Meridian Pint

Mantooth

North Carolina

4.41/5  rDev +2.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4 | $$

We spent a long weekend bar hopping the Baltimore & DC areas and this spot was one of our faves. The bartenders knew their stuff and turned me on to some other great spots to check out, specifically their sister bar Smoke & Barrel. The calamari was good, not overly fried, the dipping sauce was unique. The beer list was damn good, lots of local brews and some Firestone Walker brews I'd only read about (being a Charlotte, NC boy - the only FW's I've had were picked up in trades). The weather was right around 70 and the entire bar opens up to allow a breeze to come through. The staff were great, Luke was our bartender and he seriously hooked us up. The area can be a little rough so I wouldn't walk it at night. Great pub. Wish I was there now.

05-27-2013 21:29:49 | More by Mantooth

beergirl3

Pennsylvania

4.06/5  rDev -5.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 3.5 | $$

Stopped in on a recent trip through Dc. Very nice neighborhood pub. Upstairs bar with more of a dining area feel. I settled in the downstairs. The beer selection was good and prices were reasonable for the DC area. I tried the pulled prok since others had suggested it and found that it was very tasty. This is definately somewhere I will frequent when I come back into town

04-22-2013 00:53:10 | More by beergirl3

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

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

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

GJ40

North Carolina

4.05/5  rDev -6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

Comfortable, authentic atmosphere with quite a few taps and very good food. I had a couple of pints from DC Brau and thought they were good. For food, I had the Nachos and the tofu sandwich. The nachos were very tasty as was the salsa that comes with it. The tofu sandwich, which I picked on a whim, was very interesting. It was surprisingly spicy with fresh jalapeno pepper. The bar downstairs has several tables with taps at the table. Meridian Pint is a great choice for atmosphere, beer and food.

09-16-2012 18:46:36 | More by GJ40

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

mxmcmillan

Virginia

4.18/5  rDev -3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

A great place for craft beer drinkers in the Columbia Heights area, I was pleasantly surprised to come across here with a few friends one night. The bar is great, with a lounge feeling and not your typical "can't hear my friend sitting across from me" DC bar experience. The service is very good, and many of the servers are quite knowledgeable about the beers on tap. Many local brews served here as well, with a very good selection of beers from all over as well. A pretty good mix of beers ranging from about $6-$12 a glass. The food is really nothing to write home about, but it's good though fairly expensive for what you get. But what isn't in the city.
Very glad to have found this place so close to home.

01-04-2012 20:47:44 | More by mxmcmillan

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