Northside Social Local Art Show

 

Fun night at Northside Social this Friday night with their reoccurring Local Art Show from 6-9pm. Their sitting area downstairs was filled with a live painting experience where you can watch and talk to an artist doing a painting, live music, and many vendors selling bags, artwork, mugs, and stuffed animals. The next one is Sept 5 2025 6-9pm.

Check out photos of the evening on my Clarendonnights Instagram, where I'm much more active.

Everyone's birthday is in April

 

Whitlows Tiki bar opening party in 2011

So many celebrations in Clarendon this month! Here is a quick listing of anniversaries:

 - Fellow local blog Boobs Bacon Bourbon celebrated its first year in town.

 - Mad Rose has been here 2 years now.

 - Whitlows has been in Clarendon forever, but its Tiki rooftop bar turned 2 this month.

 - Clarendon Fitness has been helping us burn off happy hour calories for 3 years.

 - Lyon Hall and Northside Social are also both turning 3 in April.

 - Sister restaurant Liberty Tavern is 6 years old.

 - Rhodeside Grill just finished their renovations in time to turn 17 on tax day.

 - And this month is also my birthday, coming just after Clarendon Nights turned 5 years old!

Some Valentine's Day events in Arlington

While most restaurants are booked to capacity on this popular night, you may be able to squeeze into Northside Social's wine bar. Set in their cozy upstairs bar that oozes romance, they feature a wine happy hour that is from 5 to 7pm and features two reds, two whites and one sparkling wine for $5 each.  A cheeseboard and two glasses is $21. This little wine and coffee shop owned by Liberty Tavern also made the Washington Post's most romantic DC places!

For a non-traditional V-day, try Arlington Cinema Drafthouse for their comedy night. Comic Rahmein Mostafavi weekly "Cool Cow Comedy Showcase" starting at 8pm. The show features multiple comedians in their small bar area and has a $5 cover. Then they are showing the classic Princess Bride movie at 7pm and 9:50pm.

A-Town in Ballston has about five tables currently available for their $99 three course menu for two. This includes a bottle of champagne, see the flyer on the right for details.

Eatbar is hosting an "Anti-Valentine's" day party tonight, featuring some drink specials and a homemade anti-Valentine's Card contest.

Wilson Tavern is open again after expanding, and is throwing a Love Bites Valentie's Day party. From 8pm to midnight condoms & candy necklaces provided at the door, and I think if you print out this page you get two drink tickets.

Northside Social Wine Bar happy hour

Their patio was open during this unusually
warm Janurary night

 Clarendon's best coffee shop Northside Social has redesigned its upstairs wine bar and is offering a new happy hour there. From 5-7pm Monday through Saturday, they have selected 5 of their wines to be available at $5 each.

Wine bar manager and Arlington local Charlotte explained how Northside Social's upstairs bar acts like a separate venue than the familiar downstairs coffee lounge. She has changed the decor and menu to give it a more intimate and comfortable feel, better suited to enjoyed wine, cheese and conversations.


The upstairs wine bar at Northside Social with
wrap around wood couter tops has a warm feel

Charlotte says they are trying an experiment of imposing a no-laptop rule in the wine bar after 5pm to make it more of an escape from work. She also chooses artwork to display on the walls from local artists and photographers and rotates them every few months.

The first floor coffee bar at Northside also servers wine, but it is a completely different menu than the upstairs wine bar. Patrons are also free to bring their wine outside to the Wilson Street patio when the weather is friendly.

Liberty Tavern anniversary party Thursday

Three of Clarendon's most popular restaurants - Lyon Hall, Liberty Tavern and Northside Social - are celebrating their birthdays this week. On Thursday April 12 Liberty Tavern is hosting the anniversary celebration starting at 5pm. There will be bar and cocktail specials as well as food specialities from all 3 sister restaurants.

Lyon Hall staff party

Lyon Hall, Northside Social and Liberty Tavern were all closed tonight for a joint party for their staff at Lyon Hall. The restaurants, all sharing the same owners, were celebrating their first anniversay of Lyon Hall opening and the forth anniversary of Liberty Tavern in Clarendon.

The restaurant had drinks, Red Hook lobster truck, Bada Bing cheesestake truck, and games like bean bag toss for their super attractive employess. Sadly, as I found out the hard way, the food trucks were handing out free small plates to staff open and not to the public.

All three restaurants will be open again on Tuesday, April 26.

Hot Chocolate at Northside Social

I tried this delicious hot chocolate at Northside Social today made with dark chocolate. Perfect for a cold holiday break!

Most venues are closed for Christmas. But there are still some nightlife options if you are around, as Iota is open from 7pm to 2am on Christmas night with no cover charge.

Merry Christmas Clarendon!

Northside Social by Steak and Legs

I finally got the chance to sit down and enjoy Murky Coffee's replacement on Sunday and enjoyed the place. Northside Social was quite loud and packed inside, but the sunny outdoor tables was relaxing.

I was going to write a full review, but local blogging couple Steak and Legs beat me to it. And did a better job of it too. Bastards.

Seriously, they have a great write up of Northside Social's food, wine and coffee selection with very high quality photos. Check out their blog for the details.

Looking forward to more local reviews from Steak and Legs!

Wine Tasting @ Northside Social tonight

Northside Social and its General Manager and Wine Director, Alison Christ, is hosting a wine tasting tonight, April 28, at 6:30 p.m. with Hillinger's Assistant Winemaker and Sommelier, Michael Hoeffken.

Michael will guide you through the Hillinger portfolio - a fun tasting that will explore some great Austrian wines.

The cost is $35 per person and includes 5 wines and small plate food pairings. For reservations please call or e-mail Alison Christ at 571-283-3144 or alisonmchrist@yahoo.com.

Love at Northside Social

Local realtor and resident Laura Rubinchuk claims to be in love with the new coffee shop Northside Social, and I can see why. The swanky venue that replaced Murky Coffee is now open and has rebuilt been to make a great use of interior space.

I don't think its fair to try to compare this new shop, founded by the same owners as Liberty Tavern, to its previous tenet Murky Coffee which closed a year ago. Northside Social has a very different feel and style, and is still a great alternative to the ubiquitous Starbucks.

This coffee shop on the very western edge of Clarendon would make for a perfect first date location. I'm sure its ample outdoor seating will be in demand when this summer warms up!