5441 Wisconsin Ave.
Chevy Chase, MD 20815
301.951.9600
website
While it has been loved as a night spot with a few locations around Washington DC, Clyde’s has a food menu that is every bit as much worth a visit as the bar. The classic car theme and comfortable outdoor patios make the bar a place that naturally has a charm to it. But once you have a bite of one of the delicious things on the menu, you will not forget them.
The menu is focused pretty heavily on sandwiches, burgers and salads with the added charm of a lot of seafood hearkening to nearby Maryland and Maine’s seafood delicacies. A few things to try:
- Burgers: The basic burger is a six-ounce delight, ideal in size (the third pound burger might leave you hungry, the half-pounder is all too often overwhelming) and juicy to the extreme. Cooked perfectly to order, this burger has just a hint of smoky to it. And you can top it with cheese, bacon, or other things to your liking. It also comes with ketchup, lettuce and tomato. Often such burgers are dry without some kind of sauce, but I’m telling you, this burger doesn’t need it. It’s as juicy as they come.
- Cream of Maine crab soup: the soup is intensely creamy, with some lumps of crab meat, it’s otherwise pretty simple, and topped with some seasoned salt for a little kick.
- Coffee cake: Unusual for a bar, this one actually serves coffee cake. And in fact, if you go to brunch on the weekend, you will find that this place actually gives you complementary coffee cake as an appetizer. A top crust is thick with brown sugar and cinnamon while the cake is spongy and moist.
The bar has a great feeling of friendliness in all of its spots. The location in Chevy Chase is spacious, more so than you would expect in downtown Washington, and it’s such a pleasant community watering hole that the upstairs bar is packed for brunch groups at the same time that the downstairs bar fills up with people watching sports and TV. There is something to be said for a bar that can build a thriving following out of both kinds of crowds.
Clyde’s is a DC favorite. It’s clear why. The food here is always fantAstic, and it has a fun, friendly atmosphere that is very unusual to find in a city of this size. I love it.
Recommendations
- The seafood here is definitely a bit pricier than the other things on the menu. But definitely worth the taste.
- The Chevy Chase location is especially spacious. Check out the lower level of the restaurant. It has more of a sports bar feel.
- The burger here is one of the better ones I’ve tried by far.
Another Food Critic 