Bethesda, For All Your Wine Bar Needs

Hello fellow Vinotrippers.

I know you’ve been waiting for this post with unbridled anticipation - the second of the guest posts with Gary AFK. Hopefully this will be worth your patience. First, a little about me. I’m Jamie and I’m a highly-educated wine connoisseur (read: avid bar-hopper who lived in San Francisco for 2 years). I’m also a professional writer… or at least I write a silly marketing blog in my free time, so you are in good hands!

I’ll start with some good news: if you were bummed out when you learned that there aren’t wine bars in Virginia, I can at least report that there are some pretty close. Bethesda is inside the Beltway (practically in Virginia, right?), has the best restaurants per capita in the US of A, and is also home to some fantastic wine bars. My wife and I decided to check out some wine bars on my birthday, hoping to confirm all the good things we’d heard… Here’s what we found:

The Oz: Wine bar in the Doubletree hotel. Great sushi menu on the cheap, modern lighting and layout, and Guitar Hero. These are the path to Jamie’s heart. They also have free food during happy hour, though the Sushi is priced well enough that it’s worth not eating the freebees. The wine list was solid. They offered plenty of brand-name varietals, so you will certainly be able to find something worth your time. However, the selection wasn’t really geared toward the menu. I’d have expected more Rieslings and crisp whites, but who cares - Guitar Hero! Oh, the wine prices were OK. I filled up on Sushi and decided it was time to move on. 

Divino Cafe & Lounge: Next on the list was Divino’s, which is really more of a Lounge than a Cafe. The seating is arranged much like a nice furniture store at Tyson’s Corner. A bunch of leather couches and chairs, surrounding candle-covered coffee tables. There’s regular dining tables towards the back, but they are all empty. Actually, the whole place was pretty empty. Sad, because their wine menu was awesome. Go look at all their Argentinean wines - I love a place that sticks with their theme. Though the bartenders wasn’t attentive, he was knowledgeable enough to make good recommendations. This place is worth checking out, but you probably want to go on the weekend, when it’s not dead.

Redwood: This is a very new place found on Bethesda Row. It is definitely a cool scene. Huge open windows on warm days, so you feel like you’re outside. I’m guessing the owners are designers and architects or something, as the entire restaurant redwood art. It’s like a hunt club, without the cigar. I think they are still working on their wine list though, so I won’t hate too much on the limited selection. They had a pretty good Argentinian Malbec for $22 a bottle, so that’s what I had. The food… well, the food needs some work. Surprising because of how polished the place looks. I expected more. Oh, and this place costs a lot. Take a new girl or a new client, but don’t plan on becoming a regular unless you rich and not picky (BURN!).

Cafe Deluxe: Ok, this isn’t really a wine bar per se, but it’s worth a visit on Monday’s at least. Wine bottles are all half off, and they have HD tvs… Yup, half-priced wine for Monday Night Football, YES! Food is also pretty good, and definitely not pricey. The fire roasted tomato soup is definitely worth the $4.50. Enjoy!

Ok, that’s it for now. There’s plenty of others in the area as well. Bethesda has the best eats around. We love all the outdoor eating and the variety of food. The sports bars are about as good as it gets too - Union Jack’s is my favorite. For more bar and restaurant recommendations in DC, Bethesday and Silver Spring, check out my wife’s blog: Young & Married In DC.

Thanks for the read - enjoy your MD wine bars, and remember how lucky you are not to be in Virginia!

Tags: Bethesda, Wine bars