The Barking Dog

Great bar and food, drinks, and lively crowd of happy people.
I visited with a friend from work, while having my car serviced in the area. We were looking for a laid back, good dive bar, within a short distance from the dealership. We hit a winner coming to the Barking Dog.
The young lady bartender was able to handle my feisty banter, and dish some out some quick responses herself, had a great time. Service was excellent and I like to come back. Had wings and a couple of frosty beers. Just an excellent American type bar, nice food and service and enjoyed the atmosphere.

Barking Dog is the closest thing to a dive bar you can find in Bethesda, and I mean that in the most positive way possible. The service was extremely attentive and friendly, so much so that both bartenders I encountered greeted me with their names and sold me on what the Barking Dog had to offer. The beer selection was great and featured both local and national selections. Owen and Matt (I remembered their names, as they did mine) were extremely helpful, and drew my attention to the most delicious crab dip I’ve had since moving to Maryland. While there’s nothing particularly special about the exterior or interior or food of the Barking Dog, it’s the ambiance and aura that make this bar so inviting. As a first timer I encountered numerous delighted locals eager to tell me how this was their favorite local spot and I have to agree. If you want a real, unfiltered glimpse at Maryland, this is the place to come.

Matt and Owen serve the best bud light in the state of Maryland. Highly recommend this bar.

My sister in law and I walked in and were greeted nicely by one of the employees id’ing people as they walked in. We immediately connected with so many friendly people in the bar and it was just a fun filled night. I love that it’s family owned and that the bartenders were brothers. They were so kind and welcoming as well. We are from California and don’t know anyone in the city. They made us feel comfortable and they had really good drinks. I think they should make a drink in our honor of us, just kidding, lol. Maybe we’ll get to come back one day :)

Walked in and walked right out. The place smelled awful, like they may be having sewer issues. I couldn’t even think of getting a drink. I wish I could rate this place half a star.

I liked this bar. I rarely go out to Bethesda (seeing as I live in Los Angeles), but I enjoyed drinking here. The atmosphere was lively, a good mix of people aged 21 – 50. A nice selection of beers on tap. Downstairs was a bit more mellow, with a standard bar seating area and some tables to eat at. Upstairs was more of a club scene, with a dance floor and loud music. Downstairs was more my jam.
We ordered some chicken wings around midnight, and they came through nicely. Jamaican jerk and buffalo with some blue cheese dipping sauce. I enjoyed them. They messed up my order at first, but they quickly solved it and I got them without hassle.
Bartenders were friendly. Good beer for a good price. The Flying Dog pale ale is amazing.

Never pay with plastic. Double charged and management refuses to refund. Thank you Visa for taken care of this.
Food and drinks are good but I can’t support unethical business practices. Will not be returning.

Perfect dive bar and reasonably priced beers! Great place for a few beers while watching the sports game. I’ve been there twice and both times had great bartenders. It’d get 5 stars if there was a wider beer selection.

The food isn’t good, but I do like the karaōke. The drinks are alright, but you have to go to the bar to get them. They never seem to have the 2^nd level open.

I came here on a Thursday night after 10pm for a friend’s birthday party. We really wanted to go upstairs where they have a corn hole game set up. However, today the upstairs was closed. The birthday boy was pretty bummed about that. However, we decided to stay because the bar was hosting a karaōke night.
The karaōke was so fun, yet so dingy. But that was the fun of it! Bad karaōke is always a fun thing. The singing was horrible. The TV images accompanying the songs were on the retro end. But you know what? I had a blast and I think everyone else was having fun too.
The drinks were such a good deal. It cost me $ 25 for three drinks. I am completely shocked by the cheap drink prices. But then again, I’m used to the abnormal DC drink prices. At the same time, this place feels dark, small and a bit dirty. The bar almost feels like a college bar, if you know what I mean!

I gave it three stars cause I’ve only been here twice. I don’t want to get too caught up to soon. Plus it would be tough for me to be a regular since I’m really only interested in the Latin Tuesdays… and I work so…
As mentioned, I’ve been to the Barking Dog twice now, both for Latin Night on Tuesdays. My second time was on Cinco de Mayo which fell on a Tuesday in 2015. Seemed like a perfect setup to me. The cover was $ 7. Not sure if that is normal or if it was only for Cinco de Mayo. But I loved the atmosphere. Everyone is friendly and there is absolutely no drama. I’m not too picky about the dance floor conditions or the music selections but I’ve read some reviews of people being a little too dramatic and complaining about that stuff. As for me, you could play salsa music in a graveyard and I would dance like there is no tomorrow. We all have our preferences I suppose though.
It’s a bit of an older crowd I think. Middle aged, and average to seasoned dancers for the most part. But very diverse. I went on my own and was asked to dance very often. I always tell my partner that I am not that good, so that we can start off slow and then work our way up. I’d say I’m more than a beginner… less than intermediate. Regardless, by the end of the dance my partners always claim that I am way better than I say I am.
$ 6 mojitos and margaritas on these nights. There are other specials too, but I usually just go for something tasty and quick that will get me «nice.» Nothing like twirling around when you are a little faded. ;) The mojitos are pretty good but I’m sure the more snooty types would say otherwise. It really doesn’t take much for me to have a good Latin night out. I just went after a long work day, wanted to do something special for Cinco de Mayo, and I got everything I asked for. Great music, great dancing, great drinks, and great fellowship with complete strangers that really took me for a spin on the dance floor. What else do you need?

Awesome pulled pork sandwiches and steak and cheese… great wines by the glass… and they serve food late, unlike a lot of places in the area.

Came here for a private event upstairs. It’s a great space, with high, decorated ceilings so you don’t fell like you’re in a dank, loud pub.

I come here weekly since I play in a cornhole/​skeeball league sponsored by United Social Sports (they rent out the 2^nd floor bar on Thurs nights). There are two skeeball machines on the 2^nd floor and the bar sets up cornhole at the other end. They don’t have the greatest selection of beers on draft at the 2^nd floor bar so my beer of choice up there is yeung ling. Considering there is a league playing every week you would think they would offer better HH specials but the menu is pretty limited… We usually meet for happy our elsewhere and arrive for our games. On days I come straight from work and haven’t had a chance to eat dinner, I’ve tried their dogs and I have to admit I was thoroughly satisfied. The first time I had their Chicago style dog with homemade chips which totally hit the spot. They give generous portions on the chips. The next time I tried their dog with guacamole and jalapeño peppers and they allowed me to switch out the chips for the tator tots. I love tator tots. Again, the hotdog was good and OMG. the tots are awesome! How can u really go wrong with tots? On the main level bar they have karaōke on Thurs nights as well. Fun times!!!

My friend and I decided to meet in Bethesda for dinner on a Tuesday night. He was running a little late as he was coming from Virginia, so I decided to stop in here for a bit to protect myself from the cold.
I had been here once before but had been significantly more inebriated, so that didn’t give me a fair judgment. The Baking Dog is an old school type of bar. In a place as yuppified as Bethesda, that’s kind of refreshing. The bartender wasn’t super attentive, but it’s not like he ignored me either. Seems like a lot of the clientele there were regulars, which is cool. They have a few screens for sports games, and if you ask nicely, they can turn on whatever game you’re interested in watching.
And the best part is that I got a $ 3 Dundee Honey Brown. It’s not like a premium beer or anything, but that’s a damn good price for a decent beer, especially in this area.
Bottom line: If you’re looking for a relaxed, no-​frills bar, this might be your place. If you’re looking for something more upscale and contemporary, there are about a 1000 other places in the DC area you can try.

I was really disappointed in coming here. I was excited to try a karaōke event in Bethesda, because I usually have to travel really far This one, however doesn’t seem worthwhile, although I’ve only been there once.
We were initially greeting by a grumpy short guy with a dead-​ringer resemblance to Anton LeVay. That kind of thing is always a red flag to me, because in customer service, why are you going to try and look mean or evil or whatever? Anyhow, of course he demanded, rather than asked for an ID while glaring up at me. «Really?», I kept unnecessarily asking myself, «What did I do?»
The waitress was also rather abrasive, and she certainly wasn’t cheerful, to say the least. I think she tried to do a good job though. She was at least attempting to be communicative, for example, when we asked about a particular beer, she frankly stated, with little expression, «It tastes like watered-​down piss.» How professional. Anyhow, I chose a different beer– call me crazy…
The food was mixed… my barbeque sandwich was okay for the North, but the wings were really dried out. My girlfriend felt like she was gnawing on an old mummy or something. The Cole slaw and beans were okay. They really need to clean the bathroom too– unfortunately we could smell it during the meal.
The atmosphere was kind of an older, yet snoody crowd, kind of like washed out ex-​fraternity people, etc.-very vanilla. A couple of fair attempts were made, but we weren’t impressed, and of course a few rednecks were there singing country music and all that, but that’s common in karaōke for some reason.
We take part in a fair amount of karaōke ourselves, but really couldn’t get into the vibe there. Potomac Grill often hosts a much more amicable karaōke crowd and there are several better places in Arlington that I would recommend instead. Freddie’s Beach Bar is the best.

We randomly picked this place that we found on our GPS. We wanted a snack for an early lunch.
We had the slider combination plus The Barking Dog hot dog. The food was awesome. Loved how the chips were freshly cooked. It was all so good. For the size of the portions we got the price was a bargain.
The cranberry juice I had was not watered down like a lot of places and got two glasses for what I consider to be quite cheap.
I believe the owner served us and he was very friendly & chatted with us.
The ambience was pretty divey but certainly had atmostphere. We would go here again.

Under whelmed… Sold to me as a beer place but just a regular bar. Kinda like hanging out in a really big living room at frat house. Service was fine… I guess a good place if you don’t have a house suited for roudy hang outs

Came here for a beer on a Friday night. It wasn’t too crowded so it was pretty easy to get a spot by the bar. I saw a sign for appetizers ranging from $ 4.00-$ 8.00. It’s a typical bar with the usual selection of beers.
We decided to check out the upstairs area, which was a lot less occupied than the lower level. There’s was a bar upstairs AND two SKI BALL tables! It said $.50 per game, but when we put in a dollar, it allowed us to play three games!
They also have a pool table.
This bar seems kind of out of place since it’s like a stones throw away from the ritzy Bethesda Row area. It is still a nice little place if you just want a beer and don’t care for anything else.

New things are afoot! First– this review is posted from the Unilocal mobile app!!! Woot Woot! One of the most requested features does not have to be requested anymore!
Second– the upstairs of the Barking dog has undergone some sort of renovation. It was apparent to me and then about 5 different people all independently of each other said the same thing. The walls are much brighter. There are windows where I don’t remember windows to be. There’s a pool table on the side of the room, ski ball tables, and a game of corn hole set up.
Previously I would have compared the upstairs area to someone who was trying to interior design their home «horror-​movie-​chic». Now it’s a lot better and boasts sofas around the room to lounge on. The food that they put out was … Meh — but I definitely won’t hesitate to grab a drink there now. Now that I don’t have the feeling like I’m in the middle of a SAW movie :). Good job Barking Dog! Way to spruce things up!