Meridian Pint

mi6234

District of Columbia

4.9/5  rDev +13.7%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

I lived on 14th and Meridian when this place opened up last year. I have since moved to U St. area but I find my self coming back here all the time despite my proximity to Church Key and a million other (lesser) U St. bars. This is my favorite bar in DC and I am I really happy that a place like this exists so close to my home.

Let me start by saying this is not Church Key. They have ten less taps (I believe) and only one gravity cask that is always Oliver's something (Note, they will be getting two new beer engines soon and nothing against Oliver's but some variety would be nice). They only have American beer which is limiting (in the way that limiting yourself to American moves would be limiting but it's not like we're hurting for variety here).

All that being said, this bar is awesome. The decor is classic and subtle with an all wood and brass bar and some funky gear stuff. There are lots of flat screens that are off at dinner time. They have Sunday ticket and NHL season pass which is huge for me. I spent every Sunday there watching the Steelers. I talked the bar manager (a Steeler fan) into putting the Steelers on the biggest screen week one and it stayed that way all year.

The beer selection is phenomenal. Sam, the original beer director, has done a great job of picking interesting beers and sticking to themes of style. For example, during a snow storm, there were 20 imperial stouts on tap, which was fucking awesome. Some weeks it's mostly saisons or winter warmers or DIPA. Despite the occasional themes, there is (usually) plenty of variety as well in case the style of the moment isn't your favorite. They have an awesome bottle list (RR anyone?) and really cool beer events like home brew tastings, vertical tastings and beer dinners. Prices are extremely fair. $6 for most beers and rarely anything over $9. When it is over $9 you know you're getting something awesome. I have talked to Tim, the new beer director, and he seems to be as committed to his job as Sam was and has showed no sign of drop off.

The food is decent. I have had some awesome food there at really reasonable prices. I've also had some food I didn't love at less than reasonable prices. But, it's a small complaint and I generally enjoy what they serve. Also, the food has defiantly gotten better over the last year which you can expect with a new restaurant. Most of bad experiences were early on.

The best part about MP are the people that work there. I have gotten to know a number of employees despite the fact that I don't have beer blog. There is no sense of pretension here though everyone is a huge beer geek. Jason is the best bar tender in town and really takes the time to develop relationships with regulars. Everyone wants to ensure you get a beer you like and takes the time to make sure you do.

Can I make this anymore glowing? Go to this fucking bar already.

06-09-2011 16:01:05 | More by mi6234

DRBiser

Maryland

4.78/5  rDev +10.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

Regardless of the city, this is a top-notch beer bar and worth a stop for any BA visiting the area. Made the trip there to have some good beers and watch the NFL playoff game before heading to a concert at the 9:30 club.

There are two levels in the place, so if you visit and you prefer more of the pub scene, definitely make sure to head downstairs. The upstairs has a gorgeous, wide, wooden bar – but the majority of the floor is set-up like a restaurant, while the downstairs is seemingly the livelier pub area. Downstairs there is another large bar, with booths set-up with their own taps (charge per oz) which seems to be more of a novelty thing…

It should be emphasized that the manager and the bar-tenders are all extremely knowledge about beer (read: cicerones) and are happy to talk all things beer. I was able to take a peek at their cellar and the kegs they have aging are just as fantastic as the cases of beer they have. I had a few local DC Brau beers, a Founders Porter (I don’t get Founders in MD, sadly), and then an Anchor Old Foghorn the manager had been aging for 3 years and highly recommended. Delicious. Prices are comparable with other DC bars, but they also offer sample-size pours for all drafts which is helpful.

The food is upscale pub-grub. I split some tasty fries as well as a Pork BBQ nachos. Fresh guac and juicy pork (they take bbq seriously). Good stuff.

Last thing worth mentioning is this an American Craft Beer bar - that's their focus and they do it well. That being said, for certain events they gladly serve Imported beer … so it’s not like they never have it.

Fantastic spot and 100% worth a trip.

01-14-2013 15:34:04 | More by DRBiser

PhillyStyle

Georgia

4.66/5  rDev +8.1%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Was in DC a few weeks back for training, so I decided to give this place a shot, as I needed to get away from my co-workers and knew that most would not be willing to travel to this place from where we were.

My first impression...if you want to or are starting a beer bar, go here...this is what you should aspire to. Hands down, easily one of the best beer bars that I have ever been to. Not to mention that it has the look and feel of a great neighborhood pub, probably because it is nestled right into the neighborhood. The place is very unassuming. You are more likely to walk right past it and not notice it unless you are looking for it. The others have described the place accurately, so I won't go into that.

The neighborhood feel gave the place a really good vibe. Now I was there on a Thursday night for about 2 hours in the upstairs bar and it didn't really get that crowded, but there were a fair number of people. Full, but not packed. Sat at the bar, was handed a menu and asked what I liked. I settled on a Victory Braumeister Pils for my first beer. I noted that the draft menu contained a number of Northeast breweries, Maryland, DC, PA and some others. The service was excellent, they knew their stuff and you knew just by talking with them and listening to them that they also loved beer. While there, I also tried the Black Bean soup and had the Pulled Pork BBQ sandwich with what I believed to be house-made potato chips. Everything was excellent. Definitely kicked-up pub grub. While there, I also tried Union Craft Brewing Rye Baby IPA, which was very good as well. All of the beers were served properly.

Overall, I am pretty sure that I found a new spot when visiting DC. For anyone visiting, this is a great spot and absolutely worth the trip. Highly recommended for any BA.

03-28-2013 19:27:43 | More by PhillyStyle

DCTriBeerGuy

District of Columbia

4.63/5  rDev +7.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Meridian Pint is #2 on my list of great bars in DC (after Churchkey), but its certainly the bar I visit most often. I live about a mile away and this is my favorite "neighborhood" bar to go to.

They have a great tap list, which changes often. And the list of available beers is accurate just about all of the time. They host a number of events each month, and are very supportive of the local beer movement (breweries and home-brewers). Tuesdays are "Bombers for Brewers" night, where customers can leave with the empty 22oz bombers that they've saved throughout the week to use for their own beers. They also host home-brew competitions which then open up to the public for tasting.

The food at the bar is good. I would not say I've been blown away by anything I've ever ordered, but I'm never disappointed either. The menu is a bit more complex than typical "pub grub", and they have plenty of Vegetarian options also. I have only had dinner here, so I'm not familiar with any of their other menus.

The ambiance of the bar might be it's best quality. The main floor is set-up like a typical bar. Booths, low tables, and a long high- table with stools offer plenty of options for different size parties. There are also garage-style glass doors which open to a small outdoor patio when the weather is nice. I've never felt crowded upstairs, despite the number of people. The lower level is also a great mix. Shuffleboard, billiards, table taps, and a relaxing area with big leather chairs. It's a mix of a Irish pub and a modern american bar.

Only a short walk from the Columbia Heights metro (10 mins), this bar is worth the trip away from downtown DC.

11-29-2011 06:05:15 | More by DCTriBeerGuy

Dreadnaught33

District of Columbia

4.63/5  rDev +7.4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

This place deserves a bit more respect on this site I think. They put on GREAT events (I've been to Founder's Brunch and Drink local event, both were great), always have interesting local beers and non regional beers on tap in numbers, have pretty good food, and also have some very interesting bottles in the cellar for a good price! Theres always something any beer person would like to drink here, period.

Service has always been good to me as well, as the bartenders and servers are all pretty laid back and mostly knowledgable. I love the vibe in there, as opposed to other DC bars it isn't stuck up at all and always feels like it's not too crowded because of the seating on two floors. A place I'd frequent more often if I lived more up that way!

06-28-2012 15:45:23 | More by Dreadnaught33

TAMU99

Virginia

4.43/5  rDev +2.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

Two-level pub in Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington DC. Upper floor looks like a restaurant with bar, the cellar is much more of a pub atmosphere.
Neither too noisy nor quiet. Was able to carry on a conversation among 7 people without trouble.
The quality and selection of beer is great. Everyone's comparing to Churchkey (which I haven't visited) but this place certainly stands alone as a great pub with great beers.
Our waitress was excellent. Everything was on-time, drinks refilled, etc.
The food was tasty. Had the chili and fried pickles (which is fired pickles, okra, pepperoncini and onions) - both were very tasty.

I would highly recommend this place.

01-16-2012 15:20:35 | More by TAMU99

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.4/5  rDev +2.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$$

Stopped by for the first time the other night.

Located on the corner of Park and 11th Street, the MP is a fairly sizeable pub, with a comfortable vibe... lots of wood and not too bright, exactly what I was in the mood for after a long week of work related training. As one comes in the door from Park Street, the pub dining area extends fairly far back, with a moderate size bar area on the left, holding 15 or 20 seats (I would guess). The beer selection here is quite good, consisting of roughly 25 beers on draft (including a cask of the recently released Oliver's harvest ale with citra hops), and then another 100 beers on the bottle list. Quality is also pretty high... the draft list included things like Bear Republic NorCal ale, cafe racer 15, FW union jack and SN beer camp oatmeal stout, while the bottle list included a wide range of Bruery and Stillwater beers (including the Stillwater Pappy Van Winkle project for $32 as I recall), as well as FW sucabas and the XV. The bottle list is really pretty solid here, with a number of bottle selections I have not seen too many other places.

Service was also quite excellent. My bartender (the manager I believe ) was very knowledgeable about the beers on offer (and generally about the local beer scene), and service was fast and efficient. I also ordered a couple of items off the food menu (as I was here for dinner), and was quite pleased and satisfied with the cerviche appetizer and arugula duck confit salad I got. The cerviche was actually prepared in a style that wasn't my favorite, but it was hard to complain, given the amount of fresh seafood in the dish. Seems like this place takes its food nearly as seriously as they do their beer. I would also add that this place has a very good whiskey/bourbon selection as well, and so I concluded my evening with a shot of pappy van winkle 13.

This being DC, prices were high of course, but were less than what I've paid at some other places in the area (like the smoke and barrel for instance). The MP offers happy hour prices from 5-7 pm during the week, so my pint of Union Jack cost just $6 insteaad of the usual $7. Prices seemed to top out around $9 a glass for some of the more limited and rare items on the menu.

This is a very solid place and one I will try to revisit during the rest of my 4 week stay in town (they're having a Ballast Point market entry event on Monday, and so will have sculpin on tap for the first time). Definitely glad I stopped by....

10-20-2012 12:50:43 | More by johnmichaelsen

malloyca

District of Columbia

4.28/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

I went for brunch recently and was impressed with the balance between quality draft beers, pleasant atmosphere and good, reasonably priced food. The beer list is not overwhelming (like Church Key, Pizzeria Paradiso or Brasserie Beck) but that is fine because it is well thought-out and offers a decent spectrum of American craft brews on draft. When I went there were three Great Lakes offerings, as well as stuff from Epic, Green Flash, Ommegang, and Allagash, among others. The place was very busy at 11 a.m. on a Sunday, so service was rushed, but that did not prevent our server from being pleasant and willing to answer questions. I plan to return regularly.

03-28-2011 20:02:57 | More by malloyca

cbbjr

District of Columbia

4.28/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Meridian Pint is my second or third favorite beer bar in DC, behind only Churchkey and maybe Pizza Paradiso. While the beer list isn't its own book, everything they have is quality.

They host a number of good events throughout the year and have been quick to promote local breweries and even host homebrewers tastings. They also seem to do a lot of themes - one week they will put on a ton of one style. And in general, I think they only do American beer.

Food-wise, the menu is typical bar food but they do it well. I'm not a fan of their brunch, but that is fine since it isn't exactly a big drinking meal. I prefer to sit downstairs, which I think has an awesome atmosphere, a portion of which resembles a library in a rich person's home (but it isn't stuffy). The place is fairly laid back and the staff is friendly.

One downside for visitors is that it isn't as easy to get to as some of the other great beer bars in the city. It is a ten minute walk from the Columbia Heights metro stop (five years ago it wasn't the best neighborhood, but it is fine to walk through) and the block it is on doesn't see a ton of cabs. But if you have already been to Churchkey and want to go somewhere that is less of a scene, Meridian Pint is worth the trip.

10-30-2011 16:08:57 | More by cbbjr

jslot38

Massachusetts

4.2/5  rDev -2.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

I've been waiting for a while for this place to open up. Just down the street from Room 11 and Wonderland Ballroom, and across from Red Rocks Pizza this is another beer friendly establishment in a growing neighborhood.

Went for dinner with my girl friend on a Thursday night. The place was open and inviting (two large windows / garage door openings on the main floor). We were told there would be a 10 minute wait so we decided to check out the downstairs bar.

Downstairs has a lounge / eating area to the right and a bar to the left. A few tables to the left have the computerized pour your own tap system, and seemed to be the hot spot. Two pool tables in the far left. We just looked around, it was pretty loud considering it wasn't packed.

We started at the upstairs bar with a couple beers, and had a great dinner. Grilled trout and short ribs were both great. Side dishes were good too. Desert of blueberry cobler was good as well. Between the two of us we had a Edmund Fitzgeral Porter, Hennepin, Dogfish Head Festina Peche, and a Coronado Orange Ave. The tap list is solid, including one cask, and containing a good mix of sytles at very reasonable prices. Nothing too rare but some very good crafts. They also had about 6 specialty bombers including Allagash Curieux and Interlude (each about $25, which is reasonable considering most bottle shops have them at $17 - $20) and Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere.

The food menu is eclectic and places a priority on local ingrediants. I will be back and look forward to checking out the downstairs a bit more. As a homebrewer I was very happy to hear that they put out their empty bombers and 750s for homebrewers to pick up every Tuesday.

08-02-2010 02:41:26 | More by jslot38