Saphire Cafe

Great neighborhood bar! Some of our favorites: buffalo wings, chicken satay, Argentinian steak salad and southwestern egg rolls. Don’t forget to get a draft beer to top it off

Great service and a great crowd. Definitely a hidden Jewel in Bethesda. Food is a great value!

Bartenders are great
Prices are unusually low
Food is excellent for the price.
By far my favorite dive bar in Bethesda.

Its hard to believe The Saphire Café has been been around for almost 20 years now. Throughout the years it has remained consistent, offering good food and drinks at great prices. Definitely not your typical Bethesda bar, feels relaxed with a divey yet fun atmosphere. This is the type of place where everyone is welcome.

do not even think about going to this place for a glass of tap water. the bartenders and bouncers are paid by those illeterate mexicans who barely speak english to sell cocaine, heroine, weed, all type of drugs in the restrooms. number one drugs dealer is a short mexican who always wears a red hoodie and usually hangs out with a really fat ass ugly saggy white girl. he will tell you:” oh the drugs are on the way, you will get them in 2 minutes”, little that you know, the bartender crushes some prescription pills, then they both sell them to you as cocaine. this place needs and requires constant ²⁴⁄₇ police watch, non stop. bethesda needs to get cleaned up.
do not come to this place, this is a fu… cking disgusting drugs place… you have been warned, if you leave your credit card at the bar, they will charge you 6 times your bill,…including the drugs fees.

Didn’t get my card back. Perfect timing before Christmas, nice one. Bar tender rushing too much not knowing what he’s doing.

A nice place to chill with friend after a long day at work. Drinks are always good and services it’s very nice, ask for Jason cool guy.

We came here for Tuesday night trivia with a group of friends on a whim. In a town of $ 12 drinks and fancy menus, Saphire offers a more modest, low-​key environment. A little divey, but the trivia crowd was fun and $ 4 draft/​rail drink specials help. We ordered the cheeseburger specials, which were forgettable. Save your cash for the drinks or the tater tots instead.

I would say best dive bar in town. Great service, friendly owner and good food.

How could someone not love this place?
— The best bar staff in Bethesda, hands down. They’re all fun, really nice, quick, attentive, etc. They make the place feel like Cheers!
— Outstanding food (my favs include the chicken satay, nachos, spinach quesadilla, cheeseburger, chicken ranch wrap, fries and tots). I’ve never ordered something that wasn’t delicious and I consider myself quite discerning when it comes to food.
— Casual, relaxed environment conducive to either chilling and/​or raging. You can go there for happy hour and be able to hear yourself having a conversation, maybe play some games (love me some touch screen)…OR…you can rage. My friends and I have definitely had «those» nights where someone ends up dancing on the bar. It’s all good!
— The outdoor patio is perfect for summer nights (and winter smokers).
— There’s a parking lot right out back.
— The prices are totally reasonable.
— It’s really big so you never feel crowded.
I could go on but I suggest just grabbing some friends, heading over and experiencing it for yourself!

Short Lived — .It’s a very spacious sport/​dive bar. It has plenty of dancing room, dining room, and private dining areas. The bar staff are super friendly and knows how to pour a mean drink. Yes, they are conveniently located on Wisconsin with parking in the rear. The Bethesda metro stop is only a few blocks away (take the Old Washington Rd exit). The host, DJ Leon, — a super guy who is as smooth as silk no matter what he spins. They also offer karaōke every Thursday (NEW) at 8 PM. See you there! Management needs adjustment but all else works well.

I’m a fan. This place has a chill vibe and lots of open space. I’m honestly surprised there weren’t more people here on a Friday night. They also have a back room for parties or pool.
Crowd is 30s and up. Not your typical Bethesda bar. Really down to earth. Reasonable prices and above average bar food. My girlfriend ordered the sliders and loved them. Some kind of awesome seasoning on the fries. Good service. Metered parking right out front and a metered lot in the back.
I really enjoyed myself here, will definitely be back.

Awesome food. Love it.
It may not show as a restaurant with good food but it really is.
Never disappointing.

Good bar food and drinks, friendly staff
Some of the better drink prices for the area. Plus has and has trivia night

They have a different pinball machine and the bartender thought the it was in good working order.
I pumped five bucks in the dam thing just to find out the upper left flipper doesn’t work, which means the upper right flipper will not get the ball.
Fun but useless.
Excellent place for Simpsons pinball and popular commercial beer,
The pinball machine has a table next to it for your beer, The garage door for otto’s would not open, or would not open all the way, something is wrong, I watched two guys play four games I played six games and the door never opened.
Very friendly group of people young and old ‚
I had to keep my coat on, was cold in there.

I have been coming to saphire for years. By far the best bartenders in Bethesda for sure. Fast service and the drinks are always made perfectly.
The menu is great! I have almost had everything on it and it always surprises me how good it is. It’s like they have a 5 star chef hidden in the back. They have great drink specials and a good selection of bottles/​draft beer. And yes they also have wine!
Trivia weekly and a Dj Thursday through Saturday. Certainly a bar to listen to music and dance if you want but out being overly packed to the point of annoyance.
This place has my thumbs up and yours to if you try it out!

Ok so I am very biased when it comes to Saphire. This is my local hangout and I come here pretty much every weekend.
For those of whom don’t get this place? Saphire is a local joint that doesn’t cater to the wants and needs of the common Bethesdian. It is the closest thing to a dive bar in Bethesda (unless you roll down Old Georgetown to Hank Deedles). The bartenders are fast and friendly. Even on a busy Saturday night you can get your drink with ease.
The drinks are cheap and the food is really great bar food. Don’t come here if you are looking for a healthy lunch choice. Their food is fried and greasy. Just what you need when watching sports and drinking.
My personal favorites? The burger, steak fajita wrap, french fires, egg rolls, roast beef w/​munster and the buffalo chicken sandwich. Also if you are in the mood try any of their specials they have during the week. They are posted behind the bar on a small whiteboard.
The atmosphere is low key, nothing special. Plenty of TVs showing a number of sporting events. The Tiki Bar is small but if you get their early enough you can grab a table and enjoy the debauchery that goes on round you. They also have some arcades to play as well as a new pool table in their back room.
Trivia night is on Wednesday and they sell half price burgers and cheap Millers. Very fun
You come here because you just got off work and need a cocktail or your favorite team is playing and you need a cocktail. Either way, you go for the drinks.

Despite the fact that I have been here many times, this review only encompasses the burger, fries, Miller Light, and trivia. They are all great. Apparently, they have other things, but I’ve yet to look at a menu.
That’s because Wednesdays feature half price burgers, 2 dollar drafts, and trivia. This means you can have a burger (they are standard, but sizeable and tasty), fries (really good), and 2 beers (DELICIOUS) for around 10 bucks after tax and tip. (!) (!) It just can’t be beat. Don’t come looking for anything fancy, or if you don’t like burgers or beer or fun.
As for the trivia, if you’e looking to play casually with some friends or co-​workers after work on Wednesdays, this place is great. Decent crowd, and the host is hysterical. If you are very serious about trivia, it may not be ideal, as the questions are the easiest of any trivia I have been to in DC.

It pains me to see Saphire with such an average rating on Unilocal.Saphire is all about no frills, amazing service, and surprisingly good food. I have to admit– this is my local joint.
I come here ’cause it’s the one place in Bethesda that is serving up cheap drinks where you can actually make your way up to the bar to order them. The bartenders and owner are extremely friendly and down to earth.
A lot of the items on their menu are solid. Here are my personal picks:
1. The chicken satay is a true stand out. They are grilled to perfection, hearty, and plain old delicious.
2. The potato skins are thick with a generous portion of bacon and cheese inside.
3. Get the tots. I’m totes for the tots (I order them well-​done: crispy)
4. The Pizza! I really like the pizza! Another surprisingly good thing!
5. Spinach Dip: served with both tortilla ships and bread sticks!
Saphire is truly an anomaly of Bethesda. It’s a little outdated; It’s a little old fashioned. It’s supported by a dedicated group of regulars that have found the worth in what it has to offer. Not too mention, the patio (Tiki-​bar) is quite full when the weather gets better and there is trivia on Wednesdays. I have a feeling that if all of the its regulars were Unilocalers, Saphire would have 6 stars.

Two and a half stars. I’m glad I asked to substitute the kaiser roll with multigrain bread because some of my coworkers complained that their buns were too dense. My bread was toasted from the griddle, with the brie melted on nicely. Turkey was decently moist and portioned generously, with fresh sammy veg. That’s where the compliments end.
Light on the honey dijon, thankfully. I never thought I’d complain about this, but there was there was too much brie and the rind left on dominated the whole sandwich. With the uneven melting, some bites were alright and others needed to be washed down. Pickle was limp and almost too old for consumption. Fries were actually pretty decent (which I’d expect from bar grub), but portioned conservatively in comparison. I’d be hard-​pressed to eat here again, but I’ll gladly drink and watch a game here.