Summers, Court House Road in Arlington - Satellite Sports Coverage with Multiple TVs

[dcs]

Name a better sports bar in DC than ESPNzone where you can watch sporting events -- somewhere that carries more than network or basic cable games.

Summers. Arlington (website).

The food may be a little lacking. But, then again, the comparison is to ESPNzone. Summers wins on price, and grit.

[wolverine]

I agree that Summers is a good bar for watching sports -- just not located in DC.

[dcs]

I agree that Summers is a good bar for watching sports -- just not located in DC.

True, although it is closer to downtown than many (most?) parts of DC proper. Besides, what bar in DC will open at 5am for a World Cup soccer match?

[DonRocks]

True, although it is closer to downtown than many (most?) parts of DC proper. Besides, what bar in DC will open at 5am for a World Cup soccer match?

Believe it or not, there's now a "Sports Bar" right next to Eli's, the deli on 20th Street. I stopped in tonight, went downstairs, and noticed two TVs at the bar, one big flat-panel screen on the wall, and a serious stench of stale beer. As I was running upstairs to leave, I glanced to my right and saw a fairly extensive short-order counter on the street level.

[Mark Slater]

Will be interesting to see how this affects business at Summers.

This place doubles as the cocktail lounge for Ray's the Steaks directly across the street.

[joncephine]

We used to go to summers regularly about 7-8 years ago. It was our go-to place even 5 years ago for Monday Night Football - basically, a bar that still allowed smoking and beer. Ah, the days....

[u-bet!]

We used to go to summers regularly about 7-8 years ago. It was our go-to place even 5 years ago for Monday Night Football - basically, a bar that still allowed smoking and beer. Ah, the days....

I'm not sure, but it sounds like your last visit might have been prior to their renovation and division into two separate smoking and non-smoking areas which, if I read it correctly, makes them exempt from the new Va. smoking in restaurants law (which does not take effect until December, anyway). If you liked it back then, you might want to check it out again - new flat-screen TVs, you can still smoke (while the non-smokers enjoy themselves in the other half of the bar), and they actually have a decent selection of draft beers which are priced pretty cheaply for the area. The food, sadly, is another matter altogether...

[DanielK]

Summers does a surprising amount of business. I don't care for it but from what I understand it kills with the soccer crowd.

Food and beer sucks at Summers, but they subscribe to every futbol package known to mankind, and will open at all hours of the night/day in order to show matches around the world live.

During the larger international tournaments, and I don't even mean the World Cup, they'll charge a cover, and they'll still sell the house out. They're always on the lists of "best soccer bars" in the US.

[tentimesodds]

Summers does a surprising amount of business. I don't care for it but from what I understand it kills with the soccer crowd.

I go to Summers about three times a week during NFL season. I don't think it does very good business, apart from me. The soccer crowd might come and watch EPL at 8am, but they're gone by noon, and they don't eat or drink much. On Friday and Saturday nights there's never anyone there. They need to combine the daytime business they get from showing sports with some kind of night-time crowd, something I've seen chain sports bars like Buffalo Wild Wings achieve, but never Summers.

Also, they never have any decent specials, a must to get that type of bar crowd. I've seen it packed for Sunday NFL games but everyone leaves immediately after the game.

[Hannah]

Food and beer sucks at Summers, but they subscribe to every futbol package known to mankind, and will open at all hours of the night/day in order to show matches around the world live.

During the larger international tournaments, and I don't even mean the World Cup, they'll charge a cover, and they'll still sell the house out. They're always on the lists of "best soccer bars" in the US.

It'll be interesting to see what happens to the cover charges now that Setanta's lost the EPL contract, since they were the ones who required the ridiculous cover charges ($20 per person for rugby broadcasts, presumably something not quite so ridiculous for the Premier League since it's a bigger draw).

[u-bet!]

Food and beer sucks at Summers, but they subscribe to every futbol package known to mankind, and will open at all hours of the night/day in order to show matches around the world live.

During the larger international tournaments, and I don't even mean the World Cup, they'll charge a cover, and they'll still sell the house out. They're always on the lists of "best soccer bars" in the US.

In fairness, they do have Sierra Nevada on tap, and they offer a larger size glass in additional to the regular pint, which can be a decent deal.

Looks like there is no cover charge for this evening's replay of Brazil/S. Africa, just their usual $10.00 minimum. Since I managed to avoid hearing the score (DON"T TELL ME!), and I didn't DVR the match, I'll be there tonight watching to see who we play in the final. I fully intend to post a review. Brace yourselves...

[DanielK]

Since I managed to avoid hearing the score (DON"T TELL ME!), and I didn't DVR the match, I'll be there tonight watching to see who we play in the final. I fully intend to post a review. Brace yourselves...

Review: terrible, boring game, and the team that lost had more chances to win than the team that won.

[u-bet!]

I'll be there tonight watching to see who we play in the final. I fully intend to post a review. Brace yourselves...

The good: The cheese quesadilla was actually pretty good. The tomato tortilla adds at least a little bit of interest (if not much tomato flavor) to the otherwise standard preparation of this signature sports bar dish. They don't skimp on the size of the quesadilla or the amount of fillings, either - plenty of Cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese, tomato, and onion chunks. Served with a scoop of sour cream and jarred (and not at all spicy) salsa, and served at just the right temperature and doneness. Crisp, but not burned; cheese melted, but not gloppy or congealed. The Sierra Nevada in a large glass (at least 20 oz., possibly 24; I'm not good at judging things like this by sight) was $1.00 off for happy hour.

The indifferent: Service at the bar was OK, but it took a good 25 minutes to get my food, which would have been acceptable had it been crowded. Which brings me to:

The bad: The atmosphere was morgue-like. This was a disappointment. I know it's not the World Cup and it was a taped replay (I say taped because, judging by the poor picture quality, I think they really are using a VCR to record these matches), but I really expected to see at least a few Brazil fans there to watch their team - nope, just me and about 10 other patrons in the place. It was kind of depressing; absolutely no buzz at all. I ended up leaving after finishing my food and beer, about 10 minutes into the match. Sounds like I didn't miss much.

[DaveO]

This was once a great sports bar...and it featured soccer like no other place around. But ugh its miserable. Basically its best features these days are huge amounts of tv's for watching any event anywhere....it often has lots and lots of room...and prices are relatively cheap.

Now the reasons for plenty of room and cheap prices is that every element of the place has gone downhill. sort of stagnated. ho hum service. Really mediocre food and a ho hum selection of beers.

Geez, its got this killer location sitting right above the Courthouse metro...it had this incredible rep...b/c it featured soccer from everywhere around the world.....and its gone steadily down hill. Its surprising the place is still in business

[Mark Dedrick]

I'm at Summers a lot during the fall, because they're the main bar for my college football team, and when I first moved to DC about fifteen years ago I used to go all of the time to watch other sporting events and such. And while I don't want to defend the place, I don't really think they've slipped. I think the faults you mention (frequently bad or at least inconsistent service, terrible food, extremely mediocre beer selection) are very real. And I think they've existed for as long as I've been going there. They didn't used to bother me, but now they do, which I'll chalk up to my caring more about what I eat/drink now than I did when I was 22.

I'll still go to Summers to watch the Ducks (for which they're typically packed), and it is a great place to go if you want to watch a specific game (particularly a game in any other sport during an NFL Sunday) because they have tons of televisions and they'll always put your game on if you ask. But otherwise there is no reason to go here.

[SeanMike]

But otherwise there is no reason to go here.

I used to go there occasionally when I lived in Courthouse, because it made my dark, lonely apartment seem less depressing in comparison. Also when I didn't want to be bothered by anyone.

(I am being completely serious!)

[tentimesodds]

I'll still go to Summers to watch the Ducks (for which they're typically packed), and it is a great place to go if you want to watch a specific game (particularly a game in any other sport during an NFL Sunday) because they have tons of televisions and they'll always put your game on if you ask. But otherwise there is no reason to go here.

 
I still think it's a good place to watch NFL, because they will post on each TV what games will be on for that day (at least, they used to when I went there two years ago). So if you are a fan of anyone but the Skins and Ravens, you can get your game without threat of somebody changing it to the damn Cowboys game. They've had two or three really nice bartenders/waiters over the years, but generally I agree that the service is poor. Obviously the owner also owns the building as they could never get away with their shenanigans while paying market rent.

[goodeats]

I've never ventured in here, but how does the atmosphere and food compare to a place like Crystal City Sports Pub or Mister Days?

[tentimesodds]

I've never ventured in here, but how does the atmosphere and food compare to a place like Crystal City Sports Pub or Mister Days?

MUCH less crowded than CCSP. It's kind of like the first floor of CCSP, only without the LED boards and with some more light during the day. Food is about the same (I don't like CCSP's food whatsoever, and I am pretty lowbrow).

[SeanMike]

I've never ventured in here, but how does the atmosphere and food compare to a place like Crystal City Sports Pub or Mister Days?

Much less douche-y then Mr. Days. (Caveat: I go to Mr. Days exactly once a year.)

Days turns into a club at night - at least when there's dancing at Summers, it's in the other room.

Food is a bit worse than Mr. Days.

[Mark Dedrick]

From what I understand, the owner does not own the building. This is based on vague recollections of some activity a number of years ago when the for profit college over there (Strayer?) was going to take over the building and expand their operation. Summers was going to have to move as a result, or close down. There was a bunch of outrage among certain types, mainly soccer fans, and several public meetings, after which Summers remained where they were.

Agree on the NFL, or on other college football games, as well as March Madness basketball games. They'll post your games on a television, and you can pretty much guarantee that you get to watch the game that you'd like. And that is a positive.

[DonRocks]

From what I understand, the owner does not own the building. This is based on vague recollections of some activity a number of years ago when the for profit college over there (Strayer?) was going to take over the building and expand their operation. Summers was going to have to move as a result, or close down. There was a bunch of outrage among certain types, mainly soccer fans, and several public meetings, after which Summers remained where they were.

Agree on the NFL, or on other college football games, as well as March Madness basketball games. They'll post your games on a television, and you can pretty much guarantee that you get to watch the game that you'd like. And that is a positive.

This is sort of like Thirsty Bernie's or Public Bar, no?

[dcs]

From what I understand, the owner does not own the building. This is based on vague recollections of some activity a number of years ago when the for profit college over there (Strayer?) was going to take over the building and expand their operation. Summers was going to have to move as a result, or close down. There was a bunch of outrage among certain types, mainly soccer fans, and several public meetings, after which Summers remained where they were.

Not a place for fine dining, but I will be sad to see another Arlington institution bite the dust.  In Arlington, landlords rule.  Where will we go for a 6am World Cup match?

[DaveO]

There are Many soccer bars in the region and there are a variety of lists on the web telling you which are near you:  Here is one such list.  Its incomplete and dated.  There are many more such bars.

[DonRocks]

There are Many soccer bars in the region and there are a variety of lists on the web telling you which are near you:  Here is one such list.  Its incomplete and dated.  There are many more such bars.

Yes, that list is also extremely British - many Latino sports bars have opened in recent years, especially in the suburbs (Babylon Futbol Cafe is but one example).

[DanielK]

I think dcs's comment was mostly in jest. While there certainly have been an explosion of places to watch soccer in recent years, it was not that long ago that Summers literally WAS the only place to catch off-hours World Cup or EPL matches. Back in the day, it was considered one of the best places to watch soccer in the US.

I will not miss the shitty food and drink, but I have fond memories of watching 1998 and 2002 WC matches there, as well as many Saturday/Sunday morning Euro Cup and EPL matches.

[Kev29]

There are Many soccer bars in the region and there are a variety of lists on the web telling you which are near you:  Here is one such list.  Its incomplete and dated.  There are many more such bars.

What's more damning than the increase in soccer bars is the fact that almost everyone can now watch almost all matches at home, via cable/sat/online, in their underpants.

[Josh Radigan]

Question is to all "What restaurant was there before Summer's?" Anyone?

[Mark Dedrick]

Sad to see Summers go. I haven't been much recently, but I used to spend a TON of time there, primarily watching college football (they were the official bar for the Oregon Ducks, and also for Oregon State for a while). The food was terrible, the service was frequently very spotty, and yet I have many fond memories of that place. 

[Tweaked]

USA Brazil 1998 Gold Cup. People standing 5 deep at the bar. Keller stonewalled the Brazilians, Preki with the lone goal using his magic left foot. Summers was rocking that night my friends.

[Kev29]

I remember watching Euro 96 there -- including England-Scotland/Gazza's "dentist chair" goal

Also spent a lot of afternoons playing hooky from work, drinking and watching Champions League matches.

[DaveO]

I remember watching Euro 96 there -- including England-Scotland/Gazza's "dentist chair" goal

That was a phenomenal, virtually a once in a lifetime, pass to yourself, goal!!!!!

Over a very long period Summers hired a lot of bartenders from our bartending school.  I made an effort to stop by fairly frequently in the last decade +.

I'm sorry, it just got worse.  Stems from the top.  About the only change they made was to go from a relatively few tv's to lots of tv's.   They had really significant advantages;  the reputation and name, and a killer location on top of a metro station, let alone in the ever growing Roslyn to Ballston corridor.

Every part of the food/beverage element got worse.  Really bad.  Too bad.

[dcs]

Question is to all "What restaurant was there before Summer's?" Anyone?

Looks like a pizza place.  My guess is Pizza Hut.

Nice obituary in the Washington Post.

[silentbob]

I haven't been in nearly a decade, but it looks like they're reopening!

[JBag57]

I seem to recall that it was a Lum's originally, almost certainly not a Pizza Hut.

[Josh Radigan]

You are correct, it was a Lum's originally, never a Pizza Hut

[cheezepowder]

Grand re-opening party on Friday, May 8 (via ArlNow and Summers tweet).

[DonRocks]

Not a place for fine dining, but I will be sad to see another Arlington institution bite the dust.  In Arlington, landlords rule.  Where will we go for a 6am World Cup match?

Nice obituary in the Washington Post.

 Because of these articles (which accurately reflected the situation at the time they were written), Summers was listed as "closing on Dec 31, 2014" in the Dining Guide.

Grand re-opening party on Friday, May 8 (via ArlNow and Summers tweet).

However, as you can see, this closure was for only a few months: Summers is alive and well. (Thanks, JB)

There were some murmurings about a "Summers 2," which may or may not still exist in the back bar, but as far as I can tell, the restaurant is still called Summers.

Congratulations to the owners, employees, and soccer fans all over Northern Virginia.

[RWBooneJr]

Am I misremembering that this was once -- maybe 30 years ago -- a local chain?  I distinctly remember one in Tysons Corner, downstairs by the larger of the two movie theaters that predated the first major renovation (Roth's Tysons Corner 8, which was near Lord & Taylor, long before there was a Lord & Taylor). 

[DaveO]

Food and beer sucks at Summers, but they subscribe to every futbol package known to mankind, and will open at all hours of the night/day in order to show matches around the world live.

During the larger international tournaments, and I don't even mean the World Cup, they'll charge a cover, and they'll still sell the house out. They're always on the lists of "best soccer bars" in the US.

I've been working late in the Courthouse area recently.  The other night I popped my head into 2 restaurants/bars.  Packed to the gills; tables and bars.  Then I went down to Summers.  I mostly stay away.  Two people were at the bar, nobody at a table.  It looked depressing and sad.  I actually asked the bartender if the place was open.

The copied comments are from 2009.  Food and beer still really sucks at Summers.  Sucked 7 years ago, sucked beforehand and at least they are consistent.  Not long ago I was sitting at lunch elsewhere with two people I know, one a knowledgeable denizen of dining in Courthouse, upper Roslyn, and Clarendon.  The conversation got around to the worst place.   Strong consensus--> Summers.

Besides being a soccer center, I've been familiar with the place as the bar  school has staffed them with bartenders for years.  Years.  We'd optimistically describe it as a good place to start (and it is/was specifically for people without any food and beverage experience).

Its been deep depressing for years.  I was surprised it was reopened.  It still sucks.

BTW, the cheeseburger was quite large, and overwhelmingly lacking in taste.

Boy this place had such an advantage and enormous name, good will, and being right on top of metro a reasonably good location.  Its astonishing it still operates, it must subsist on reputation and good will.  What a waste.

My MO is not to write terrible reviews and even to ignore little "issues"....but this place simply should have closed years ago, or turned over to a different group.  All those diners and drinkers at the two bar/restaurants I passed that evening made much better decisions than I that night....and so many pass this place by so many evenings.  Simply atrocious.

[DaveO]

Stopped off at Summer's the other night.  I probably haven't been there in 9 months.  It is so close, convenient, and if I'm working late, and want to eat and watch sports/multiple sports, there are no places so accommodating.   And yet its always a "last choice".  The food has been so miserable for so long....if not for its non-foody features (Soccer bar supreme, very accommodating sports tv opportunities), it simply wouldn't merit commentary on this board.  The place has "irked me" for years.  Its been so lousy...with so many opportunities to improve for so long and yet it simply remained flat and less than mediocre.  From a business standpoint, by being stagnant and never improving and hence being unattractive rather than even mildly attractive it simply lost millions of dollars of revenues every year.  For years. Well over a decade.  Probably 2 decades.  Maybe longer.   Tant pis.  What a waste.

The food was better last evening.  At least one dish.  I was shocked, nicely so.  Not a great or complex dish mind you, a simple dish, one step above their burgers, chicken over pasta with a cream sauce.  In a decade and a half I've eaten that endless times, remarkably less than mediocre, but it kept me from eating their tasteless burgers.

This version was significantly better, not great, but simply added cooking and flavor that moved it into the acceptable range....and that is a huge improvement from what was.  This version had boxed pasta, but far better cooked chicken both crusted and spiced, and the sauce spice, veggie combo was more appropriately lighter and far lighter applied, and tastefully connected the pasta and protein.  Actually so easy to have done.  They simply didn't try for at least the 15 years I'd experienced it. 

I repeat the place irks me.  They have hired grads from our nearby bar school for probably 20 years.  It is such a great way to start as a bartender.  While it never had management directions or controls, and an overwhelming number of "no can do's", it is such a perfect environment for starting out.  Apply what is the FOH equivalent to mise en place that is in place in every large restaurant kitchen and one quickly becomes proficient at serving large crowds.  Everything else flows from there.  So while I enjoyed seeing so many grads get a start, make income, improve their skills, I found it disheartening to see how poor the management, food, decor, and other elements were, that simply deterred customers.

To quote from above thread:

On 5/2/2012 at 11:57 AM, SeanMike said:

I used to go there occasionally when I lived in Courthouse, because it made my dark, lonely apartment seem less depressing in comparison. Also when I didn't want to be bothered by anyone.

(I am being completely serious!)

With all its advantages, it turned off potential customers and probably was perfect if you wanted to eat out and absolutely not be bothered by anyone else, let alone be in a place where other customers, god forbid, were making noise.  It was that bad!!!!

One dish was strikingly better.  I spoke with the bartender, a grad of our school.  I was surprised to hear that there was a new cook, one providing far better food  (she had been there before it closed and 6 weeks later went back to bartending when it reopened).   There bar menu had "signature cocktails"  different than before it closed.  Of course there is nothing uniquely signature about them, ingredient wise, but from a simple marketing perspective that is an upgrade.    (possibly they are using fresh mixes/ I didn't check)

The seats/ restaurant still looked depressing as hell. I believe there were one or two occupied tables while I was there with possibly  6-10 people at the bar.  There were at least 2 regulars at the bar. 

I was pleased/surprised to learn that all of the evening bartenders are from our school.  Good for them.  As with thousands of bars in the region, and tens of thousands of evening employees,  its a part time gig helping to supplant income from a day job.

So for at least one dish...its far better....if not tremendous....but that alone makes it worthy to stop off.  Still endless TV's, and for a sports fan a cornucopia of choices.  ( I could watch Serena at the US Open, the Nats, and the first NFL game, all easily viewable.). 

Damn.   This place has irked me.  "Of all the gin joints in all the towns all over the world

(okay...so its not even remotely close)....but it still irks me. 

 

[Mark Dedrick]

Yeah, I agree with pretty much all of this. A group of my friends and I made it the "Oregon bar" in the late 90s and the home for both Oregon and Oregon State in the DC area. Outside of the morning soccer matches (and sometimes the evening UFC) it was relatively empty, and they were willing to put all of the televisions in the whole establishment on our games with sound. And they had those huge satellite dishes which allowed them to get games that weren't available on normal television (it's really interesting to think back on how much technology has changed over the past 15 years or so). As Oregon got progressively better, the crowds got quite large, for big games we'd fill both sides of the place. But the general terribleness of every other aspect of the place drove out Oregon State and then eventually Oregon as well. All PAC-12 games are available on regular cable, so all bars can get our games now, and if you look hard enough you can find bars who will put your games on (we're currently at Irish Channel and Heavy Seas). And other places make small efforts to make their food not completely terrible, and will do small things, like put Oregon beers on tap. 

[ArlFred]

Closed and demolished.  I never thought it was any good.