Shirlington’s Massive New Sports Bar Opens in Time for St. Patrick’s Day

Local restaurateur Reese Gardner (Copperwood Tavern, Quinn’s on the Corner) is finally ready to unveil the Shirlington sports bar he’s been talking about for more than three years.

The 12,000-square-foot venue, dubbed Dudley’s Sport & Ale, is scheduled to open tomorrow at 11 a.m. Its full menu will be available across the sprawling space on opening day, but there will be limited bites during St. Patrick’s Day celebrations on Saturday and Sunday.

Drinkers can expect dozens of domestic beers, boozy shakes, and summery beverages (frosé and an orange crush).

Dudley’s also conveniently opens in time for another annual drinking event: March Madness. Selection Sunday for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is this weekend.

Andrew Sample/Dudley’s

The sports lover’s paradise is outfitted with wall-to-wall TVs, a top-notch sound system (read: loud), and a stadium seating area furnished with 24 theater-style chairs. There will be an extra charge to sit there during big events, when guests can watch up to six screens at once.

Come spring, Dudley’s will open up a 2,900-square-foot rooftop deck that can fit up to 200 people. The roof features lounge seating, high tops, and a full bar with wall-to-wall TVs and corn hole. A private party room equipped with a full bar and wall-to-wall TVs can be closed off with sliding barn doors.

A basket of 10 wings come four ways: barbecue, buffalo, Old Bay, or Gold Rush. There’s also potato-filled pierogies served with bacon-scallion sour cream. Beer battered onion rings can be dipped in D.C.’s iconic mumbo sauce. Eight varieties of “Stadium Dawgs” include a chili-cheese dog, a Chicago-style, and a “Rizzo” with Italian beef, sausage, and peppers. One sampler has a groan-worthy sports pun in the name, “Sticks & Balls” (mozzarella sticks, meatballs, and marinara sauce).

D.C. is clearly hot on the ice cream taco trend right now (Roy Boys in Shaw, and Rosslyn’s incoming Taco Rock), and Dudley’s is no exception.

Andrew Sample/Dudley’s

It will pay off to visit Dudley’s after work. From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, wines are $6 and heavy “supermugs” cost $8. Snack baskets ($10) include wings, a big pretzel, chicken quesadillas, or chicken tenders.

The bar also has a ton of games: bubble hockey, foosball, arcades, and Virginia lottery machines. The weekend of Saturday, March 23, is when the real boozing starts: from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., a bottle of Champagne is just $1 with purchase of a brunch entree.

Andrew Sample/Dudley’s

Andrew Sample/Dudley’s