Live music in Reston, VA
March 6, 2010 7:39 PM Subscribe
Any good music venues in Reston, VA? Food recommendations too please.
I'll be in Reston next week without a car. Are there any local places I can go to see live bands? I'm not too picky, so go wild on recommendations.
Similarity, restaurant recommendations would be great as well.
I'll be in Reston next week without a car. Are there any local places I can go to see live bands? I'm not too picky, so go wild on recommendations.
Similarity, restaurant recommendations would be great as well.
I can't think of any live music venues in Reston, either. It was designed more for young families in the 60s/70s, as opposed to being an old town that grew organically. There's a reason why the Town Center is ringed by parking lots and four-six lane roads, and the biggest entertainment venue is the movie theater.
I'm very fond of Busara, but I had a really mediocre fish at McCormick & Schmick's once and never went back. Skip Clyde's - it's not even the fifth best Clyde's in Northern Virginia.
Is your hotel right near the Town Center, or is it listed as being on Sunset Hills or Sunrise Valley Drive? If it isn't near the town center, your entertainment/music life will far more arduous because it's not a particularly friendly - or close in some cases - walk to the Town Center. There are decent restaurants tucked in the office parks along Sunset Hills/Sunrise Valley, too, but they're scattered and some are lunch only.
posted by julen at 10:01 PM on March 6, 2010
I'm very fond of Busara, but I had a really mediocre fish at McCormick & Schmick's once and never went back. Skip Clyde's - it's not even the fifth best Clyde's in Northern Virginia.
Is your hotel right near the Town Center, or is it listed as being on Sunset Hills or Sunrise Valley Drive? If it isn't near the town center, your entertainment/music life will far more arduous because it's not a particularly friendly - or close in some cases - walk to the Town Center. There are decent restaurants tucked in the office parks along Sunset Hills/Sunrise Valley, too, but they're scattered and some are lunch only.
posted by julen at 10:01 PM on March 6, 2010
I really like Big Bowl and OBI Sushi in the Reston Town Center...big bowl is like Asian fusion.
I don't think there is anything as far as a night club type place in Reston. Some of the bars there have had guys playing acoustic guitar sometimes.
The closest metro station is at 2900 Nutley St. Fairfax, VA 22031 (Vienna Fairfax Station.) It's like 8miles away so you could cab there and then take the orange line into DC. Plenty to do music wise then.
posted by zephyr_words at 10:10 PM on March 6, 2010
I don't think there is anything as far as a night club type place in Reston. Some of the bars there have had guys playing acoustic guitar sometimes.
The closest metro station is at 2900 Nutley St. Fairfax, VA 22031 (Vienna Fairfax Station.) It's like 8miles away so you could cab there and then take the orange line into DC. Plenty to do music wise then.
posted by zephyr_words at 10:10 PM on March 6, 2010
Response by poster: Great suggestions so far guys. I'll definitely head out to Jammin Java, and take the metro to DC proper one night.
julen: I'm about a mile away from the Town Center, as far as I can tell.
posted by typography at 10:40 PM on March 6, 2010
julen: I'm about a mile away from the Town Center, as far as I can tell.
posted by typography at 10:40 PM on March 6, 2010
I grew up in Reston, my parents live one town over (Herndon), and I still have friends that live and work in Reston. I linked this question to them to see if they had suggestions for you. Their response was an almost universal "nope."
Without a car you're SOL, so you could do the cab thing and take the metro to DC to get your culture on, but apart from that you can get ready for a few days of wandering around Town Center. Passion Fish is actually very tasty, I can attest to that, and my best friend suffered at Jackson's for the last two years and can attest to their delicious bread basket but otherwise fairly meh dining. Clyde's is okay, but definitely not anything to get excited about.
If you can get some transportation and make your way to Herndon, there are some tasty places that aren't so much fancy as they are ethnically diverse. "The Deli" has, hands down, the best sandwich in town, and possibly the best sandwich I've ever had. It's a little Italian deli sort of place. Pollo Inka is a little casual Peruvian restaurant that my parents like to frequent, they have super yummy yucca fries and succulent chicken - please don't tell too many people about it because we don't want it ruined! Sweet Basil Cafe is another one of those "don't tell too many people about this place" deals, but much fancier. Order anything and enjoy yourself.
For music, if you really want, you can call up my mom and dad and they'll sing you a song.
posted by Mizu at 12:07 AM on March 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
Without a car you're SOL, so you could do the cab thing and take the metro to DC to get your culture on, but apart from that you can get ready for a few days of wandering around Town Center. Passion Fish is actually very tasty, I can attest to that, and my best friend suffered at Jackson's for the last two years and can attest to their delicious bread basket but otherwise fairly meh dining. Clyde's is okay, but definitely not anything to get excited about.
If you can get some transportation and make your way to Herndon, there are some tasty places that aren't so much fancy as they are ethnically diverse. "The Deli" has, hands down, the best sandwich in town, and possibly the best sandwich I've ever had. It's a little Italian deli sort of place. Pollo Inka is a little casual Peruvian restaurant that my parents like to frequent, they have super yummy yucca fries and succulent chicken - please don't tell too many people about it because we don't want it ruined! Sweet Basil Cafe is another one of those "don't tell too many people about this place" deals, but much fancier. Order anything and enjoy yourself.
For music, if you really want, you can call up my mom and dad and they'll sing you a song.
posted by Mizu at 12:07 AM on March 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
I like Anita's. Also, if you can get access to a bike, the bike trail runs through Reston and you can ride into Vienna.
posted by martinX's bellbottoms at 10:14 AM on March 7, 2010
posted by martinX's bellbottoms at 10:14 AM on March 7, 2010
Fairfax Connector bus routes serve Reston; see if any of these help: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/connector/north.htm Some will get you to the West Falls Church metro.
posted by apartment dweller at 11:25 AM on March 7, 2010
posted by apartment dweller at 11:25 AM on March 7, 2010
Reston without a car is purgatory.
posted by borges at 3:19 PM on March 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by borges at 3:19 PM on March 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
Ask the hotel if they will use the shuttle to drop you off at the Town Center. I know some of our out of town consultants managed to finagle one of the hotels into doing this for them.
posted by julen at 4:38 PM on March 7, 2010
posted by julen at 4:38 PM on March 7, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
As for restaurants, I can definitely help. The best restaurant in town is Passion Fish, in Reston Town Center -- just amazingly good food and service. Also in the Town Center is McCormick & Schmick's, also very good seafood, though not quite as good as Passion Fish. If it's steak you're in the mood for, and money's not tight, Morton's has a location in the Town Center as well. There's also Busara, which is a very good Thai place, and Jackson's, an excellent American restaurant with the best bread basket ever. There's also Clyde's for American food, which is OK, but not good enough to justify the prices IMNSHO. If it's Italian you want, go for Il Fornaio and stay away from Paolo's.
posted by cerebus19 at 8:30 PM on March 6, 2010 [1 favorite]