Carpool

CarpoolCarpool
CarpoolCarpool
Bar, Eatery

208 Elden St
Herndon, Virginia, 20170
United States

(571) 203-7995 | map
carpoolweb.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.85
Reviews:
5
Ratings:
10
pDev:
12.73%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.86 by DrBass from Maryland

Aug 25, 2016
 
Rated: 3.94 by cjgiant from District of Columbia

Mar 07, 2015
 
Rated: 2.5 by TheBlueBinx from Pennsylvania

Jul 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Gixxer42 from Virginia

Apr 29, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Boone757 from Virginia

Mar 12, 2014
Photo of Durge
Reviewed by Durge from Connecticut

3.88/5  rDev +0.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5
About 38 taps with several macros in the mix taking up space. But the beer selection is very good along with a couple of ciders. Finding a stoll at the crowded bar, the bartender was very helpful and seemed to know the beers. The place has the expected pool tables but my main impression is that this place is a madhouse. Well covered with televisions, especially at the bar, the place is packed with 20-somethings on a Thursday evening. Appears to be a meeting place for post sporting event celebrations and there is lots of noise and sporadic screaming, and general partying. Still, it seems like the bartenders do a decent job calmly keeping pace with all of us. Pretty typical sports bar environment with the nice pool hall touch. Also has a garage door option that opens up to an outdoor patio area that’s even more crowded on this nice June night. The beers I had tasted fresh and it seems they rotate constantly. From what I’ve seen of this area, there’s the local Dogfish Ale House in Fairfax and now I know there’s this for the universal line up of craft brewers. Definitely decent and probably worth the crowds. The crowd is unusually rowdy, not a romantic getaway here. But there is good beer here, even though the masses seem pretty content with their macros for the most part. Seems to be a lot of regulars based on the interactions with the barkeeps. Prices are reasonable for the quality of brews. Good to know about this place, but for a guy traveling alone and at my age I would prefer a bit calmer environment to enjoy my beers. However, considering the dearth of good beer bars around here, I’ll take it!
Sep 12, 2012
Photo of Pencible
Reviewed by Pencible from Virginia

4.13/5  rDev +7.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Carpool is the best beer bar in the Herndon/Reston/Sterling area. It's a fairly typical sports bar with pool tables, foosball, darts, TVs, etc. The food is good, but nothing special. The price is what you would expect. Service I've had there was solid, with no real complaints.

But what really makes this place special is the beer selection. They have a wide range of craft beer on draft, which regularly rotates. You just can't find another bar that has this sort of selection in the area. So if you're planning a happy hour and don't feel like driving to Arlington, this is as good as it gets!
Apr 12, 2011
Photo of blackie
Reviewed by blackie from Oregon

3.64/5  rDev -5.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
atmosphere: Carpool is a spacious, concrete floored bar, something of a converted garage atmosphere with pool tables, shuffleboard, darts, foosball, and tin signs and license plates hanging on the aluminum sheet-metal walls, a large barroom holds a large number of tables, the clientele on the Thursday afternoon of my visit would seem to be mostly coworkers out for an an after work beverage, the patio out back could be a nice option in warmer months, the music streaming from the online jukebox wasn't so great, parking was a pain in the ass with the entire lot filled to capacity

quality: served in what would appear to be a false pint with a nice, thick glass bottom, no issues otherwise

service: quick and helpful, just fine

selection: easily passable, but not impressive, nearly identical selection to the list given by the reviewer below, Two Hearted and Stone Smoked Porter were the most attractive to me, with a population of pesudo-micros and macros, sadly this is one of the best options within miles

food: did not order any food, but complimentary quesadillas were available for snacking buffet style

value: a bit pricey, my pints were about six-fifty and exempt from happy hour pricing
Apr 24, 2009
Photo of 86sportster883
Reviewed by 86sportster883 from Maryland

3.93/5  rDev +2.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3
On tap, Lagunitas IPA, Victory Prima Pils, Atwater Vanilla Java Porter, Allagash White, Anchor Steam, Arrogant Bastard, Bell's Best Brown & Two Hearted, Brooklyn IPA, Chimay's Triple, Dale's Pale Ale, Delirium Tremens, DFH 60 & 90, Old Chub, Poet Oatmeal Stout, Pyramid Hefeweizen, Spaten, Stella Artois, Stone Smoked Porter and the usual macros to round out the 30 or so taps.

Food is generally pub fare: Appetizers include wings, cheddar poppers, cheese fries, Nachos, cheese sticks, ..., you get the idea; Entrees included chicken, steak, tuna, and of course, fish & chips, as well as, burgers, sandwiches and a couple of salads.

I started with a pint of Two Hearted and an order of hot wings. The beer was excellent, the wings were ok. I chose to sit outside to catch the last of the late afternoon sun. The outside deck/patio has lots of room, about a dozen small tables, plenty of chairs, two levels and 4 large heaters hanging over the area to warm things up on cool evenings.

The inside of the Carpool is a man cave paradise. Pool tables, foosball, shuffle board tables and an online juke box complement the vast interior and long bar. Plenty of flat screen TVs, with one huge projection screen and a few vinyl couches here and there to give you that friend's basement feeling. A license plate covered wall, antique gas pumps, old service station signs (e.g., ESSO) and red craftsmen toolboxes add to the overall man cave feel.

This would be a great place to catch a game, hang out with a few friends, drink beer, shoot pool and generally, just have a good time. Next time I'm in the area, I'll return with a few friends and make an evening of it.
Apr 01, 2009
Photo of jnn4v
Reviewed by jnn4v from Virginia

4.35/5  rDev +13%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Talk about a hidden treasure! I guess I'll be proud to be the first to review it on here and to "out" this location that many locals have been keeping secret.

A: Just one notch above "hole in the wall". It's in a strip mall in a boring part of Herndon. Inside is an odd hybrid between industrial loft / pool hall / lounge in decor.

Q: Very good quality beers from many genres on tap. Bells, Stone, Allagash, etc. were well represented. They even had HopSlam on tap a few weeks ago. They do have a standard list of generic domestics, but it only makes up 5-10 of their ~30 taps.

S: The bartender taking care of me tonight did a fantastic job. I was one of the only non-regulars in there, but I never felt overlooked. Prompt, attentive, and even informative (she actually knew the tap list well).

S: Did I mention about 30 beers on tap? Including Double IPA's, Belgians, Porters, etc? I was impressed. They had at least half a dozen things I hadn't seen on tap anywhere else in Fairfax county.

F: Good pub fare. I enjoyed my buffalo chicken quesadillas tonight.

V: Half price appetizers from 4-8pm. Can't beat $4.50 for a tasty dinner.
Mar 31, 2009
Carpool in Herndon, VA
Place rating: 3.85 out of 5 with 10 ratings