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Night Life Beyond the Beltway
The Firkin & Hound
Bar and billiards: Azziza Elgnawey, from left, Brett Flowers, Mike Pratt, Michelle Robinson and Marcelo Morales at the Bungalow in Sterling, right, where the theme is "Get away from it all."
(Mark Finkenstaedt Ftwp - Mark Finkenstaedt)
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25031 Riding Plaza, South Riding; 703-327-4288
On our first visit to the Firkin & Hound, a friend and I sat at the bar trying to figure out which English pub it reminded us of: thick, floral-patterned carpet underfoot; whitewashed walls hung with old black-and-white photographs and a couple of logoed beer mirrors; heavy, black bar set with chunky columns; a rounded booth with red velvet seats raised on a platform and tucked into a corner.
Eventually, we decided that it wasn't reminiscent of just one bar but that it had most of the characteristics of community pubs we'd stumbled across in northern England.
(Note to British expats and Anglophiles: This Canadian chain isn't connected to the Firkin brew pubs in England, though they do name their taverns in a similar fashion.) Most of the space is devoted to the dining room, though a large game area features a pool table, video games and even one of those claw machine arcade games. (You're older now, but you still won't win the good stuff.) A nook to the side, which looks like a closet, hides two dart lanes. Want more entertainment? The pub has live music on Friday nights, a DJ on Saturdays and an Internet jukebox for all the times in between.
The Hound, as its staff calls it, draws a younger and more boisterous crowd than some of the other bars in this story, and the chatty bartenders have built up a rapport with their patrons, even if service sometimes slows because of it. It's the kind of place where I wouldn't mind meeting a few folks for a weekend pint. Just like those pubs in England.
Kirkpatrick's Irish Pub
5351 Merchants View Sq., Haymarket;
571-248-6635
More than six years after leaving his job as a lobbyist to open a bar in Ashburn, Kirkpatrick Harris has learned a thing or two about running a neighborhood watering hole. That experience is what makes a visit to the Dominion Valley branch of Kirkpatrick's so enjoyable.
"It's everything that I couldn't do or didn't do with Ashburn," Harris says, starting with the bar area. The counter is long and segmented in smaller areas with screens, making for a more intimate experience. There's plenty of space between the bar stools and dining area, so when it's standing-room-only, you don't feel like you're crushed against other patrons. The attractive, wood-covered dining room and lounge areas are also open and filled with display cabinets, booths and high, round bar tables, most offering views of the televisions behind the bar or on the wall. No matter where you're hanging out, service is friendly, if sometimes a little slower than at the bar.
Though sitting with friends at the bar or on the large patio is nice, I prefer the rear club room, where the leather chairs, molded ceiling and crackling faux fireplace are more like a drawing room from a fancy private club -- well, one with flat-screen TVs.
On Friday nights, there's occasionally an Irish musician playing pub favorites or a band (such as Friday's appearance by acoustic rockers October Skies), but it's often karaoke, so you might want to check out http:/
This Kirkpatrick's draws a different crowd from its sister location in Ashburn -- a bit older, sometimes bringing kids to dinner -- so some concessions have been made. Most of the pub is nonsmoking until 8 p.m., though puffing is allowed in the rear club room. Sunday brunch features a Celtic harpist and a full Irish breakfast (eggs, bangers, rashers, tomatoes, mushrooms) for adults, while kids can enjoy chocolate chip pancakes, bowls of Lucky Charms and age-appropriate TV shows on the televisions.
