Tommy Joe’s

I’ve been living in Bethesda for two years now and this is the THIRD restaurant to occupy this space. I have no idea what the rent is for this large dining area but I’m fairly certain that the cost is too much to maintain a profitable restaurant. However, you would think that new restauranteurs would want to learn from the mistakes of those before them and at least have some common sense when it comes to customer service and food quality.
First, you are located in Bethesda. There are literally about 75 restaurants within walking distance of your location. That means you need to step it up in the food quality and customer service department. It’s really easy to walk next door to get something better.
Second, know your customers! Most of the people who live here are VERY well off financially. I’m not necessarily one of those people but I am willing and able to pay more for a good meal and experience if it is actually good.
Both the food and the experience at Tommy Joes was amateurish. I think that is the best way to describe it. It looks like some first time owners, maybe fresh out of college, run this place. It’s a shame because the roof deck is the only one of it’s kind in Bethesda and is a really great draw.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good dive sports bar type atmosphere from time to time but I’ve honestly had a better customer service experience at a dive bar than I did here.
I walked off the elevator on the roof deck on a Tuesday evening and was greeted by no one. It was packed because it was a nice day, but I managed to find an empty table, so I seated myself. After waiting a few minutes, a server greeted me and handed me a menu from another table. I asked him about the happy hour specials and he told me that he would get me a happy hour drink menu. He quickly rattled off the food specials as he left. He eventually came back and said he couldn’t find a menu but told me what the drink specials were. I ordered a drink, some wings and a some potato skins. The server wasn’t horrible but definitely not great.
As I waited for my food and drink, I noticed a lot of things that are not good to see and really highlight the «amateurish» nature of this place. There was clearly no clear layout for the tables. A certain employee never found the right table on the first try and made his way to every table in succession asking if he had what they ordered. To be fair, this is probably not his fault.
I also saw a male employee who I assume was off the clock, sitting with two females (who may have been employees too) drinking, smoking and hanging out. This would’ve been fine if he wasn’t wearing a Tommy Joes shirt and hat and the girls weren’t helping themselves to napkins and silverware. Honestly, this is only a small gripe. But if I were the owner, I would require that they NOT wear their work clothes after they clock out.
When the food and my drink arrived, I was even more disappointed. The wings were actually okay. Only okay, seriously nothing special. The potato skins were basically inedible. The cheese on top was pretty burnt and it tasted like they didn’t even put salt and pepper on them. No flavor whatsoever.
The drink arrived in a 12 oz plastic cup. I’m okay with getting a plastic cup. I understand we are on a roof top and glass is not advisable or perhaps illegal. But 12 oz? At least give me 16 oz plastic cup. The happy hour price wasn’t very appealing either. I paid $ 5.05 for a 12 oz IPA during happy hour. Doesn’t sound like a good deal to me…
I won’t come here again, even on a nice day. I predict that this place will go out of business in the next 6 – 9 months unless they change things.

We went there with a large party and were seated separately. Server came and took the order of the larger table, and missed us. We waved to him to remind him that he hadn’t taken our order, and he said he would be right back to take our orders. Waited 15 minutes and he never came back. Order was never taken, and we were ignored by other servers as well. You would think that since the area primary services a business crowd they would understand that time is important. There are plenty of other restaurants with much better service around. Don’t waste your time here.

A great singles scene. In Bethesda. Unbelievable. Great music. Awesome cocktails. Tons of fun! Cool people all around, wide range of ages, on the younger side.

It had been a while (several years) since I had been to the previous TJs location and although I won’t attribute that to any detail in particular, I think it was definitely time to freshen things up. I ended up visiting their new location a few weeks ago with some friends and had a experience that started out somewhat rough… but ended up actually being fantastic! When we first arrived it seemed as though some of the guys behind the bar were completely indifferent and not at all compelled to engage in any sort of conversation or even answer my friend’s question regarding a menu item with anything more than a short-​cut reply. It was not very busy at all so I’m not sure why my friends and I were feeling overlooked. We are definitely not a rowdy or high maintenance bunch whenever we go out and will generally tip well above the standard. But after about 20 minutes or so my friends and I began planning our move to the next spot. Then another bartender, who I believe noticed our bit of discomfort, saved our experience COMPLETELY. I believe her name was Katie (a tall blonde woman, maybe in her mid to late twenties?) and she is an absolutely AMAZING bartender. Any time my friends or I finished a drink she would be there offering suggestions and, very clearly, interested in providing a positive experience. I would have much preferred her to have taken care of us from the moment we stepped in. We had just a few appetizers, all of which we enjoyed (but I must say that their chili nachos, topped with lots of jalapenos, were my guilty pleasure!) I will be returning, BUT from now on I will definitely be calling ahead of time to make sure Katie is there first!

This place is ok. I usually come in during the day on weekends and it’s been fine. The bartenders (Katie and Ryan?) have been very nice.
I stopped in last night with a group of friends (with a different set of bartenders behind the counter than my norm) and I really didn’t feel all that welcome. While there wasn’t a moment at all where the staff was rude to us, they weren’t really friendly either. And no the place wasn’t crowded.
Meh… So many other places to grab a beer and feel welcomed. So we had a beer and moved on to the next spot.

Was looking for a place to get lunch on a Sunday and the wife wanted to try the roof top here. Was a little worried because we have kids and I know this is a drinking place but we wanted to check it out. We found a table outside away from the bar since a Caps game was on and we have kids. Got a server pretty fast and ordered. The nachos were pretty good, could have been a little bigger. The club sandwich and the chicken tenders were both good and good portions. Service was good and being outside was definitely nice. Overall, food was good, service was good, and the wasn’t a problem with the kids during the day (wouldn’t take them there during happy hour). Nice being up on the roof outside. Will definitely be going back. Think they finally found something that will last in this space.

I left this review on their old page, but the experience at the new location was so awful I felt morally obligated to post it here as well.
Very unimpressed with the new location. The floor is overly crowed, too narrow, and offers absolutely no seating areas whatsoever. You are forced to rub elbows with strangers the entire night. The bathrooms are filthy, with no toilette paper in the ladies restroom.
The biggest problem however was that the bar was grossly understaffed for a Saturday night. There were three bar tenders, a too small bar. Getting a drink is a wrestling match to the front followed by a 20 minute wait for the bartender to get to you.
Will not be returning.

Location is great. Food was not good. There are too many sports bars close by that serve better food. I’m sure in the summer the rooftop bar will be great for drinks but if your looks for apps, try something else!

HA.HA.HA
Food is good and the one bartender was pretty attentive so it got a couple stars. But every other aspect was bad. Staff is for the most part inattentive and lazy. The servers all were lazy except for one kid who looked like more of a busboy. He was the only one paying attention but other than that the staff basically ignored customers. I saw a couple come in and sit down and then get ignored for 20 minutes so they left. The so called «bouncer» looked like he wasn’t even old enough to hold my ID let alone judge if it’s real or not. But if you’re into getting ignored and jostling for position to order anything this place is perfect. Plus the manager on the night I was there was openly drinking and being lazy. One server with a bun just stood behind the counter and no matter how many states he got he was more interested in talking with chicks when he got off. Like I said good food, but just a bar rescue episode waiting to happen

I used to go to the old location a fair amount for drinks and usually had a good experience. I have to say I was very disappointed with my first visit to the new location. While it has great food and is nicely decorated with a great view with floor to ceiling windows in the bar area, the service was absolutely appalling.
Service: I realize that this location is fairly new so it’s natural that they still have some hiccups. However, the experience we had was terrible. Our waitress was clearly overworked and was running up and down. We were just sitting there for 15 minutes before anyone came and took orders. We ordered a round of drinks, one of my friends ordered a can of Natty Boh. Our waitress came back handed him a can of PBR saying «here’s your Natty Boh». Bit of a strange encounter, but my friend didn’t mind drinking it so whatever we decided to move on. My beer never came so I had to ask our waitress again for it in 10 minutes when I realized that she had forgotten.
The rest of the evening proceeded in much of the same vein. By the end of the night, we were really annoyed. We asked for our check and 20 min later hadn’t received it. Our waitress was obviously still busy. One of my friends went up to the bar with our credit cards and had them ring us up. I made the mistake of asking our waitress twice for a to-​go box without success, and finally had to just walk up to the bar to ask the bartender for one.
Food: Tasted good, I enjoyed the ribs. Two of my friends got the old bay wings and really enjoyed them! If it weren’t for the service, they said they would definitely come back instead of Brickside where we often go.
Décor: March madness games were on. Lively atmosphere. Great street view from the windows. Nicely appointed restaurant. Huge improvement from the old location and makes me want to go back.
Overall: Really really disappointing first experience with the new location. Food was good and ambience was great, so I really would love to add this to my regular rotation of dinner spots. However, it’s a shame that the service left a lot to be desired. I’ll give them a couple months to settle in and maybe give them another try. Hopefully by then they’ve got their rhythm.

They have one server for the whole bar area. The service is a ¹⁄₁₀ your betting off doing everything yourself at the bar! The one server for the bar area is very rude and gets pissed off whenever job ask her to do pretty much anything. I asked her to put the Oregon game on one TV that our table is in front of and she said «your better off going to the bartender yourself it will be quicker «
Honestly your better off going to Brickside or Rock Bottom or Barrel Crow.
The service is so horrible it will be the only thing you talk about.

I’m very impressed with the new location. We tried the old one a couple of times but parking was terrible and the building a dump. The new location is much nicer, with at least a dozen TV’s in the main bar. I didn’t check out the patio off the main bar or the rooftop — I need to do that on another visit. But I was impressed.
Food is still good or better than before, and people very friendly. Mike (the bartender) was very attentive and quite conversative when he had the time. He made my visit very enjoyable.
One nice addition is Buzztime Trivia (
). It’s available ²⁴⁄₇ (when the business is open, anyway) and I like competing against bars across the country as well as locally.
It looks like this is going to quickly become one of my regular places. I really enjoyed my time there tonight.

For everyone who remembers the old Tommy Joe’s location, let me say this first: it’s not just the décor that’s improved, the food has too. Two of my colleagues could be considered old «Bethesda hands» so their memories of anything Tommy Joe’s is certainly much different but the one who came along for lunch was certainly pleasantly surprised by the change in the atmosphere as well as food. I see a lot of potential for the place as a good sports bar with what another of my colleagues pointed out as a possible dance floor — I’ll have to come back one weekend night to check it out and see. Passed by the place last night and it was packed with a good number of people on the roof (another huge advantage of the new location) and a lot more people in line for the elevator up.
Food was overall very good but have to say that the calamari was nothing spectacular and you won’t miss anything by not ordering it.

Love the new location. I took my employees there for a happy hour last night. We had an amazing time. Staff was great. Katie, the bartender was the best! Computers were down when we got there and she was getting slammed but was really great to us and kept her cool. We will be back for sure. Happy hour food was top notch also.