A dive bar in Bethesda it has fair drink prices and good service. It's a cool place if you want to have a drink or watch a game. It gets pretty packed on Friday Saturday so be prepared it's one of the few late night spots left in the area. They do charge a hold of a 100 on cards so be prepared to get that. They will remove after you pay your bill. read more

Stopped in for some afternoon snacks and drinks with a friend. Very conveniently located next to the red line metro station. There were lots of open tables and seats at the bar on Saturday afternoon. The interior gives off old school dive bar vibes with a canine theme, you can tell this is the cool neighborhood regular spot. It did smell a little funky and the lighting was low. Lots of TVs around to watch games. The bartenders were extremely friendly and service was fast! We decided to get a couple appetizers to share, my favorite were the Mac n cheese bites, soft and cheesy. The chicken fingers and quesadilla rolls were very average. They have a lengthy beer/wine list and can make any cocktail you want! Prices are reasonable and there are no-frills at a place like this. Stop into the barking dog for a quick bite and drink on your downtown Bethesda bar hop! read more

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During the snow day, my family and I was looking for something quick and filling to eat. It was national margarita day and all I had a taste for was some hot wings and blue cheese and that's exactly what I got. I ordered 16 of the buffalo wings with two blue cheeses. And let me tell you as a hot wing connoisseur I give this place to stamp of approval. The wings were perfect. Cooked to perfection. They looked like real wings and weren't super big or super small. And I really enjoyed them!. Upon stepping in it's just like any typical bar on the inside on the smaller side with TVs and a bar area for you to sit down and drink or have your food. One thing that I did want to highlight is how nice and personable the servers were. Even when they answer the phone, they had a super positive attitude that made me smile and was refreshing. Will definitely be coming again to try different food items and if I ever just want a hometown bar feel. read more

Super friendly bartender, good selection of beers on tap. Seems like the whole neighborhood was there. Good country music on the speakers, read more

The Barking Dog - Great neighborhood bar. - Bars Near Me - Bethesda, Maryland

It used to be our favorite dive bar. Good crowd and good food. They have a new cook and my last three meals sucked. Crappy nachos and chicken cheese steak. read more

Visited The Barking Dog for dinner on a Tuesday night. Took a spot at the bar with the big screens on Premier League soccer and college basketball tournaments. The bar was busy but most of the restaurant section and outdoor were wide open. The bartender quickly got my drink order (I had a tasty local red ale) and, shortly following, my dinner. I had the Barking Dog Hot Dog which had a mound of sauerkraut with mustard underneath on a really soft hoagie roll. The hot dog was very good. Plenty filling. The star of the plate was the housemade Old Bay chips. They were great plain and even better dipped in a bit of ranch. Another beer later (Barking Dog's amber this time) and I was a happy customer. Thanks Barking Dog! read more

The Barking Dog - Barking Dog Hot Dog (sauerkraut and mustard) and old bay chips - Bars Near Me - Bethesda, Maryland

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Love this place! Only dive bar in Bethesda. They have great bar food. I love their chicken nachos, buffalo chicken tenders, and Chesapeake Burger. All the workers are very friendly and attentive. Plus they have touch tunes! read more

Great bar! One of the only bars in Bethesda that has been here for years and has not moved!

Great local ambiance . Very hoity toity area so a good dive is appreciated. Realistic prices. Didn't eat but based on first impressions- id consider. read more

Found this place online, and we walked over to check it out on a Sunday morning. I loved the atmosphere and the friendly staff. The food and drinks were good. I will definitely be back on my next trip. read more

Really like this place, great fun atmosphere for sports games and I think their food is a lot better than other sports bars. I really enjoy the chicken tenders as well as a few other things I've enjoyed here, like the buffalo chicken wrap (see picture). Great place to hang out with your friends too. read more

The Barking Dog - Buffalo Chicken Wrap - Bars Near Me - Bethesda, Maryland

Casual fun. Cheap drinks. Nice staff. Classic bar foods - don't expect to eat healthy here. It's a diver bar experience so embrace it for what it is - best enjoyed with friends and a sports game. read more

We live relatively close by and have been there several times. Good food, decent wine btg menu, and cool tunes. The owner and sometimes bartender, John, has been in the industry for a very long time. He knows the business, but is not very nice unless you are a friend or regular. He was very loud with his stories at the other end of the bar, and paid little attention to us. Political discussions never really end well and today was a perfect example. John is very open about his dislike of Trump (which I get). I told my husband not to engage ‍. John yelled at me for interrupting his rant when I was Just chiming in my agreement. The whole thing left me feeling very uncomfortable. None of this should even be an issue. Doubt that I will be back and am sure John doesn't give a shit. read more

Really cool locals pub. Fun atmosphere and friendly staff, solid bar food with some great pub staples. Always worth popping in for a pint when I'm in town. read more

Awesome bar in downtown bethesda. I've been here many times before and if you're looking for a nice vibe and some good drinks this is the place to go read more

I had a very good turkey avocado wrap at this local bar. I went there to watch a Liverpool FC game on Monday afternoon, and there were about 5 of us there supporting the Reds. read more

The cheesesteak supreme was good, maybe just a little bit too much bread. But the Old Bay chips were awesome! The service was friendly but they forgot a few drink orders. The atmosphere was loud and the air conditioning couldn't keep up with the crowd. read more

Located steps from Bethesda row, the Barking Dog has a mix of a college and dive bar feel. You can tell it's been in the neighborhood for a while but we stumbled upon it while exploring a few local areas with happy hour. On a Thursday evening, the bar was not very busy and we were attended to almost immediately taking a seat at the bar section. The food is a selection of your typical bar food, and the happy hour options seemed standard for the area, but I thought the prices were pretty decent. I had a few simple tequila cocktails, and hubby got a couple of simple whisky cocktails. The Buffalo rings were hot and tasty, but also similar to others we've had. We enjoyed the service, menu options, and comfy ambiance. I would say that there weren't a lot of ladies when I stopped by, but it could have just been the time of the day (pretty random). read more

The Barking Dog - Buffalo Wings - Bars Near Me - Bethesda, Maryland

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Horrible, walked in and immediately had to introduce ourselves to an old man bartender who seems to have a grudge against anyone younger than him. Would recommend getting rid of him. read more

Popular spot in Bethesda. Great service, great food and a great crowd. You never know who you will see there. They have an area upstairs that you can reserve for private events. read more

The Barking Dog - Hot dog with chili - Bars Near Me - Bethesda, Maryland

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Our by self for a hour away from the family. Customers aren't friendliest but not bad... 2 bartenders are AMAZING. Manager spent 20 min trying to find the Pirates game. AMAZING. Wings are great. Highly recommend!!! I mean who takes time for a good review on yelp. I usually just bitch here. This bar is top notch. Not just for Maryland, but for the USA read more

I have been here several times and usually have a great time, however I am very unhappy with the end of my service tonight. To be clear I had two servers, one male and one female, and the male server I had absolutely no issues with. He was wonderful and did the most to make sure my table had everything we needed. However, I asked the female server to bring us the check (there were 5 of us on one tab) and she brought me the tab without bringing a copy of the itemized receipt. One of the people at my table asked for an itemized receipt, and we ended up finding out that gratuity was included, despite the female server dropping the check without indicating 20% gratuity was included. It is deceptive to drop a check of more than $500 without indicating that gratuity is included. I work in the industry and would never let a table think that gratuity isn't included when a 20% autograt is included in the total price. If this is standard practice, management needs to improve their transparency guidelines. While servers deserved 20% gratuity, they should not trick guests into paying more than 20%. I love the Barking Dog, but am not willing to pay 100% more than 20% of the standard tip due to deceptive server practices. read more

Service was quick and attentive Food was good bar food A lot of television for game day They can host large parties read more

Pro: outdoor seating, nice staff, big tv all around. Con: loud music. After getting a recommendation from a staff at world of bear, we decided to stop by and grab a drink. The establishment has tv all around to view at every angle. The staff was very nice and attentive to our needs. The music was very loud and it was hard to hear conversations with our group. read more

The Barking Dog - Drink menu backside - Bars Near Me - Bethesda, Maryland

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Good towny bar I enjoyed the service and the regular customers are fun to chat to become a couple times a year and I always look forward to it read more

Three Stars = Serves a Purpose, but that's about it Food is above average for a bar. Service is great. Ambiance is one of the best in the area. Drinks were horrible, which is the main reason for the low rating. I have rather low standards for drinks, but they tested my standards last night. They couldn't pull of an Old Fashioned and the other drink was too sweet. I will return, but I'm still on the hunt for my favorite bar in downtown Bethesda. read more

Solid dive bar with nice staff and decent drink selection. Food is what you'd expect from a dive bar. Good late night spot for drinks

Give Dylan a raise!!!! My friend didn't tell us about her birthday, but her daughter told us she was celebrating at Barking Dog. I called to send a cake to the table, but they had just left. Bar Tender or Host , Dylan, told a buddy to go get them back in, and the whole bar sang Happy Birthday to her and gave her a shot!!!! THAT is good customer service. I'll come back for a great burger!!! read more

This place is not wheelchair or even cane-friendly. The front steps are too steep. They could have twice as many steps in the same space, you shouldn't have to take such big steps down or up a staircase. There are steps indoors also. The place has blaring music and it's really crowded and not that big so it's really noisy, plus multiple tvs playing 1 or more games/events. They have full menu until 10, late night menu to 11 on weekdays, midnight on weekends. Full bar menu. 2nd floor only for special events so fills up quickly and not too many high tables. There are sidewalk tables but they have a rat problem which is disconcerting. Park in any Bethesda Row garage, street parking is limited especially with Purple Line and Wisconsin Avenue construction. Convenient to Bethesda Metro station. Near movie Theater and Bethesda Row shops. They have a trivia night, I forget which night, haven't actually been. Food is better than expected, props to local cuisine with crab dip and old bay wings. Fun place to go after movie since most places in area aren't open late. Popular place for special events on 2nd floor but not sure if there is an elevator. read more

Is this Bethesda? Two blocks up from snazzy Bethesda, we have our own Cheers, a kind comfortable pub that brews its own beer and has tater tots covered with cheese and chili. Lots of good happy hour specials Full selection of beers on tap Meals and tables if you want that. read more

The Barking Dog - Bars Near Me - Bethesda, Maryland

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This is our neighborhood pub. We have been here a bunch of times. The downstairs has a pleasant atmosphere. The manager and wait staff are friendly. The food is good bar food, nothing fancy. The wings are some of the best in MoCo. Always crispy. The upstairs room is great for renting. We hired a band and had a big party. Bob, the manager, and the staff were super. read more

After picking up my grandkids from tennis practice this day they were hungry and it was late. The closest place open was the Barking Dog, I had been there many years ago for happy hour and a salsa dance class. Back then it was a great spot for the dance scene. Since then and after Covid I don't know how it is. But this time we got a hamburger with fries that was good and chips and wings. The wings were great but they didn't give us the wings. Hence the 4 stars. By the time we realized we didn't get the chips we were already halfway home and since they didn't charge us it wasn't worth going back. The chips was the first thing I ordered and they weren't busy, no other customers when I got there. Not sure what they do when they do have customers dining in. read more

This is a good bar on Bethesda Row! It has kinda a dive bar feel and it can get pretty busy, but the service is a always good and we enjoy the food. There is a large selection of food compared to some other bars in the area. read more

Had a chance to check this place out while waiting for our hotel room to be ready and it did NOT disappoint. We enjoyed cold beer and the crab dip which was amazing. The atmosphere was exactly what we wanted, a laid back relaxed happy hour group of regulars. Had a chance to meet John the owner who was as friendly as he was interesting. I will go back every time Iam in the area visiting family. read more

The Barking Dog - Bar area and awesome owner John. - Bars Near Me - Bethesda, Maryland

This is not a full review. We were attending a "Celebration of Life" event upstairs in the private meeting room but I can comment on the small sampling of food, drinks, and location. The upstairs private room is great for private events. We had some shredded pork and chicken with sandwich dinner rolls. Also included were a few varieties of bbq sauces. Both meats were tender and juicy. No complaints about the potato salad, cole slaw, and peas. Fries were soggy and I don't like soggy fries. There is a full bar upstairs so if you do need that for your event, the Barking Dog has it. The servers were very friendly and were around the entire time to take up any empty glasses or plates. Small stand up tables were placed around the room with bar stools. Unfortunately, for our event, there was not enough seating for what seemed like over 100 people. I certainly wouldn't mind coming back and trying out the place another time.I would also certainly consider having an event in their upstairs private room. read more

I was in Bethesda getting my haircut and wanted to go to a restaurant I hadn't been to before. My hairstylist recommended the Barking Dog. It was a five minute walk so I didn't have to move the car, and we headed over. When we walked in, there were a lot of people at the bar, and one or two parties at tables. Having never been there before we didn't know what to do so we just ended up seating ourselves when no one came over. It's a casual place and a hang out. They have several TVs. There is a happy hour menu with discounted drinks. I chose a draft beer I haven't seen in a while around here, Smithwick's. Just yummy! There seem to be only one server, so it took a while to get served, but at one point, another server showed up. I chose the buffalo chicken wrap, which was just wonderful! It was big! I think the wrap itself was a vegetable tortilla and it was stuffed with lettuce, tomato and chunks of buffalo chicken served with blue cheese dressing on the side and their homemade potato chips. I am a sucker for homemade potato chips, and these were very good. Christopher had the fish and chips and he liked it. We shared an appetizer of mini corn dogs that were outrageously good! This place was a really fun stop and I definitely will be going back. It did get very crowded by the time we left. I think that people were pregaming, for the next day, Saint Patrick's day! read more

One of the few dive bars left in the area. If you are looking to pay normal prices in an area that is notoriously expensive and drink in a relaxed atmosphere with friends look no further. Cheap drinks and good times is what you will find here. A late night spot that will surely satisfy your craving for fun over a nice cold beverage. read more

Now this is how you do Happy Hour!!! Honestly, Matt the Bartender aka Server aka DJ aka Sous Chef made our visit simply epic. We sat at the bar & received nothing but a friendly atmosphere, UBER AMAZING interaction with Matt & of course great special prices on the drinks & bites. There are massive TV's to catch whatever sports aspect you fancy, video games & various cuts in the corner to chill out. I wanted to be Inspector Gadget & walk up the stairs that was roped off with a bench sitting in the middle, hence I did not...this time. This charmed neighborhood bar offers daily specials from Salsa to League Nights, & for all of my football gurus, you can watch NFL Ticket. I know there's a plethora of Happy Hour spots in the 20814, yet this one blew my sandals off. HH is from 4pm-8pm, M-F with slap someone's mama (figuratively speaking of course) unbeatable prices for Drafts, Wine, Rails & small plates, that offers a daily rotation. Our visit consisted of Tater Tots, Chicken Fingers, Fries & my olive's craving & an abundance of various libations. I learned so much about beer. The regular menu offers an extensive selection to boot, & with those same good prices. I'm always siked to see organizations supporting charities & causes, as the Barking Dog contributes to the American Cancer Society, Whitman HS & The Human Society to name a few. TBD is a few blocks down the street from Bethesda Metro, with a green awning reminding you of 'Cheers', especially with the welcoming atmosphere..."Where Everybody Knows Your Name". Matt, thank you for putting up with our diverse office group, being the best DJ in playing every darn song requested & showing us such phenomenal Happy Hour luv! Unfortunately for you, we will be back too many times over, so please don't hide LOL! GREAT, GREAT, GREAT EXPERIENCE. read more

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Best late night bar spot!!! Welcoming ambiance, friendly/efficient staff and authentic hospitality. The bartender Justin is talented and makes perfectly balanced cocktails. Our food was personally delivered by the owner Bob. He clearly the heart of the establishment, authentic hospitality at its core!!! We just moved to the area, and we will definitely be back!!! read more

The Barking Dog - Blue Moon and a Maryland Crush - Bars Near Me - Bethesda, Maryland

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Visiting Bethesda for the first time. Got to Barking Dog around 10pm on a Saturday ( it was highly recommended). Ordered (2) drinks, gave them my card, I asked to close out, convinced me to leave my tab open. Sat down at a table, and 2 minutes later got a text and call from my bank saying I had a hold on my card for $150.00. My card was shut down. The money has been out of my account "pending" for 2 weeks. Hope your bar made payroll.... has this happened to anyone else ?? Gas station is one thing for placing a hold, but I've never had a bar take (5) times the amount of my tab off my card and hold it for two weeks... read more