Clyde’s of Chevy Chase

Clyde’s was my go to place for dinner on Friday night for 6 years before I moved away from DC in 2013, and I always make it a point to stop by for dinner when I visit, as I did last month.
The crab cakes are hands down the best I have had in the «DMV» area — very little filler and big lumps of crab. Unfortunately they no longer have the $ 8 crabcake sandwich HH special they had when I lived there, and I am not willing to pay the regular price LOL
My current go to favorites are their fried oysters — big and plump! — when in season, and their fried calamari — perfectly cooked and so tender! Clyde’s is very good at allowing you to customize your dining choice, so I go for a custom spinach salad with either the oysters or the calamari on top. Yum!
BTW, my Unilocal profile picture is me sitting at the Clyde’s Chevy Chase Race Bar during my May visit.

Clyde’s of Chevy Chase is a signature DMV restaurant for the 1990’s. The beautiful, comfortable décor, and the signature Clyde’s dishes will always make this restaurant special. However, it has certainly been surpassed by the Georgetown and Gallery Place locations. I was very disappointed in the strawberry shortcake that I had. The Maryland crab soup was certainly a good value, but not up to the standards that I expect from Clyde’s. Still the trains, planes, and automobiles always bring me back here to an area Friendship Heights that has been an epicenter for my life – an area that I will always love.

Had the Maryland scallops special. Wow — what a great dish. I am usually a purist and prefer just seaed and served alone. But the flavors here are magical. Go now and oder this
Started with the Maryland Crab soup — also very good. Attentive serive and reasonably priced. Since I usually stay at the Courtyard near here when in DC, I will be back.

So I’ve been here almost every time I’ve been in DC. Sort of an institution with interesting mini cars and model ships everywhere. Most times a model train runs above your head which I assumed would be working and that my two year old would love… it was broken and not running. Seated quickly at a table perfect for the high chair. This is where it starts to go down hill. Service stunk, our waiter came to ask us for drinks had to ask three times, asked to take or order and then interrupted and told us to hold on to go give another party a check. Our food requests such as onion or cheese in the side were ignored. Waited 15 minutes for two beers, so silly as it was not busy. Had to ask three times for bread to accompany the soup that was ordered. All in all I won’t be back here next trip to DC

Really not a fan of this place. The first time I ate here I got sick. The second time I was careful about what I ate and it was just OK. I like some of the other restaurants in the chain but Clydes has left me disappointed and wary.

Nice place good people. Took a little while to get service initially but once we got started it was good vibes. The bartender even bought us a round at the end. They have two bars which is really cool the downstairs one is better but the upstairs bartender is a really nice guy. The food is great as well. Had a cheeseburger with Bleu cheese and bacon and was not disappointed.

You can never really go wrong if you go to Clyde’s. It’s not going to be the greatest meal you’ve had in your life, but it’s definitely not going to be the worst, either.
To start, you should get the crab artichoke dip. Which is really just cheese dip… and it’s really good. They serve it with delicious bread, which you can use to scoop up the delicious, oozing dip (note: you also get delicious warm bread to start with, make sure to steal all of the brown bread before your friends get it because it’s amazing).
One thing that they really excel at is crab cakes. They make crab cakes the way a crab cake should be — really flavorful, really meaty, and light on the breaking. Expect big strips of deliciously seasoned crabmeat in a beautiful cake.
My absolute favorite dish is seasonal, unfortunately, but when it’s on the menu it’s a must-​get: North Carolina shrimp with sweet corn purée, Jalapeño cream, and fried green tomatoes. It’s deliciously creamy, crunchy, sweet, savory, and spicy all at once. It’s one of those dishes that takes your taste buds to wonderful places that they never want to return from. The shrimp is perfectly cooked, too.
They also serve a pretty good turkey burger… though honestly, I rarely get it because I love the shrimp and the crab cakes so much (and because those dishes are better).
The fish and chips are quite good. My little brother gets them every time. They don’t do anything crazy, they keep it simple, which is how fish and chips should be in the first place, and they do a good job with that simplicity.
I do not like their burgers much. They’re not well-​seasoned and they’re usually overcooked, which is the worst thing you can do to a burger. The buns also have a tendency to seem a little stale.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is excellent, especially during the day. I prefer going here for lunch because you can sit at these wonderful booths next to a window with lovely lighting. The whole place is huge and during the day feels airy and nice. There’s also a little train that runs through the restaurant, which is a lot of fun. Downstairs is a darker bar area, which can be nice to go to with friends at night.
Service is almost always exceptional. They have a great waitstaff here — friendly, polite, and attentive — which really makes the experience.

This place is not what it used to be, or at least, is not on par with the other restaurants that are in the Clyde’s chain here in DC. The quality of the food has done down. The Crab Cakes were one of my favorites here, but now the size of the cakes is noticeably smaller, and they are certainly less tasteful. I had their chef special «Rockfish» dish, but it wasn’t anything special. The calamaris were cooked in some kind of a sweet sauce (yuck) which is different from how they used to serve them. All in all, were disappointed with the quality of food because of the deteriorating quality. I guess this place is relegating itself to being a mediocre place.

Don’t know why I’m even bothering. This place is a disaster. Sad overcooked food which isn’t surprising at a theme place like this. What is marginally surprising is how abysmal the service was. Drinks weren’t refilled once. And not one piece of flair to be seen. Applebee’s deserves a Michelin star in comparison.

Le Maryland est renommé pour ses spécialités au crabe. Clyde’s of Chevy Chase se veut le représentant du Maryland en proposant des spécialités au crabe.
J’ai été invité par une amie de ma femme à y déjeuner.
Le restaurant est grand, le cadre pas trop mal (malgré un train électrique en guise d’amusement) grâce à diverses modèles réduits (½) de voitures de sports en parsemées dans le cadre.
Malgré ce cadre ludique, je n’ai pas été enchanté par Clyde’s ! Le service a été médiocre, faisant arriver entrées et plats principaux en même temps ! On a dû renvoyer les plats principaux, avec le serveur qui râlait. On a connu mieux comme service !
Pourtant les plats n’ont pas été mauvais/​
Avec un service meilleur, j’aurais été enchanté !

Clyde’s has some of the best buffalo wings around. It’s a great accompaniment to watching Monday Night Football downstairs.

We took my family for my 18 year old’s birthday along with 5 of her friends. The food was good, everyone was pleased with their meals. However, we arrived around 9pm or so and they said they were out of bread for the night. I thought that was disappointing especially with a bunch of teens. My man wasn’t very pleased either as he was hungry. We know a man’s heart is not merry unless his belly is full.

Terrible service courtesy of our inept server, Charlene.
Ok food.
I dined here with my beautiful girlfriend and my soon to be mother-​in-​law.
I was pleasantly surprised that we were seated immediately on a Saturday evening.
The décor was very nice and the atmosphere was equally as inviting.
We started off with Crab and artichoke dip that was ⁵⁄₅ stars.
I ordered the Carolina Shrimp Fra Diavolo (spicy San Marzano tomato sauce, Fresno chilies, bucatini, and garlic crostini.)
It was barely above room temperature when it was served over 35 minutes later. The ladies ordered burgers. I have no idea what the food took so long, nor what we had to ask the waitress two separate times where our food was.
We could not get our waitress’ attention to send it back, however, the lovely Kim took the time away from her own tables to assist. She had a fresh plate made and it was served «steaming hot» as she requested. Kudos to her for her professionalism!
Our waitress did not apologize for the cold food until the bill came.
I had to ask my waitress three times for more water (I always order two glasses) and she forgot that I wanted my water with no ice. She did not apologize, just poured another glass with no ice. So one glass was drinkable and the other was not.
The food itself was good, but the subpar effort of our main waitress hindered us from having a good evening.
We declined dessert there and went to Cheesecake Factory for our sugar fix.
My dates said that they have never had such poor service at Clyde’s before, but I’d still be hesitant on returning.

Nope, nope, no.
This is not a review of the food — because we did not end up eating here. My daughter and I walked in yesterday for brunch — and after surveying the dining room (dark, a bit stale, crowded seeming) we asked a waitress at the hostess booth for a menu. She didn’t hear us, so I asked again — more clearly and higher volume. She immediately gave us a ‘die now’ look and between clenched teeth seethed «I. Didn’t. Hear. You.» Then she handed us the menu and walked away. Um, I’m sorry — what just happened? Nope. Not going to try to have a pleasant eating experience in a restaurant staffed with people who clearly do not like being around other human beings. No thanks.

Food is 5 star, bars are hit or miss, mostly miss. Downstairs «Race» bar has too many kids (!) eating at the bar, even after 10 and 11 PM, even kids barely larger than toddlers who can stand under the high tops. We had a good time at upstairs bar on Thanksgiving with Nicky, but bartender Jay on Saturday night was a complete damp towel. I’ve never been to any sit-​down bar where the bartender just pours your drinks and walks away. Actually was already turned and partly gone while pouring the last drink from a shaker. Then the check comes before asking if we want anything else, I guess we are supposed to leave? Or just feel like it? Finally — but not until we are paying (and tipping) — there’s a short speech on how much he really appreciates us, and I’m thinking well you sure as hell didn’t act like that anytime when it mattered. Little things, granted, but there are expectations for service and atmosphere at certain places and that’s a fail. We went to Chad’s for the next round where we were sincerely appreciated!
So food is the way to do Clyde’s, I eat here a few times a year for several years now and always think food is great and the seasonality keeps it a new experience each time. On the most recent dinner our server asked the enthusiastic chef to speak with our table and I have nothing but admiration for the food program at this Clyde’s.

Came here with my boyfriend one day for lunch during the week. It looked packed but we were able to get a table downstairs which sounded bad at first but it was actually a really nice and quiet place to sit. This was our first time eating there. The decoration is amazing and I was very impressed. I had ordered the Carolina Shrimp Fra Diavolo which I can say I’ve had better. But the one that blew my mind was the calamari. It’s not your average calamari. It’s both sweet and zesty. Not like any calamari I’ve had before. Will definitely visit again.

Met two friends for dinner at Clyde’s at 6:00pm. The restaurant was mostly empty. We shared fried calamari for an appetizer and I had the swordfish puttanesca, while one of my friends had fish and chips. The bread looked really good but was thick, tasteless and a bit dry. I asked for olive oil and got a nice bottle of oil and another one of balsamic vinegar… but the oil didn’t have much taste. The calamari was not hot and it was served on a bed of … broken batter that had fallen off other calamari? (We had the batter outsides, but not the meat inside.) The swordfish puttanesca had a lot of tomatoes and pasta, but lacked swordfish.
All in all, the food is pricy and pretty, but didn’t taste all that good. A disappointment.

Last minute decision for an early Sunday dinner. Sat on the patio, enjoyed the nice breeze and music.
Cassie was our Server and she was very good. She was quick on her heels and knowledgable about the menu. Extra kudos for her wine 411, that always a plus. She moved in sync with our ordering and eating, and stopped by to check on us with perfect timing.
We had the Hummus Appetizer, with three different options to nosh on, very good. I order the Salmon Burger with sautéed mushrooms and onions, and it was very tasty. The cucumber salad was a nice paring .
My dinner buddy ordered the Crab Cakes and from the quick consumption, it must have been very good. :-) Those were huge Crab Cakes!
We had the pleasure in meeting the Manager Kevin, who stopped by to ensure my dairy allergen was acknowledged… can you say phenomenal guest service? He was very proactive with the guests and his servers as he made sure they were on point and assisted them if they needed help. WOW… the teacher aiding the students :-) What a great developing tool for the severs. He made his rounds with everyone and was very personable. I enjoy see management rolling up their sleeves and helping their staff out.
What an awesome overall experience. Service, price point and portions equated to a great evening out. Glad this place is only a few Metro stops from me as I will definitely be back for their live music and dining specials.
Thanks Cassie!

This place provides a quiet & very pleasant setting for a lovely lunch. I had a cheeseburger & it was excellent. Pink in the middle just like it should be. Fries weren’t spectacular but better than most. On the downside, I need to add that my husband’s cheeseburger was overdone – yes, even though we ordered the exact same burger! Our friend liked her turkey burger.

This place has got a few things going for it.
1) Great location and building. It’s right by the metro and a ton of shops. It’s huge, with two floors and two bars.
2) They celebrate happy hour! 5 – 7 pm: $ 5 wines, beers and well liquors. $ 7 appetizers including a burger and a chicken sandwich.
3) Food is actually good. I got the chicken sandwich, comes with fries and a pickle, and it was def a notch above bar food.
4) Servers are pretty good, at the bar at least. One introduced himself, and the others were super attentive and friendly.
Yes, this place has TVs at the bar. Interesting about happy hour — the crowd didn’t really pick up until about 6:45 (happy hour ends at 7). But that’s cool. By 7, there was def a good vibe going.
Overall, this is definitely a tamer happy hour, but it’s quality. I’ll be back.

Shocked from the moment I walked in. I even hesitated before I walked up to the host stand because it seemed so fancy. Was it Clydes or some place else?
I LOVE the transportation themed restaurant: trains on one side, literally has the emerald green plush chairs from the old cars when trains were first class service. The planes with navy and tan leather seating just like an airliner on the far end. A steam stack like a cruise ship in the middle and the cars and racetrack layout downstairs. I was really impressed and sad I hadn’t come there before.
I came for Sunday brunch. I loved the spice and coffee cakes they brought out before the meal. That’s real attention to detail there, not dinner rolls, brunch appropriate bread. I opted for the mimosa and wow, hands down the best mimosa I’ve had in DC. Seriously, it wasn’t just that is was $ 4 ($ 4???) it wasn’t cheap brut champagne and wasn’t 70% juice either. It was a great balance of champagne and oj.
While I came for brunch I ended up with the bison burger (who can resist buffalo meat) — it was delicious. There wasn’t a morsel left on the plate. I’ll return to this place for brunch most certainly. I like the venue and I need, that’s right need, more of those mimosas!
Tip: They validate the parking, so drive over without worry.