There are at least 50 excellent restaurants, bars, fast food, and coffee all within a few blocks or less than a 10 minute walk from our Bartending School. We polled the staff to recommend some of them. Every year our school, on one edge of Courthouse, receives well over 15,000 daily visits from students, visitors, and graduates taking our free refresher classes. Our visitors arrive from the entire DMV. They are not just Arlington natives. They want to know where to eat, drink and shop.
Here are 11 food and beverage places the staff recommended. We go to these places and more and have found great value, good meals and fun. We suggest them to visitors and students every day. Our students and visitors universally come back and tell us they are great!!
The Closest
Papa Johns is in the same building as us.
Subway is right next door.
Both are always reliable, always priced right!!
Great Coffee Choices in Courthouse
Need coffee or a breakfast snack? Across the street, to the left of the tire store and catercorner to us, the Java Shack is renowned as one of the finest regional neighborhood coffee shops in the entire region.
Need other coffee choices? There are 2 Starbucks within 2-3 blocks of us in either direction on Clarendon Boulevard.
Still more choices?? Bayou Bakery is loved for its New Orleans style coffee. Its only a 5 minute, short 6 block walk to the East of the School.
And another highly acclaimed coffee shop to our west and in Clarendon is NorthSide Social Coffee and Wine. Need coffee? You are covered by our talented neighbors at the Professional Bartending School in Clarendon.
No kidding!! Best Sandwiches in DC and Northern Va
How about terrific specialty sandwiches and some of the tastiest soup you’ll get your hands on? If that is of interest try Earls Sandwiches Courthouse. Its simply rated among the absolutely best sandwich shops in the entire DMV and it’s 1 and 1/2 blocks from our front door, to the left and across the street. Earl’s is open till 8PM so if you are in the evening class you can grab a sandwich and use our kitchenette to eat it on site during a class break. These people are experts. You can learn how to make a spectacular gumbo. Or try it when you visit them.
Pizza and Craft Beer
If you are looking for high quality pizza and other nifty dishes along with a customer friendly lunch special, then try Fireworks in Courthouse Arlington just 2 blocks away behind us and to the East. They have a popular bar, have hired our grads, and offer one of the best craft beer menus in the region.
Food Cart
Another great sandwich suggestion is the New York Food Express Food Cart on Clarendon Blvd behind the building and to the Left (East). The Yelp reviews for this Arlington Food Cart say it all. And yes, the two guys who operate it are very nice. NY food express is really only a good option for lunch.
Getting Social
We are a bartending school. We haven’t forgotten drinks. Some of our staff really love the chicken wings, burgers, tots, and of course the beer and drinks at Courthaus Social in Arlington.
Chic and Upscale
Among our top suggestions, and certainly not least is the very stylish, chic, popular, enjoyable, upscale bar at Cava Mezze, 5 short blocks down the road in Clarendon. Cava Mezze is one of the more popular bar/restaurants in the area, beautiful, and offers tasty craft cocktails.
We don’t want to short change any of the other 50+ terrific, interesting and exciting places to eat, dine, grab coffee, have lunch, a drink or a snack within blocks of our school, and all within a 10 minute walk.
If you are one of the folks that contributes to the more than 15,000+ daily visits to our school and the Arlington Courthouse/Clarendon region during the year, you might want to scout out the neighborhood for great places to eat and drink.