Parlay

When’s the last time I have a bar a 5 star??? Never most likely, but this was an unequivocal food experience.
On a boring Sunday evening, the biddies and I decided to search M Street for some food and drinks– criteria being someplace none of us had ever been to before (proving to get increasingly more difficult). We stumbled into Parlay just as we were about to give up our search and we’re all pleasantly surprised!
The place was pretty much empty, and we had the back ‘dining area’ completely to ourselves. They have tons of tv /​projector viewing for all the sports fans out there– and an ample bar side as well.
We decided to «eat light” — and proceeded to order all the food under their happy hour selection… Because we have no self control.
To start, our friend tried their take on «French onion soup.» She’s picky about her soups and proudly bestowed it as «really damn good.» Next up were the «steamed pei mussels.» They had really good flavoring, in a tomato, white wine and garlic broth.
We did (2) orders of the wings, teriyaki and the grilled Spanish wings. I actually asked them to make the teriyaki wings grilled as well and we felt these were the clear winners amongst wings. So much flavor. And these aren’t your sad, small wings either– real meat! Substantial! The grilled Spanish wings honestly just tastes like plain grilled chicken– which can be refreshing if that’s what you are looking for.
To round out our meal we got a side of tater tots and the «crab balls.» We also ordered the cheesesteak egg rolls. Everything was seriously SO good. All we could talk about was how legit surprised we were at the quality of the food. We will most certainly be coming back, and hopefully ordering less because these portions are legit.

I’ve been here many times and I was sad to see some other folks’ reviews here on Unilocal stating that their Groupons were not honored. I find that strange because I’ve used
certificates there without issue and I also know the manager (owner?) to be a hands-​on and stand-​up guy.
The food is great (for bar food, of course) and the staff is extremely flexible with special requests I’ve made in the past, e.g., subbing tots for fries, adding/​removing ingredients, etc. You can’t go wrong with buffalo chicken there.
The staff at the bar in particular is incredibly personable and effective. I’ve never waited more than a minute for my next drink or to put in a food order and I’ve never lacked for friendly conversation while waiting for friends to join me.
To be fair, I have received slower service in the main dining area, but I don’t sit there unless I have to because the bar is such a great space.

This place was fantastic, and literally the best service! Me and my family are not from here, but they made us feel right at home! I know this place will be around for many more years to come! Thank you so much for lunch guys! The food was great! The service was great! The atmosphere was great! Couldn’t have asked for anything more! :-)

I had a wonderful experience. The staff is very inviting and friendly. The 16 once Prime Rib was delicious. Meagan the manager checked on us throughout our meal and she was very sweet and we can’t wait to go back for our next visit

Two of us went to Parlay for dinner with a Groupon for unlimited sangria and $ 30 worth of food. In short, it looks like an OK bar, but I’d not bother to return even for that with so many other options in the area.
The good: I can’t have sangria, and they were kind enough to give me a different drink. That flexibility and conscientiousness is refreshing. It was also completely uncrowded (5 p.m. on a Wednesday — there were people sitting at the bar, and we were the only people at a dining table).
The mediocre: The food was not at all memorable, and tasted like bar food. They do have more than just burgers, fries and chicken wings, and we saw it described as a gastropub, so we were looking forward to it. Instead, it was relatively bland and the ingredients were much lower quality than we expected given the «gastropub» description and prices. Truthfully, it’s a dive bar, not a gastropub. Also, my dining companion said the sangria had no kick to it at all and, had he not known it was sangria, would have called it some kind of nonalcoholic punch.
The bad: It smelled like a bathroom/​port-​o-​potty. At some point someone sprayed air freshener, but that lasted maybe 30 seconds before the bathroom stench was back. The service was also slow and inattentive. Had it been a place where burgers and Bud Lights were all you could get, I’d deal with slow service. At a place where there were no other dinner patrons and a moderate dinner for two would have been $ 90+ without the Groupon, we expected significantly better.
Overall, if they have a game on you care about and you just want a beer, this may be a fine place to go. Otherwise, I’d suggest you go elsewhere.

Had a great time watching the Temple v. Memphis game this weekend at Parlay. Joey and Shaun were the best! (And Joey ain’t bad on the eyes either, ladies!)
They took great care of us and made us feel right at home.
Not much changed about the food though. The chicken strips were overcooked (but ironically, they weren’t as dry as the ones we had last time), and the cheese inside the mozzarella sticks was firm (think: biting string cheese), even though they were hot. If they improved the food a bit, I’d be ready to give this place 5-​stars.
The group had a great time overall, and I’m going to recommend to my fellow alumni group board members that we make this bar our home for game watch parties.

Oh, Parley – you’ve greatly disappointed me. I really wanted to like this place but the food was, for the most part, awful. So, I came here with my bf for dinner before heading out to an open bar (my mom said that we should’ve come after the open bar because you’ll pretty much eat anything to soak up the alcohol) and it was pretty quiet for a Friday evening (we got there a little after 7). That was a red flag. We started off with soup, I got the French onion and he got the chicken tortilla. His soup was salty but mine was salty to the 100^th power. Also, they OD’d on the cheese. It was so bad that my bf switched with me because I wouldn’t have been able to finish it. Then, we chose our entrees: I decided to get two appetizers (the petit filet mignon and the garlic shrimp) and the bf got chicken marsala). His meal was okay but mine was bland – no type of seasoning at all. First I told the server that the soups were entirely too salty and then I had to tell her that my entrée was bland. She felt so bad that she made us vodka drinks which were good – at least they got that right, being a bar and all. She asked (sort of sheepishly) if we wanted to try dessert, maybe I’m a glutton for punishment, but I decided to get the fried cheesecake. That was actually good – I’ve never had fried cheesecake before so it could have been mediocre but delicious in comparison to the other crap I had that night. The saving grace was the server. She was absolutely friendly and pleasant. She provided excellent service. She is the only reason why I’m giving this place two stars. The server told me that they were in the process of hiring a new executive chef, well he or she needs to come on board quick, fast and in a hurry. This place is labeled as a gastropub – the gastro part needs to go. Needlessly to say, it is highly, highly, highly unlikely that I’ll be back.

Fun place to watch the game. Come early on Sunday so that you can get a seat and because parking may be a challenge. Parlay is Cowboys Country so if your not in that blue silver and white, you may be feelin a little uptight!
Good HH specials all day with wings and some really good hand cut french fries sprinkled with Old Bay! There are large tv’s all across the bar and some tables and seating in the back of the restaurant.
I will definitely come back
to drink my beer, eat my wings, and talk smack!!!

What can I say, I’m in love with Parlay. When I need somewhere to hang and grab a drink and some apps with my best friend, we always end up at Parlay. I always know that I’m going to have a great time. And everytime I’ve come here, I have always been able to find parking right on the corner or directly across the street. Everyone that I have met so far has been great. First the owner is really cool. You can always find him «Parlaying» with the customers while you’re there. The atmosphere is really laid back and the bartenders are awesome & I’ve met a couple so far: Shout-​out to Lily, Romey & Joey. And can’t forget about Ms.Meghan. You all «ROCK». Everyone has a unique personality that makes your time there really enjoyable.
I’ve enjoyed several drinks off the menu including the Absolut Mango Mimosa, Italian Ice Martini and the Fresh Lime Margarita. And can’t forget about the great appetizers like my favorites: mussels, calamari, hummus, & chicken wings.
Every time I’ve come here I’ve always sat in the bar area. I’ve never sat in the restaurant because all the excitement is at the bar where you can interact with eveyone. And I must come on a Monday, because I’ve heard so much about the delicious Prime Rib, that I must try it for myself. ;-)

I’m not sure if it was the fact it was Mojito March or if the female bartender is always surly, but she wasn’t very friendly and we were served drinks that weren’t shaken or even full (see picture). I would come back here per other reviews to try out the food and sangria.

Very cramped and I got the rudest bartender, this female got angry because we was there on a bar crawl, I would have spoke to a manager but I used to run bars so no big deal they had plenty business tonight

Start with the good. Got a tuna appatizer that was awesome.
The bad; we took a $ 20 cab ride because the website said they would have every football game on TV. I even called to verify that my game would be on! When we arrived there was only one football game on and it was the game on the local channel that you could get with out cable). The rest of the TVs had golf or little league world series on… They couldn’t find the game I wanted to watch. WE CALLED TO MAKE SURE WE COULD WATCH THE GAME THERE. Advertised as a sports bar? Not a sports bar atmosphere. Not a sports bar network.

Solid. Great bartenders, strong drinks, and surprisingly delicious food. Neighborhood bar with plenty of regulars. Not pretentious or rowdy like its the places nearby…
The mussels, chicken wings, and hummus are on point. I had to fight my friend to share with me! She was sopping up the mussel sauce with the extra bread the bartender offered. I heard from a regular that Mondays they offer prime rib and it is to die for. I will be planning a trip on an upcoming Monday to confirm!
There aren’t many HH specials, but the quality and bang for your buck you get anyway makes it worth the trip.
The owner is often there and is very approachable. I haven’t had any issues and look forward to becoming a regular too.

Gotta love a place that lets me watch the game (hockey/​Stanley Cup Finals woo) while nomming on ahi-​tuna avocado tartare, PEI mussels, and fried cheesecake + ice cream (fancy finger food). Pretty meh selection of on-​tap, draft, and HH priced beers but I’ve been spoiled by Burlington VT. Good enough selection of wines (nothing particularly notable but a large selection of options). Mango mimosa for HH! Friendly bartenders.

Really wanted some jerk wings and the waiter suggested the grilled Spanish wings would be the closest thing to that and they were. Service was good and décor was nice too.

My friend, desiring a low key get together, invited a few of her closest friends to celebrate her birthday at Parlay. This gastropub was hosting a special event, Vine of the Rhyme: A Unique Tasting Experience and the birthday girl knows we can appreciate a good glass of wine. It was a free event and completely surpassed my expectations. There was a DJ spinning rap songs from the 90s and 2000s, professional people socializing, lite bites, and wine was flowing.
Speaking of wine, I actually received wine instruction from THE Celebrity Wine Sommelier, Host and EP of The Cellar Radio, and Etiquette Expert Richard Glover. Richard was so much fun and knowledgeable. He had great passion for the wine tasting experience. After we finished our lesson, we ordered food and assessed the scene. The pub was dimly lit with dark brick walls. Televisions, vintage posters, and jerseys lined the walls. Space around the bar area was kind of tight, but we moved around without incident. I’m secretly a Rocky Balboa fan so I loved the Rocky II poster. I also noticed the gratuitous amount of Dallas Cowboys paraphernalia, but I won’t hold that against them. Our server was nice when she overheard me playfully talking about my disdain for «America’s Team».
I sampled the mussels, lightly fried calamari with tangy dill dipping sauce, and Spanish grilled wings. The food was good and the portion sizes are larger than expected– especially the sliders and wings. My friends enjoyed the cocktails although they were a bit pricey. With a semi-​full stomach and buzz from the wine, the real turn up began. A great time was had by all. #HTTR

Had the parlay burger and it was the best burger in the world hands down !!! Great place to hang out and get food and drinks with friends and family !!

Went to Parlay to watch the UVA game during lunch with some co-​workers. First of all, Parlay was basically guaranteed a positive review from me because they put the game on multiple TVs and cranked the sound. Thank you! The bartender, who is one of the co-​owners, was friendly and took good care of us.
I ordered the teriyaki wings, which were really good. Got 8 (I think) GIANT wings for $ 9, that were breaded and coated in sauce. There’s also no way that wouldn’t be good. Overall, sandwiches seemed like standard bar-​fare (and were generally priced in the low teens.) There are nicer «entrée» options available as well.
Atmosphere is a bit dark/​basementy, because it’s a dark basement, but pretty nice for the space (and especially for the area) — clean and comfortable with an“upscale”-feel.
One note: The «dining area» is probably too fancy for the bar. I went back Saturday, and the bar area was packed, loud, and teeming people watching basketball, or there from the ongoing Bar Crawl. The other half of the place, with white tablecloths and candles, was eerily empty. Seems to me like this could be tweaked, and Parlay could embrace the «Sports Bar» ambiance they are kinda sorta going for.
A solid option in DuPont to watch a game… though this is a Cowboys bar, which means I would avoid at all costs on football Sundays.

Attentive staff, real nice décor. Throwback atmosphere with Sinatra and Dino singing old favs. Reasonable prices. Best of all good food. Had french onion soup with chicken ceaser salad. Very enjoyable. Good cups of coffee being filled without asking. My friend had the pulled pork sliders and loved them. Very satisfying. We will be back.

Came here for happy hour to try out the new place in DuPont and it did not disappoint!
Upon entering it is a very clean and stylish restaurant on M street. This is a nice change when compared to the college style bars that are also on the block. There are about 8 beers on tap and a some different happy hour specials on food and drinks.
They have a lot of smaller breweries on tap which is a nice change of pace when compared to the generic options at other bars. The real winner of the happy hour specials are the grilled chicken wings! 3 orders later I’m still craving them!