Every time I am passing in front of this place, I get in line just to see what type of ridiculous comment or remark the staff is going to make (given that the line is not too long). Last time I was asked if I was an undercover cop or if I was with the health department because of my wallet. Another time, I threw away a used water bottled in the trashcan in front of the place - bouncer decided not to let me in until he had picked up the empty bottle from the trashcan and smelled it... Seriously, could have been an amazing place if it wasn't for the staff that think they are in a Hollywood blockbuster. 2 stars because I like that place as a facility. read more

Net/net: I won't come back. I live in the area and was excited to bring some out-of-town guests to Spider Kelly's for some dinner and games. We shoot some pool, ate dinner and shared a pitcher of beer. All was going well and the place seemed nice enough and a good addition to the neighborhood, however when we transferred to the dart area we got ID'ed (again) and now all-of-a-sudden SK couldn't accept my guests foreign ID cards!? Hence, we were properly dressed, properly behaving, SK simply said they couldn't accept, in this case a Spanish-government issued national ID card (a lot more secure than anything a US State would ever produce) so we had to close our account. I was so embarrassed. I have lots of friends visiting from all over the world but I will surely not bring them back to Spider Kelly's. The restaurant manager said they could only accept passport with proper visa as ID's, which is ridiculous because a) it is not the job of restaurants to check immigration status, and b) European and many other nationals don't need a visa to visit the US for up to 90 days. So I guess SK's policy is no foreign visitors or tourist. Ever. I've taken foreign visitors/friends to restaurants in the DC metro area for over 15 years and this is the first time I've encountered such a preposterous rule. There are plenty of nice and friendly places in area and I'll gladly take my business there from now on. read more

Wow, I'd think that gray hair, a party of 30 waiting for me and a license that allows me to legally drive would help me gain entry to this august establishment. According to the manager, it would be OK on a weekday, but not a Friday night. (Never been a problem before....) This was because, in her words, "State law said that the only acceptable forms of ID were X and Y and that we have to ask for ID from everyone." VA ABC law ("3VAC5-50-20. Determination of legal age of purchaser") specifically says that a bar or restaurant only has to excercise good judgement based on the "general appearance, facial characteristics, behavior and manner of the purchaser". So, Spider Kelly's is too dumb to figure out whether someone with a valid license, Platinum Visa and pocket full of IDs is twice the legal drinking age or not. Duh. I've been before, but will just be taking my wallet elsewhere. And we're scheduling the Xmas party for someplace else. read more

Came in last night with two of my girlfriends to kick back and have a couple drinks however after purchasing drinks and 20 minutes passes by a bouncer comes over and tells my friend she has to leave. It was completely unwarranted as we were in a corner minding our own business. We weren't even able to finish our expensive drinks because the bouncer wouldn't let us. I tried to speak to the supervisor about why she was being thrown out and was met with a nasty attitude. Worst bar experience I've ever had. Waste of time and definitely a huge waste of money. read more

I absolutely love this bar! Definitely one of my favorite bars in Arlington. Super chill and casual vibes there rather than like the bumpin dance floor type. Great layout and I love the back patio. Also love that they're the official Virginia Tech bar of Clarendon. GO HOKIES!!! read more

This place is really spacious. They have a great hh menu and the food was good. I like the set up of their central bar - very inviting. They also have a lot of booths for anyone to sit in and service is friendly and attentive. TVs everywhere so your able to watch the games in peace :) I remember the food here is really good but all I remember is that it involved fries lol. read more

So...here all the time on the weekends when it's uber crowded. You should go during the week and make friends with a bartender for happy hour so when you are trying to squeeze your way to the bar they recognize your face and get you taken care of. Now if you are tipping right, you can forget it! read more

Easily the worst food I've had in months. I have no idea whether it was an off night, whether the kitchen had no electricity or the chef had chicken pox, but the food was absolutely abysmal. Awful. Normally, a place like this would be met with a shrug and a mental note never to return - but given the fact that I visited as a result of Tom Siestema's WaPo review - I was disappointed (always a bad thing). The good - staff was very friendly and the service was prompt. No complaints. The rest. First of all, this is bar food. And that was my expectation. A guilty pleasure meal of wings, burger, beer and rings. What is better than that on a Friday night? After waiting 30 minutes, we were seated in bar stools at a raised table. Ordered wings, onion rings, mac and cheese, a burger, and fried chicken (shared between two). Onion rings were first and had the consistency of wet noodles. "Oh no, the fryer is out." But then the wings arrived and they were totally dry and overcooked. Yikes! Silence as the table bit into the wings, followed by very sad looks. Nooo! Then the chicken and burger (spider kelly burger) arrived. The chicken was fried beyond crisp. The burger, which has pork fat, was a bit funky. I will pretty much eat any ground meat that is between two buns and I only ate half. Mac and cheese was sad and boring. (Go to Hank's Oyster Bar if you want to taste a proper onion ring and mac and cheese.) I have to say - wtf? This place has reasonable reviews and we're talking burgers. How do you mess up a burger and onion rings? Since I'm complaining, I will give you my impressions of the decor. First of all, I get the sense that this place can't decide whether it is a bar or a restaurant - which may be part of the problem. There is a runway of space between some second-hand booths and some Ikea loveseats on the other side of the room. The otherwise dark bar space has some "cool" lighting and corrugated paneling. Unfortunately it comes off as trying to be hip in a sort of sad NoVa way (sorry, but you know that it is true). I was shocked that the owners had such stellar previous experience (I've always loved Poste). As just a bar, it would be fine. But the whole pretense of being a cool restaurant - with milk and warm cookies as a dessert - just doesn't work. The glowing jukebox on the back wall is a good example of this (wasn't there enough room for an ATM too?). BTW, why is the music so f'ing loud?? Sorry to be so negative, but this goes on both my "avoid" and "disappointments" lists. read more

If you want a no-frills bar with great happy hour prices and cheap, greasy food, Spider Kelley's is your place. I've been a few times for Happy Hour after work and once on the weekend and I have to say that I prefer the earlier happy hour environment over the later, louder crowd. I'll keep going to SK's because it seems there are very few places that are just chill with good prices and a great staff. The fried pickles and pretzels are fabulous! Mixed with a few cheap cocktails and I'm a happy camper. read more

Pop thy collar and douche thy bag. Spider Kelly's has sold out to the "my dad owns a dealership" crowd. How sad. What was once a great little alternative lounge on the beaten path has become a "look at me" see-and-be seen-average stop amongst the same old crap filling space on Wilson Boulevard between Rosslyn and Ballston. While the wait staff was very attentive, she had to be repeatedly apologetic for the bar staff not being able to keep up with the orders. At one point they ran out of pitchers for beer. The food is good, the appetizers varied. The fried pickles always a win. Happy hour is good with decent deals on pitchers and rail drinks. Later it turns into a Lacoste "I love me" fest. The bottom level of Hard Times offers more soul than this Jillian's / McDonald's-with-booze wannabe. It is sad that a really cool spot has become yet another afterthought on an already over-developed strip. The CVS shops offer better character. Sad. read more

I'm revising my review. It's not just a lame sports bar. It's actually one of my favorite sports bars for bar activities: pool, darts, ski ball, basketball, and shuffleboard. Better than Carpool. Better than Continental. Cool bartenders. It's a very large bar, which gets pretty packed late night, but they have a bunch of drink and food specials, it's hard to go wrong. The carnitas tacos and pulled pork sammy is your best bet, as well as those rosemary-garlic fries. Food is not too bad for a lively sports bar with so much going on. Back to being an old time favorite, SK. read more

*Follow-up note - I emailed the owner/GM about the below experience, he was responsive, kind and helpful. I bumped up my star rating from one to three because of his genuine concern and care for customer service. A twitchy-palmed bouncer should not reflect his restaurant as a whole. I might try SK again..during the day when the bouncers are off the clock;) ------- Went here over the weekend for the first time since moving back to Arlington. Made it through the door, turned on my heel and left. I don't appreciate the racist bouncer that was working the door Saturday night around 11:00PM. I went with my good friend from the UAE and my fiancé. After they had walked in the bouncer told me he didn't appreciate my friend "touching" him. Apparently a friendly pat on the shoulder and a "thanks buddy" is offensive. The bouncer really put the nail in the coffin when he said "he's in my country now and you don't touch people like that." I told the guys what happened and we immediately decided to leave. Oh yeah and "said" bouncer yelled at us on our way out. Excuse me, who's the customer here?! Needless to say we went next door to Liberty Tavern and ended our night on a much higher note. Stay Classy Clarendon - just don't go to SK. read more

This place has great happy hour deals on Tuesdays you can get a huge burger and 4 beers for $12. The outside beer garden is a great place to hangout during the day or at night. They also have free billiards and other arcade gam read more

I've been to Spider Kelly's twice (once pre-renovation, and once post-) and always had a good experience. While I liked the cozy HH spot that it once was, the expansion that made it 3x the size was clearly needed. The location is great - right across from the metro. The mac n cheese is something I probably wouldn't try again (reminded me of velveeta), but I'd highly recommend the grilled cheese w/ bacon and the tomato soup! Yes, grilled cheese & soup at a bar. And, make sure to order a key lime martini - you will not regret it! Can't wait to go back and and try out the fried pickles. read more

The new and improved version of Spider Kelly's is everything the previous iteration could have been. There's a huge bar in the middle, good selection of beer, and a decent menu. I had the 1/2 price burger (Tuesdays). Everything was good and the lounge area by the front window was comfortable. I cant comment on the weekend crowd since it was HH but everyone seemed pretty casual. The only downside is they used to carry Chimay and I didn't see it on the menu this time. That withstanding, this is my new go-to place in Clarendon. read more

I only came here for drinks and conversation, so I can't speak to the food. However, the atmosphere is great , and Spider Kelly's is a valuable addition to the Clarendon neighborhood. There's a few outside tables, but the inside has a hip (for Arlington) lounge atmosphere: think the decor of Eleventh (down the street) but the aire of a bar. No beers on tap, but twenty from the bottle -- not a hugely diverse selection, but they do have Dogfish Head 60-min IPA, which is always a plus. Our waitress was very welcoming and friendly; service in general was quite attentive, and our water glasses never emptied. It's a great place for a casual drink with friends (at least until it's "discovered" and is mobbed like Liberty Tavern next door). read more

Brought my company to celebrate a recent contract win. Parked behind the establishment in an unmarked spot. After spending over $1k for food and drinks to celebrate with my team, I found my car was towed from the spot. There was NO indication that this was an "employee only" spot as I was told by the towing company, who said Spider Kellys requested for the car to be towed. When I asked Spider Kellys about it, they told me they had nothing to do with it. Everyone is out to make a buck, for Spider Kelly's, we will no longer host our happy hours at your location. It was crowded, so I'm sure we won't be missed. Good luck! read more

This place is always crowded with hot young people. Layout is not conducive to all these people. Drinks are very expensive. They have some good food if you can find a seat in the dining area. After a certain hour in the evening the hostesses give up and it's a free-for-all for tables. You will probably get to see people fighting here because it's a very hostile atmosphere. read more

The customer service at this place is fine, but the clientele was really trashy. I personally think there are better places around the DMV to go. read more

Pretty good sports bar for the yuppies. Billiard tables, basketball arcade and those sand-propelled puck game (forgot what they call em lol). Gets really crowded on friday and saturday as expected. Can definitely find yourself surrounded by pretentious people (be warned). Drinks prices are ok, not too expensive and not too cheap. read more

Great happy hour and weekend bar to chill, watch sports, and play games. There's always plenty of people.

Great bar crowd. Ages vary but mostly 24-27 range. They offer pool and shuffle board. There are also a few other arcade games available. There are tables available to sit at but are usually taken early. Drinks are standard prices for the arlington area. On weekends it gets very crowded so sometimes the line is pretty long. ESP on holidays lines are long and early so if you plan on coming here come early. Parking is not bad there are a bunch of garages that are open till 2-3 a few blocks away. Have fun! read more

Beer was warm. Nachos were luke warm. Buffalo chicken wrap was spicy but delicious. Would be a nice atmosphere with friends for happy hour.

I literally dragged my friends here after Liberty Tavern started getting too crowded on a Friday night and was really pleasantly surprised. The name "Spider Kelly's" really fits with the decor because it felt like something a spider would be crawling around in (but not in a gross cobweb way) narrow space with gray walls, exposed ducts and cool graffiti photos. We only had drinks and snacks. I first ordered the house pinot grigio which was way too sweet for my tastes but after speaking with the waiter he let me taste the sauvignon blanc first--what a sweetie. The appies were pretty average but I will return to try the burger made with pork fat (genius!) and the mac and cheese which had us drooling. read more

Cool atmosphere, usually pretty packed. Sliders and chicken quesadilla appetizers were pretty good. Black bean burger was also pretty tasty. Our server was super friendly and responsive. read more

I like this place. The buffalo chicken and mac-n-cheese are my favorites. The chili is good too. Small neighborhood bar that I plan to frequent time and again. read more

OVERALL i enjoyed the food and drinks BUT THE SERVICE WAS HORRIBLE. Everyone from the bouncers, waiters, bartenders all were rude maybe because of the number of people but still very rude read more

Do not call them to ask anything because they will hang up on you after putting you on a hold for a really long time! The place is amazing outstanding and in my mind one of the best place in Clarendon but service is just so terrible... I guess you can say enjoy yourself! read more

I was so surprised one day going down that part of town to see a new bar open so I checked it out for late dinner/drinks. It turned out to be a great time. It is certainly a new place that is working all the kinks out, but with few exceptions it was very good and worth going to again. Food: I real highlight of the evening. Apps (Lemongrass skewers and Flautus) were amazing. The sauce that was put together for the skewers was unbelievable. Main course, we both got the spider burgers with a random mix of their toppings. This is one of the few places I would gripe a bit. 2$ for a tiny tiny thing of Guac (which was still quite good) is absurd. If I'm going to spend 1/5 the cost of the base price of the burger (10$) I expect to get at least a chipotle sized pile of guac on my burger. Same goes for the Maytag sauce. While it was certainly amazing, 2 dollars for a table spoon of the stuff is almost laughable. The burger portion is awesome and I found it to be delicious, while it did have a tendency to crumble a bit. Of course, we also got a side of fries between us, which was great, but can be a minefield of roasted garlic cloves. Be wary of reaching in there without looking at what you're about to eat! Drinks: I have to say I'm not crazy about the idea of no taps, but the manager assured me they are working on it. That said, they had a pretty good list of beers and wines (by the glass or the bottle). Prices were about standard I would say for drinks. The happy hour specials looked good (and run to 8) - but for a new place it wouldn't be a bad idea to have some drink specials that run a bit later to grab more business. Other stuff: A major plus I didn't see anyone else bring up was that it is completely non-smoking in there. Taking a page from Liberty Tavern, they really make the place so much better doing that. It's a small place, so a couple of chimneys could definitely smoke the place up without the ban thankfully in place. There was a good amount of people there and the place didn't become deafening with conversation at any point. If anything they could crank up the music a bit more because it was very, very low. Also, they've done the usual Arlington move of putting some tables out front and calling it a "patio" if you're into that sort of thing. So, long story short, fun place and I'd go again. Food/Drinks are good and the staff was great. read more

Good food. Good beer selection. Good drinks. I will definitely go back, but it seems like the place hasn't found itself or its crowd yet. Granted, we were there early, but still it seemed to be lacking something (other than a crowd). Cozy with some nice hang-out spots by big screen TVs, plus some booths, plus the bar. I could easily see myself meeting friends there after work during the week or before going out on the weekend. read more

I would have given this place 3-Stars, but their burgers are just too damn good. The first time I went to this place was Tuesday aka Half price night and I was blown away with how good the burger actually was. I ordered the Spider Kelly special cooked Medium and got the onion rings (crisp, gold and tasty). Everything is A la carte which sucks, but the portions are huge. So I didn't mind. they have many selections of beer domestic and imports, just nothing on tap. The ambiance is very relaxing, they have candles lit throughout the restaurant and the lighting is very dim and the decor is very modern looking. Even though their motto is "Come as you are", I feel like this is a place where you cant walk in with shorts and a t-shirt. Come here for the burgers, you wont be disappointed. read more

Look here. The food was pretty good. The drinks were relatively affordable, and I had a very nice raspberry mojito. The ambiance left a lot to be desired, and I felt like it must have been 90s night because not a single song on the radio was released after I graduated from high school. There were a lot of dudes drinking Bud Light. It was very loud. I'm not sure what else to say. We won't be going back, though we did enjoy the banana pudding. read more

I'm reviewing the pool tables specifically. Spider Kelly's has four tables with decently good felt and decently good tables. I've often played here, but the ball retrieval system seems a little homemade. Balls frequently fall through the grates or out of the table. The result is a scavenger hunt before the start of each new billiards game. And I love scavenger hunts like the rest of them, but when I'm paying by the hour I can't take time to enjoy the hunt! read more

This place is huge! It's not often you find a bar that takes up two or three storefronts. A 360 degree bar, plenty of seating a lounge area, and space for 3 pool tables, skee ball and other bar/arcade-esque games. Nice! Games are always a plus for me, as is comfy lounge seating. What is not a plus is that they charge too much for the games. $16 an hour for pool? Not cool. Did we pay it? Yes, and by we, I mean the two men in our group chipped in because the ladies wanted to play. I'm not sure what the prices were on the other games. I would surely come back if in the area, as it's a great location and can fit a large group of friends. And I might even grudgingly shell out the cash to play some fun games. read more

Fiance and I headed over here for brunch one weekend after we'd noticed the brunch menu contained one of his favorite brunch items, chicken and waffles. We were seated quickly upon arrival but I was instantly a little put off with the volume of the radio. They were blaring whiny emo rock in a nearly empty restaurant (we got there right when they opened so people hadn't really started funneling in yet). The music was loud enough that I had trouble talking to Rob sitting right across the table. I can see having the music that loud for the evening when the place is more of a bar/hangout than a restaurant, but for brunch? Uhg. Anyways. The waitress took a little while to realize we were there. Not so long that we wanted to get up and find her but long enough that we finished reading the menus and were twiddling our thumbs for a little while wishing for a cup of coffee. When she finally got to us, Rob, of course, ordered the chicken and waffles and I opted for the fish tacos. The food was rather tasty. I had a bite of Rob's chicken and waffles and enjoyed them. The fish tacos were cooked perfectly and the slaw that they came with was tart and crunchy and just all around a good combination. Had the service been a little bit quicker and the music a lot better or at least quieter, I would have added an extra star to this review. read more

Spider Kelly's. I guess it's the new "it" bar in Calrendon (only by virtue of being the newest), but I don't really have a lot of good things to say about it. The location is fantastic, of course, but it's definitely not a good ROA and generally has a cover, which really annoys me. The pretty much constant lines outside lead you to believe you're in for a treat, but it's a pretty normal looking bar inside. The hamburgers and fries are pretty good, but other food is hit-or-miss. I would defintiely save your money and go elsewhere. There are too many good options in Clarendon to go to an over-priced bar with a long line. read more

This is a monstrous bar, so there's not much chance that you'll be elbowed and pushed around even on a big sports night. I sat at the bar and got the wings, which promised to be "bigger, better" etc. They are bigger than normal, and look to have a bit of breading. The problem with mine was that they weren't hot, temperature wise. If they'd come out of the fryer with any speed at all, they would still be volcanically hot, so I'm left to assume they'd been sitting at the pass for a while. A shame. The dressing on the side was a bit skimpy as well. read more

The coolest thing about this place is the black toilet in the restroom and the high top table we sat at. Other than that, it's nothing special. It was a decent meal which was overshadowed by slow service. I don't think it was the waiter's fault--it was just under staffed. Also, democracy wasn't really the pefect method of music selection at this place. They have a jukebox where you can pick any sort of music (unlike the silver diner where at least you know what genre you're getting into). A decision like that shouldn't really be left to the people to decide, as we learned from really horrible song selections from the felllow patrons. However if you have cool people in there, perhaps the atmosphere and song choice would have been more enjoyable and you may even love the place. In sum: try it once, I suppose---but paying extra for fries with a burger is just un-american. read more

Spider Kelly's is always a good time! It is the official alumni bar for DC Virginia Tech graduates and the deals they have for us are too good to beat. Not only food deals, but great deals on buckets & pitchers of beer. It's always a good crowd (granted when I go it's usually all Hokies) and never too uncomfortably crowded. I just love the atmosphere - you have the large bar option, but also the lounge/couch option in the back. Good place for both a casual meal and a fun night. Would highly recommend! read more

I went here on a Monday night for the half-price burgers. I got the chicken burger with fried onions and beer mustard. My veggie friend got the portobello burger with some stuff (don't remember) and my meat-eater friend got the 100% beef burger with feta cheese. We split the garlic fries. We are all impressed with our varied selections and would return for burger night. Upset that there are no beers on tap but pleased with the wine selection. A welcome change to the Clarendon bar scene, but only if you are looking for low-key. It's definitely your average neighborhood bar with good food. But let's face is Clarendon is lacking in that so it's a welcome addition! read more