Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

*3.5
Came here with a large group and sat by the bar area. First off the service was AMAZING. Our waiter was one of the best I’ve had– always made sure our drinks were filled, separated checks without even us having to ask him, even offered to delay putting in an order so that it would be hot and ready for our friend who was joining us late, and turned the station so that we could watch the soccer game.
As for the food, it was ok. Granted we only got smaller plates like burgers, mac and cheese, etc. They tasted good but were very average.
The atmosphere was brewery/​restaurant as expected, rather large, and had some pool tables upstairs which was nice.

Loved my early 11am veggie taco lunch with the Chinook stout. Lots of beer options and good ambience. Highly recommend.

So bad. I don’t write this kind of review but I have a really nasty experience here. Be careful.

Decent happy hour menu with just okay food. service was really slow but it was pretty busy on a Thursday night so it’s understandable.
The speciality cocktails were too sweet and we couldn’t taste the alcohol which was disappointing. My party of 3 shared the chicken tenders and the jalapeño pretzel sticks and we got really full off that since portion size of the pretzel sticks was too big (probably could’ve shared in a group of 5 or 6).
Atmosphere was pretty lively. They had 2 pool tables upstairs with a side bar so I’d def check that out next time & maybe just stick to their beers since we felt like we overpaid for the cocktails

Not the best Margaritas ! And the beer was just fine. The service and the environment wasn’t what you want for a Friday night hangout with friends

Great food and good beer. The bartender, James, is awesome! Super personable even with the huge crowd of people there on a Friday. Even remember several people’s names which was impressive

Got great service here on a Friday afternoon. The woman tending bar was really good and allowed me to try a few brews before settling in on what I liked best. Had the chicken wings and small order of the steak street tacos. Everything great.

Cuban Cristo sandwich is tasty and large enough for 2, comes with a spicy jam that’s pretty good too. A little pricey for a sandwich ($ 12). Rock Bottom classic burger is good too.

Tried the ribeye (medium rare) with double steamed broccoli as my sides. The steak was decently priced at about $ 23, and the steak itself was cooked just right. The service was friendly, and was on the ball.
So, why only 4 stars? Because the ambiance was OK, as it was a typical brewery/​restaurant, but for the same price, the Outback’s ribeye beats it hands down. Perhaps I was expecting more? Maybe. Would I have given this place 5 stars if I drank their brews (which looked very tasty but I had to drive), probably. But I went there for the steak, and it was just OK.
Bottom line (pun intended): Unless I wanted to drink their beers, I don’t think the food alone would lure me back.

It’s a good late night standby. Late night happy hour starts at ten and goes to close, which is hard to come by in Bethesda. For a local brewer, the beer isn’t bad either.

I’d give four stars for the service, beer and atmosphere. Three stars for the food: particularly what I ordered this one time. I ordered the steak and shrimps dinner, steak came out to be over cooked (ordered medium), it was more than medium well, making it chewy. I expected the shrimps to be big fresh shrimps but they tasted like the small frozen ones from Safeway.
I love the beer though. I would definitely go back for the beer, and perhaps try other food on the menu.
It’s good for large group of people, also good for a casual kind of date.

Early dinner with grandsons, wife & son.
No happy hour pricing at the tables-​disappointing. Service was good
Ordered jambalaya– excellent flavoring. Chicken sandwich ok, Cobb salad good; kids meals were good n the waiter engaged all well.

My brother loves this place and he’s been coming here for years. He met his wife here and so this is where they tend to celebrate all their holidays. That means I’ve been a lot. I’ve had food once or twice but generally I just have drinks. It’s kind of got a sports bar feel without the huge massive screens. Servers have always been friendly and nice. Despite being acquired by Gorden Biersch the beer has stayed largely the same. It’s decently priced with a fair variety without being anything risqué or special. A little stodgy but not a horrible place if you are in Bethesda.

Currently at Rock Bottom. The bartender had to pour our drinks three times because the glasses were dirty and she noticed particles floating in them. We just got our pizza and a beetle crawled off it. Only reason why I’m giving two stars instead of one is because the manager was so nice and gave us our drinks for free and two free entrees on our next visit. But will we want to chance it again? I don’t know.

I really love this place. I took one star down because I’m not a fan of the selection of food, but I love the beer and atmosphere. Plus great happy hour deals!
Food — My issue with the food is more about the selection than it is about the quality. I’m just personally not a fan of menus that focus on bar food/​greasy food. But if you like that kind of stuff, they have a lot of options. I love their guacamole, and if you’re in the mood for a burger, they have great options.
BEER! — Great stuff. It’s brewed in-​house and the brewmaster is clearly skilled in several styles. They rotate the beers, but there’s always a great range of beers available. From IPAs, to dark beers (porters, stouts), to Belgian-​styled, to seasonal specials, every beer I’ve had here has been delicious. I get a growler filled here relatively frequently.
Happy hours — They have after-​work happy hours and late-​night happy hours. The beers are maybe $ 4 during happy hour and wine and liquor have discounts. Just be sure to consider the discount when tipping.
Service — Great! Friendly, prompt, welcoming people. I’ve never had an issue like the wrong food being sent over or a freakishly long wait for my order. They even learn the names of regulars and semi-​regulars. It gives a feels of a neighborhood place.

Late arrival relative due to traffic from NY & she wanted a cocktail, girl get your life & senses together, it was midnight!
Any who, as the Den Mama of everyone, I digressed momentarily before I regained my self imposed Matriarch persona & resorted to my faithful & enduring Community Happenin’s App, & Unilocaled the «Late Night Food» & viola we ended up here. & a tad bit too late for the kitchen as it closes at Midnight, so we ate wine.
But hold up, wait a minute… before the vino consumption, it was not a good experience of being serviced, or I shall say not being serviced.
When we walked in, we got stare downs from both the Bartender and the Server like, «Now I know these ladies ain’t coming in at 15 minutes midnight», uh, yes we were & yes we did.
We got a quick smile from the Bartender, aside from that & the Server who refused to speak on the 2 occasions of looking at us, we were on our own for about 5 minutes. I kept saying it’s been about 5 minutes & my relative thought she was cute singing Whoodini’s 5 Minutes of Funk… no ma’am, it was cold & rainy & I just wanted to a drink, & this was some junk.
After a few more minutes of being solo for dolo, I approached the bar, & extended cordial salutations, as it was too late to go left & be un-​elite like.
I got our 2 glasses of wine & was in chill mode for a few. Of course finding out hat the kitchen was closed, irked me even more so after getting snubbed. Heck, it may have been a negative vibe throughout Team Staff as the Manager had to repeat himself a couple of times to the same Server who didn’t acknowledge us… please clock out & just go home miss lady.
After we gulped down our drinks, I asked the Manager if any other places were opened for late night food & he directed us to the Brickside. «Bye Felix» the crazy in a good way New Yorker said (huh?), as I was preparing my generous tip…2 wrongs, well in this case, 3 wrongs don’t make it right as I know tipping is important for the eatery employees. We exit staged left & then across the street to hopefully a better experience.

Food was excellent but the service was very slow. Took something like 20 minutes just to get our appetizers and the place was half empty. Waitress kept looking at us funny like we were weird.

Visited the Rock Bottom for lunch after a Dr appointment at Bethesda Military hospital. The crowd was light and we were seated within seconds of walking through the door.
The décor is 40’s — 50’s old school brewery style. Lots of wood everywhere. Very relaxing!
The menu, while not large, was enormous. I wanted everything on the menu! It’s not often that I find a menu where everything reads «try me!»
The Salmon bites were excellent. Fried golden brown, whole pieces of fish and very tasty. Kudos to the chef who created this dish.
The BBQ chicken salad was also excellent. Lots of chicken with mixed greens and a creamy BBQ dressing with a light heat … Just enough to tingle the taste buds.
The waiter was friendly and always within sight. The restaurant was clean and had a soft music playing. You could not go wrong visiting this establishment.

Wow so clearly it’s time for an update. I work super close by to this Rock Bottom and come at least once a month for work lunches. Since 2012 they’ve updated their menu at least once and I love all the different options. I still wish there were an actual lunch menu or some lunch deals but there is a good variety. I have taken advantage of the burger and beer $ 10 lunches in the past but maybe not always the best idea on a work day.
The pretzels are always great to share, as well as the wings. Both burgers and the chicken sandwiches are solid choices. I haven’t yet tried the pizza or larger entrees.
The absolutely best deal is the greenhouse salad. Lettuce, tomato, carrot, cucumber hard boiled egg, sunflower seeds, raisins, and croutons all for under $ 4. Often times I’ll just get this and a 2 of the mini fish tacos for lunch and be full.
I wish the fountain drinks were a little cheaper and that there were bathrooms on the main level, but can’t complain too much. I’ll definitely keep coming back!

I like this Rock Bottom better than the Arlington location; it has two floors, and seems very polished. My coworkers and I went for Happy Hour, and had a great attentive server. We chose to come here because another option we considered didn’t start happy hour until 5; Rock Bottom started at 3pm and we were ready to leave work! I ordered chicken mac n cheese, and it was certainly satisfying.
The happy hour specials weren’t particularly remarkable, but prices were standard for an establishment located in the Bethesda area.