Night Life Beyond the Beltway

Comparing night life in Washington and its outer suburbs is pointless because they're different beasts.

Instead of having dozens of happening bars and restaurants grouped in destination neighborhoods, such as Clarendon, Georgetown or Bethesda, night life in Loudoun, Prince William or northern Fairfax counties is more community-based. Drive past most strip malls or village centers and you'll see a central place for residents to hang out and get a beer, whether that's a local tavern such as Spanky's Shenanigans or a national chain such as Beef O'Brady's.

Government statistics show that Loudoun County is among the fastest-growing counties in the nation, and as it expands, well-known local bars are keeping up.

Kirkpatrick Harris, who opened the comfortable Kirkpatrick's Irish Pub in Ashburn in 2002, was spending a Sunday house-hunting with his wife in Haymarket a few years ago when he saw a sign advertising a large, yet-to-be-built shopping center. He knew customers were driving to Kirkpatrick's from South Riding and other farther-out new towns, and he saw an opportunity. "I told my wife, 'If we ever open a second location, this would be it -- there's nothing else out here.' " Harris seized his chance, signing a lease before the shopping center was completed. The second Kirkpatrick's opened in June, joining the Harrises, who now live nearby.

Kirkpatrick's wasn't the first to expand its empire (for example, Leesburg's well-regarded Tuscarora Mill added Magnolias at the Mill in Purcellville a little more than three years ago), but no one has gone farther than the Herndon-based Ned Devine's and Ned Kelly's. Owner Graham Davies opened the huge Ned Devine's Irish Village in Sterling in late 2005 before unveiling a second Irish-meets-Aussie pub in Centreville last summer.

Those new arrivals join an already busy bar scene that mixes homegrown nightspots and national and international chains. There are Irish and English pubs, clubs with live music, places to watch the big game, bars that brew their own beers and atmospheric restaurants with martinis and draft selections to rival more popular spots inside the Beltway. And for the most part, they're free of cover charges, dress codes and attitude. This won't assuage the frustration of residents who want a cool upscale lounge or a place to dance to music other than rock or Top 40, but the exurbs still have plenty to offer. Here are a few of my favorite newcomers as well as some veteran nightspots that are occasionally overlooked.

The Bungalow

46300 McClellan Way, Sterling; 703-421-3776

The Bungalow does its best to change your mood after a rough day at the office. Settle into a bright red or yellow bar stool, look down and check out the old vacation photographs, postcards and Hawaiian records arranged under the clear bar counter. Look up to see flags representing Key West's Conch Republic and the Outer Banks hanging overhead.

Beers arrive in 32-ounce mason jars as well as in standard pint glasses, and bartenders whip up margarita after margarita. Behind the bar is a huge backdrop done up like a battered old house with televisions in its windows. Flat-screen monitors show sports as well as a rotation of photographs from Mardi Gras and other past parties at the bar.

Every weekday brings a different happy hour. There's the Monday fiesta with $1 mini Coronas and tacos and half-price nachos, free pool for women Wednesday nights and complimentary snacks and discounted beers on Fridays.

Throw in dart lanes and a room full of pool tables and the Bungalow has everything you need to get away from it all, at least temporarily.

This branch of the Bungalow was the second of four locally owned bar-and-billiards combos to open in Northern Virginia, all with the same party-hearty vibe that draws crowds of ball-capped 20-somethings, though older patrons don't look out of place. If you're not the theme-bar type, the decor can feel a little overwrought and cheesy at times, but there's one more escape: Once warm weather arrives, there's a good-size patio outside.