and I each had a bottle of beer ($5.50 each). The bar area is against the glass and set low so the bar seats face the windows. The bartender walks between you and the windows, but does not block the view. Heck, he barely even stops to see if you need a drink; you won't even know he's there!

We sat for about 45 minutes and just stared over the bar at the city across the river, trying to pick out key landmarks. From here you can easily see Georgetown University and the National Cathedral behind it in the distance. I was also able to pick out Catholic University, the Georgetown Reservoir, the poltergeist stair in Georgetown, the Naval Observatory, and a few other locations. Unfortunately the bar does not offer any views to the National Mall or the White House.

The bartender here was pretty bored and our service slow. I planned to have a second beer, but he ignored my empty bottle for about 5 minutes, so we decided to pay and leave. Come for the views, not the service.

This 17th floor bar is attached to a restaurant with similar views.

Theme: Eating and Drinking

Carpool - Virginia Square

Wandering down Wilson Blvd one night, we took a detour to Fairfax Drive and happened upon a cool bar called Carpool. From the outside it looks kind of like an old mechanic shop with gas pumps and two big overhead doors open to a nice outdoor patio. Inside it still looks like an old auto repair garage, just with pool tables and a bar in place of cars.

We stopped here about 6:30 one night and, after having our ID's checked, we crowded into the busy bar. We ordered a couple of Yuenglings at the happy hour price of $3.50 then just hung out for awhile. After happy hour ended, a few seats opened up, so we ordered another round of drinks plus their steak and chicken nachos ($9). The nachos were surprisingly delicious, particularly their marinated and grilled steak chunks.

I really like this bar and think it could be a fun place to visit every once in a while.

Address: 4000 Fairfax Drive, Arlington VA 22203

Directions: Near Virginia Square/GMU Metro

Other Contact: office@carpoolweb.com

Phone: (703) 532 7665

Theme: Eating and Drinking

Website: http://www.gocarpool.com

Baileys Pub and Grille - Ballston, Arlington

Bailey's Pub and Grille is a huge bar and restaurant located in Arlington at Ballston Common shopping center. We went there at about 1:30 on a Sunday morning and they were still very busy. Drinks were kind of expensive at $4.25 for a Budweiser draft and $6.00 for a Hoegarden draft. Not a bad spot if you happen to be in the area and are bored.

I hear this is a great spot for NFL games on Sundays.

Address: 4238 Wilson Blvd, Arlington

Directions: Via Metro: Take the orange line to Ballston-GMU Station. Exit Ballston Station and at the top of the escalator turn right. Xando Café on Stuart Street will face you. Turn left. Walk two blocks to the entrance to Ballston Common

Phone: (703) 465-1300

Theme: Eating and Drinking