The Barking Dog

My favorite spot in Bethesda with a neighborhood feel. Delicious food at an affordable price, there are always happy hour deals and the service is incredible. A very cozy place to hang out, watch sports or catch up with friends. The event space is great and accommodates large groups. I definitely recommend the Crab Dip and Philly Cheese Steak.

What a place, lived up to its reputation (which we learnt when we were there)… some of the best buffalo wings on the East Coast. Guy behind the bar was very chill and attentive. Highly recommend!

Discovered this great local bar whilst on a short stopover in Bethesda travelling back out of the US. Great atmosphere, awesome bar staff, and good food with a decent beer selection. Really nice to find a non-corporate owned venue with real character and real people. Big thanks to Bob and his staff for making a couple of weary Aussie travellers feel so welcome!

Great Gastropub. Food was as expected meaning great bar food nothing out of this world but just what we were expecting. Friendly staff and good place to hang out.

Went here during Sunday night football, it was packed and everyone was having a good time watching the game and just enjoying their night. The staff was friendly and quick to serve us even with being so crowded. Prices might be a bit higher than I'd expect for a place that feels like a local/industry spot but overall I enjoyed it.

My friends and I enjoyed lunch on a relatively quiet winter weekday. Although the service was not quick (we arrived just after two larger groups), the food arrived piping hot. My chicken quesadilla was topped with a pleasantly spicy drizzle. The fish, of the fish and chips, had noticeably flavored coating. The Doghouse Burger came on a real kaiser roll which stood up to the juicy burger. This place strives for dive bar ambience but is far too clean, and with too well-made food.

Great customer service! Food was good and will definitely return soon for more wings.

My wife and I were in town for a seminar at the NIH. We happened upon the Barking Dog while exploring the area. We stopped in for lunch and ended up staying to watch a Notre Dame football game. The food was excellent, the service was great, and staff was very friendly and accommodating. We visited again and found the same service and atmosphere. I highly recommend you enjoy this wonderful experience for yourself.

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!

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

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!

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

On St. Patrick's Day, my mom wanted green beer, so we went to The Barking Dog. The gastropub was filled with sports fanatics. Since alcoholic drinks weren't permitted in the patio area, we were seated at a booth near the bathroom. My brother had an O'Doul's, my fiancé had a Crooked Crab Haze for Days Pale Ale, my parent shared a New Trails Crisp Lager (dyed green), and I had a Green Tea Cocktail. We shared an order of Pub Pretzels, which was served warm and with a spicy cheese dipping sauce.

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

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.

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).

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!!!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

great bar. and if your at a bar and think the music is too loud. Just stop and get off my planet!

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.

The Dog has awesome food, friendly staff and a great atmosphere. They have the best old bay wings I've ever had. I especially like the crowd that frequency place. It's like my own local version of Cheers.

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!

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.

They will charge your credit card $100 just to open a tab that you close that's only about $20. Management is insane thinking that that is acceptable. Say it'll come back in your account in 24-48 hours: scares customers. Literally won't go back to this establishment based on the insane practice..

Good place for beer and late night chilling. Sports pub with indoor games. Its a good place to hang with your friends in Bethesda.

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.

I was in town for a work event and came to the dog for drink. I've traveled the country and this is one of the worst bars I have ever been to. The food was below average and the drinks sucked. Please avoid this place that claims to be a bar. Honestly just a below average bar with overpriced drinks.

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.

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.

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!!!

Touch down in DC tonight, and after getting the rental car, we couldn't find ANYTHING to eat due to COVID-19. Everything closed by 10 or 11. I called the Barking Dog and was told that there were closing in 2 minutes, so I said fine and hung up. Bob, the owner, called me back minutes later and offered to cook is something to eat! Needless to say, we were ecstatic as we have not eaten since leaving California. We got Jamaican wings, beef chili nachos, steak fries and chicken quesadilla rolls. We were nice and full on the ride to the hotel. Thanks Bob!

Not impressed with the atmosphere- Definitely do not purchase a Guinness- terrible pour! Underwhelmed w experience- It's like a college bar - that didn't graduate! Expensive drinks-

Well another wrinkle in this story. Today I got a "compliment" on my yelp review from a "Kai C" that said "Someone turned your coats in today by the way. Enjoy your day. Signed: A Black Barking Dog Customer". I immediately called the bar and said that I heard two coats were returned. The person on the phone said "Is this the person who wrote the nasty review?" I said yes. He said, well there are two black coats. I said our coats weren't black and asked if one was green, he said he couldn't tell and I should come in to check. So a few hours later I went back to the barking dog and found my date's coat and another random coat but not my coat. I didn't talk to anyone at the bar but a waitress who didn't seem involved in anything. While I'm glad that I got my date's coat back (even though mine is still missing), I find the whole thing suspicious because this "Kai C" has one picture (black female) on her yelp profile and has posted one review in 2019, even though she's been a yelper since 2016 and also has no yelp friends (despite yelp being linked to facebook such that most yelpers have facebook friends linked in). What are the chances that "Kai C" (the alleged barking dog customer), if she happened to take and return my date's coat, was looking at my yelp review of the barking day on the same day that she returns my date's coat? Clearly this alleged person is not an avid yelp user. The bar was also clearly aware of my yelp review as the person who answered the phone there when I called about 15 minutes after getting "Kai C"'s message asked me if I had posted the nasty review. I suspect that this yelp account of "Kai C" is a fake account run by someone at the barking dog (probably the management) who read my "nasty" review and decided to act like our coats were returned (and in keeping with being racist/sexists, they used a photo of a black female for their fake account). Unfortunately, the bar only "returned" one of the our coats (if my suspicions are correct then I'm guessing they have a collection of coats they've stolen from other unwelcome customers somewhere and just grabbed a wrong coat instead of mine). The other possible explanation is that this "Kai C" person showed up at the bar with two coats and the bar asked her to contact me on yelp about it (thus, informing her of the review even though she doesn't appear to otherwise spend time on yelp). I find this latter possibility less likely, given all the other factors, but I suppose it's possible. Bottom line, the behavior of the bar staff when our coats were taken was unacceptable. Even giving them the benefit of the doubt, that this "Kai C" exists and took my date's coat and returned it, that does not mitigate the bar's utter rudeness to me and my date when our coats went missing. A normal person/business responding to a theft on premises is sympathetic/concerned, expresses empathy, offers us a cup of tea while we wait for our lyft on a cold night given that our coats were taken. In this instance, when my date said our coats were gone, the bouncer cursed at him ("not my fucking problem") and the bar manager was completely dismissive of what had happened ("drunk people take things"). This is guilty behavior. Had they been sympathetic or at all concerned (and not acting so guilty by turning on the rudeness), I would have left my phone number with them and not posted on yelp and when our coats (or my date's) were returned, they could have called me directly to come get it. Instead, because of the bar's attitude, which, based on my experience, seemed VERY guilty because innocent people don't get angry like that at stuff they're not responsible for, I posted it on yelp and whether or not I can prove definitively that they are responsible for the theft, they still deserve the 1 star rating. But I'm still not convinced that the bar isn't behind all of it and I would guess that returning my date's coat was some attempt at gaslighting me after the fact once they read my review.

The only issue I had is that when the checks came out, they were not going to separate the checks. There was about 9 people in my group and I'm not sure if it's a "after a certain amount of people we can't separate checks" thing or if they just didn't want to do it. We had to sit there and figure out who had what and write the names on the back of the bill. Eventually we just decided to have one person pay the full bill and everyone cash app them what they owe. My advice to people who want to come here with large groups. Tell them you want separate checks before they take your order. Last thing is that we originally went for karaoke night. Their website says they have it on thursdays ( time was not specified ). When we arrived, the sign outside said karaoke 9PM. It was 5:30 PM when we got there. The website should be detailed enough to show the time karaoke would start. We definitely weren't going to stay for 3 hours for karaoke.

Ginger dj on Friday nights on the second floor is terrible. Get rid of him! Bar service is fantastic though!

Good deals, good food. Friendly staff. Metro accessible with a little walk. Drinks are strong.

Wonderful visit to the Barking Dog yesterday. Stopped in for an app and a drink and had the most delicious bar food ever The crab dip was over the top and hot pretzels like a bit of heaven. Owners Bob and John are personable and fun to chat with. Wish the "Dog" was in our neigborhood. Nice outside seating available, too.

The waitress was extremely nice and very accommodating even though she was 1 of 2 people working that day. She even was able to get me something that wasn't on the menu. Great service and was relatively cheap, will be recommending to others.

I've eaten here a lot and never had a bad meal....I highly recommend their crab cake sandwiches...really awesome....my boyfriend thought they were fantastic also.

Have only order delivery from here and the food has always been great. First time used GrubHub a BIG mistake and the restaurant even called me to say the food had been ready for an hour and the driver had just picked it up. So great they went out of there way like that. Had already been on phone with GrubHub and gotten run around order on it's way which it was not. Barking Dog advised try Uber Eats next time. With GrubHub's poor service and their good, I did just that and have always an outstanding experience from order to door in 35-40 minutes. Crab cakes and burgers plus quesadillas are good.

Back in '85 I checked out this place with my man Laser. Laser is a pretty weird dude but all things considered he's a good guy and I enjoy his company. So let me start this out by saying I hate the smell of manure. Hate it. Cannot stand it. I know, this place doesn't smell like New York. But as soon as I walked in I had this weird sensation that there was going to be manure nearby in my future.

Betheada's only dive bar! This is where I'd want to have my very own Quinceañera. There is nowhere else like this in Bethesda. A member of our party almost got in a fight with some awful woman who looked exactly like Liza Minnelli here. That should be enough of a selling point for you. You may find yourself asking, "why is that 13 year-old walking through the crowd at 11:45 PM on a Saturday?" Don't worry, that's probably just the youth soccer banquet or bar/bat mitzvah getting out from upstairs.

New things are afoot!! First- this review is posted from the Yelp 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!

This review is mainly for the bouncer(s). Yes, the drinks are cheap. Yes, it can be a fun dive bar (depending on the clientele). However, the bouncer we encountered on Saturday night was extremely rude and had a major Napoleon complex. My friend and I walked up to the steps of The Barking Dog, and had our IDs out. He was standing on the top steps, no hello, no smile. He took my ID first, glanced at it, and then gave it back to me. My friend gave him her ID, and he looked at it..........and looked at it.........and looked at it. Meanwhile, there is not a single soul in sight, and it was about 9:30pm, in Bethesda, so it was pretty dead inside as well. Finally he says "Why do you have a Maryland address on an out-of-state license?" and she responds "Because..I'm not from here." He stares at it some more. Meanwhile, it's like crickets out here..so I chime in and say "My husband also has a CA license with our MD address.....the DMV does that.." and he says "Are you in the military?" She answers yes--though that is irrelevant, because you can have an out-of-state address on your license, regardless of enlistment. Now we're standing here for what seems like an eternity, and he gives her back her license and says "Yeah, it's either military, or fake." WHAT?! Your most important job as a doorman is to check IDs, so shouldn't you know the basic laws of ID/license issuance? That aside, he was just impolite and unfriendly. You're an employee at an establishment, and literally the first face that patrons will see--how about trying to be a little bit friendlier, or just NOT a plain rude & unpleasant? Definitely won't be back. There's plenty of other bars around the area.

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 karaoke night. The karaoke was so fun, yet so dingy. But that was the fun of it! Bad karaoke 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!

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.

I came here for a private event for work on a Friday night and had a great time. The food was catered by Barking Dog and was pretty average - burgers could have used more flavor. Otherwise they had good drink specials and the upstairs space was perfect for our event. And then after our event was over we enjoyed the bar downstairs. That's for a rear time!

I was really disappointed in coming here. I was excited to try a karaoke 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 karaoke for some reason. We take part in a fair amount of karaoke ourselves, but really couldn't get into the vibe there. Potomac Grill often hosts a much more amicable karaoke crowd and there are several better places in Arlington that I would recommend instead. Freddie's Beach Bar is the best.

I'll start with I don't go here often. However, coming here the other night was uncomfortable. When walking into the entrance there were a group of people saying homophonic slurs, not great and not the businesses fault. The bar smelled like pee. The person I was with and I ordered two beers. They were undrinkable, flat and tasted funny I ordered a shock top and I'll tell you it didn't smell like oranges or roses. Won't be going back.

Terrible bar with overpriced drinks and limited selection. If only the staff were kind then maybe this place would get 2 stars. Average food and the place is always a mess. I'd be surprised if they even survive COVID. Save your money and support a business worth saving.

Bethesda has so many corporate, soulless bars and restaurants, and Barking Dog is a divey, comfortable oasis amongst all the blandness and black button-down shirts. The bartender is friendly, surly, and funny and keeps the drinks coming. Most seats around the bar are filled at 3:30pm, which tells you something about the kind of people it attracts (not bros or overly corporate types). So don't get hung up on appearances (or the strong initial scent of cleaning products), and you'll quickly realize you've stumbled into a gem. This is a good place to go when you're looking for friendly conversation and a stiff drink.