Spider Kellys takes happy hour outside in Clarendon

It's Friday. The sun is shining for the first time in ages. On a day like today, you want to leave work a little early and enjoy happy hour outdoors. If you're in Clarendon, you should head to Spider Kelly's and check out the bar's new beer garden, which opened Thursday evening.

The rear patio can hold 300 people at bar stools, picnic tables and benches shaded by 11-foot umbrellas. There are also chairs surrounding blazing fire pits, which seems more appropriate for October than May. The space, formerly home to a parking lot, is decorated in cool silver and and blues, with color from trees and hanging plants. Washington artist Andrew Funk provided graffiti in the bar area.

Co-owners Nick Freshman and Nick Langman came up with the idea of converting the area into a patio in the fall of 2014, but had to fight county regulations before they could open. "It's to stay relevant," Freshman says. "Since we opened six years ago, there's a lot of competition in Clarendon with patios and rooftops."

Advertisement

They've added a new drink menu more suited for outdoor relaxing and lingering, with house-made sangria; rosés and other wines by the bottle; and 20 beers in cans, including radler and gose. An solid beer list is improved with summery pilsners and light IPAs from DC Brau, 3 Stars, Old Ox and Lost Rhino. A bucket of domestic cans is $10 from 4 to 8 p.m. on weekdays; there's more time to save on on Saturdays and Sundays, when a bucket of imported cans is $10 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The regular happy hour runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and includes $4 draft beers, sangria and wines by the glass. Wine is half-price on Monday nights, and sangria is half-price on Tuesday. Brunch begins at 11 a.m. on weekends, when $12 draft pitchers and mimosa buckets are featured.

Spider Kelly's, 3181 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. spiderkellys.com. Open at 4 p.m. on weekdays.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLumw9Jonqihnpx6sMHTZp6uoZSafLi8jmtnam5fZYJwfo9oqqmhlJq%2FbrfEpaOyq12prqyx0mafmqigrnqpu9SrZKitpKi2pbGMoqVmm5yWv6a6w6ilaA%3D%3D