Flanagan’s Harp & Fiddle

Just «eh». Poor bar service. Poorly poured pints. Staff seems more interested in socializing with each other than providing good service. Reminds me of a place on «Bar Rescue» (that would ultimately fail).
The smoking patio is right outside the door, so the place smells like an ashtray. The fruit flies at the bar require frequent swatting.
The only thing Irish about the place is the name.
The Guinness itself, despite the poor pour, is about a ⁷⁄₁₀. Must be clean lines.

I’m going to just say it as it is… this place has gone DOWN HILL! Regular for years when working around the corner. New job, moved to the suburbs, have visited twice in the past 6 months. Both times the food has been not just bad but not cooked or over cooked! Beef paddies last time were raw, brisket this time was rubber. Asked Steve the owner if all was ok, got a look of go «do something» with yourself and a simple we are short staffed speach. Just what I want to hear after spending $ 150. Start me on the lack of changing tvs (scherzers no hitter was a no go at h&f 6 months ago because every tv was needed for a non-​league soccer game) or inability to maintain music on the website. Really, just a joke of a restaurant. Kind of offended to call myself Irish with this place playing the same card. Thanks, won’t be back… after many many years.

This place has the worst excuse for Irish food I’ve ever had – and I’m not even comparing it to the authentic stuff. It was a huge disappointment and whenever I think of this place I just remember the waste of money.

This is the best place to go if you are looking for a laid back and a comfortable bar to hang out at. It is a great bar with great live music and awesome food. So affordable and wonderful environment. The proprietor is a fun character to hang out with. He takes extra steps to socialize with his patrons.

I was recommended this place by a local. It looks good when you come in but when I sat at the bar there were little flies in the air. What’s that about?
Beer selection is a bit weak, they have Guinness (duh) but about half the selection you can get anywhere. Service at the bar was mediocre at best, I waited 10 minutes on a quiet night for my beer, and that was after I reminded the barman of my order.
The food is not exactly authentic, which was a shame. No scotch eggs, not even pie and chips! Their version of a meat pie was a soupy stew with a puff pastry on top and a lump of mashed potatoes on that. Very odd and sadly disappointing. The pie was ok, but at $ 16 I felt like it was the last time I would try that.
Mediocre service and Ho-​hum food turns a potential goldmine into what it was, a half empty bar on a Friday night. Go figure.

We went with a birthday group after an advance reservation had been made days earlier. A room in the back would have been ideal but nothing was set aside for us. In fact, after seeing the size of our party bus group they suggested that we kick out the patrons in that back room.
After dropping a chunk of change here perhaps they might consider accommodations for future groups

What’s not to love about a true Irish Bar. These guys are like family to me and I’m Hispanic. The bartenders are 100% Irish (Alan + Steve) and are completely different people. They always have good live music and great big beers on tap. I love Stella and they give it to you in a huge glass that makes your 16 ounce pint look foolish. The food is amazing too and like how Chef Carson whips up fancy items that I would never have thought of. My favorite bar in Bethesda and it’s bc of the staff, cheers!

I have lived in Bethesda for most of my life and this is really the only bar I’ll go to. It is the only place I have ever found that «Cheers» vibe that I look for: come in more than once and the staff pretty much already know you and your drink. Not to mention the fact that it provides a venue for local musicians to play (rare in Bethesda). In my opinion it also has some of the best food you’ll find at any bar hands down.
Do they get busy sometimes? Sure! But I have yet to go to a bar or restaurant in Bethesda or DC that doesn’t have some sort of wait time. Luckily, at Harp you’re likely to meet any number of genuine, down to earth people who would love to strike up a great conversation with you! So I suggest dialing the a-​hole down a notch, turning to your bar stool neighbor, and making a new friend while you wait for your delicious Guinness pie. You might be pleasantly surprised where calming the eff down and being polite takes you :) ENJOY!

Live music is always fantastic! Lots of dancing. The area is known to get a little packed but luckily in the winter time they provide heaters for the outdoor hangout.
Bartenders are very friendly and attentive, and basically everyone else who is there having a good time.
Smithwicks on tap, that is all.

Dan is one of the best bartenders in Bethesda. Great happy hour beers and food prices. Love the place!

Just about had it with this place. Coworkers and I go almost every week for Happy hour because of the cheap beer and the music. But for the past half a year or so, both the food AND the service have dropped to abysmal levels.
Food: The food was never something to crow about, but the standards have really slid recently. From watery sauces to cold nachos… it’s really hit a new low even for loyal customers who go for the music or just out of habit.
Service: This is where they really let us down. Each week we go back thinking last week was an anomaly, but no… the same surly waitstaff, the extremely slow service, and the lame excuses. I’ve had to go the bar to get my own beer and food, and I don’t think I’ve ever had to wait an hour to get fries at any other place.
If it weren’t for the cheap beer at happy hour (which btw was served warm today), we would not have given this place so many chances. Oh and while I’m at it get proper ventilation for the back room!
Only thing I would ever go back for is the music and the ‘local’ feel. Sorry you’ve just lost a bunch of very loyal and frequent customers.

Two of us had a wonderful experience, Shepard’s Pie & sandwich, drinks, good service and reasonable price. I would recommend for others. Enjoy!

Finally found a place with the heart and character of a true Irish Pub. I was amazed to see the arch windows, the floor boards, and the even our friendly Irish owner Steve — just everything you want in a local Irish pub. To top it all — they were the first ones to make Gluten Free Fish and chips for my daughter — they also do GF Irishpie — wow. She loved it — we are now hooked on Harp and Fiddle.
You should visit it he pub — if nothing else — but for the character.

I don’t know that the service is all that great, but excellent drinks and the Guinness pie is simply to die for! My husband had the Reuben and said it was one of the best he has ever had. Hope we get to come back! I would like to try the bread pudding and the chocolate torte!

We came here a couple times to watch the Premier League matches. Decent selection of British foods, but terrible terrible screens! They’re either too tiny to see properly, or big but blurry and out of focus! Grrrr…

This is the only place I’ve been in DC where I had to do the servers job for them. Let me explain. The atmosphere was cool, they hit the «pub» feel. Food was good, nothing crazy about it, but they did a better Reuben than Arby’s. I came with a large group on a business trip, and all around everyone said the food was good. Now comes the harsh truth.
The server needed an EXTREME lesson in customer service. His personality can be compared to wad of gum on the sidewalk. You see it, and knows it exists, but it does nothing to contribute to society. When asked about a drink in stock, he gave attitude. Asked about fixing an order that was brought out wrong (on his part), gave attitude. Here’s a tip (and it’s the only one he deserved), just because you hate your life doesn’t mean you should hate your customers. Food service has the word SERVICE in it.
We asked to spit the check and he said «I can’t do that, you all figure it out» and left. Asked the manager, manager says the SAME EXACT THING. We did math and split 8 checks, on our own. Needless to say, we kept our tips because WE did his job. You gotta earn it, my friend. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND, go to the other Irish pub.

2 stars for the fun Irish bar atmosphere. Unfortunately the stars stop there however!
I ordered the Mac & Cheese Egg Rolls because they sounded interesting. You get 3 and the are covered with BBQ Pork. The pork was pretty good but the Mac & Cheese was tasteless. Wouldn’t order it again.
My main course was Shepherds Pie. It came out microwave hot! The potatoes were so soupy and scalding that I burnt the roof of my mouth. The «pie» looked more like a Mexican dish of whipped potatoes and refried beans than it did an traditional Irish dish!
As I joked above about the temp of the food, I pretty sure this was not baked! I don’t think the Mac & cheese egg rolls were deep fried either! Not good!
There were 2 bartenders (I think)! One worked his ass off while the other kind of came and went. I sat at the bar and got to here the frustration from the good bartender.
It was Trivia Night and it brought in a nice crowd. I did not participate in the trivia but it would have been challenging except for the amazingly easy clues that came with each question. For example, if the answer was Florida, he would play Flo Rida music while you though about the answer to the real question. Everyone got question right while I was there. How is that fun?

First off you need to give at least a four star for all the good this bar does for the community, they have very big hearts for our service people as well police and fire. I have never had a bad meal and they treat my family as if they were their own. Best neighborhood tavern and bar in town… Drinks and food are priced well for the average budget and the fish and chips are great!!!
I took a read on some of the one and two star postings, and I somewhat take issue with some remarks. If you come to an Irish bar on St. Pat’s and are looking for food you might want to think twice, not really a food day. If you live in Clarksburg and are pissed off that a quarter does not give you enough time on the meter, welcome to Bethesda… it’s not the bar setting the price of meters (fool) If you have to spend $ 5 bucks to hear live musicians and local great music and your pissed, well you probably only tipped 2 bucks anyway. Go to Clyde’s instead and listen to free bands and pay double the prices (fool) way to support local musicians. If you need to leave one star at least go to a place a couple times, would love to Unilocal a lot of people at there place of employment… just saying!

I came here because a friend wanted to see his friend’s band play. It’s a cute pub with nice decorations. There are a lot of pictures on the side wall and plenty of tables in the back area. From the bar, you get a good view of the stage.
I don’t know about the other nights, but on a Thursday night, it seems to attract the 40+ crowd. Even the bartender was an older gentleman. The service here seems to be lacking. The bar area was pretty packed, but there was only one bartender. It was difficult to get his attention. They also do not have that many choices of beer on tap (Guinness, Blue Moon, Stellas, Heineken, Strongbow). I didn’t eat anything except for some fries, which were the beer-​battered kind of fries. Crunchy!
The other pubs I’ve been to usually have that dirty, sticky feeling to it, but this place is pretty clean. Same with the bathrooms.

I like $ 4.00 vodka martinis at happy hour. They make me happy. I like Monday night trivia here. It’s just like I remember. While I’m a fan of Stump Trivia, I ‘ll stick with McGinty’s Monday night trivia solely to get their $ 5.00 fish and chips happy hour deal.
Harp & Fiddle… Bring back your bread pudding! (McGinty’s has it.)