Dropping a star after today's brunch experience. Their "omelets" (which are not technically omelets) are made in about a quarter cup of oil. My "omelet" was literally dripping and left a puddle of oil on my plate. I found a hair in my fruit, and they apologized, which I appreciated. It happens I guess... The fruit was good minus the hair. The potatoes and mac and cheese were still good. That's about it. Probably won't go back...not even with a Living Social deal. read more

We went there on a Saturday around 6pm and was seated promptly. We were off the main entrance section which was chilly whenever the door was opened to allow customers to enter. I would recommend sitting elsewhere if the weather is cold ouside. Our waitress was given two tables and the other one must have been on the other side of the restruant, because her service was slow. We were left waiting several times and found ourselves peering around the restraunt to get someones attention for refills. Once the waitress came I had to remind her that I also had a bar drink coming. (That was good , along with the bread) We ordered dishes that were not our norm; the Cod, the Snapper and my daughter order a 'three Tapas meal" but they were out of the Zucchini and could not complete the order. I'm pretty sure that there was a food store right down the road. Both my wifes and my dishes were swimming in oil and very bland. There were several large bones in my wifes Cod dish, and not knowing too much about our fish dishes she did not realize that Cod was served with the bones in it. I wish the menu would have stated that it was served with bones. The combination of the bones, flavor and service did not add up to a pleasent experience. When the check arrived arrived the waitress did not subtract the missing Zucchini dish off of the bill. Meal check: $74.70 We typically eat out frequently at restruants like, Sweetwater, Arties, Ruby Tuesdays,and various Thai restruants. We enjoy trying new places to eat, but were disapointed here. We may give it another chance at a later date. read more

My family and I used to love coming to Columbus Grill when they first opened, because they used to put some effort into their service--but after a few nasty experiences there, we've decided never to return. For my father's birthday, we purchased a gift card from Restaurants.com and called to confirm it's validity before arriving at Columbus Grill; however, upon redemption of the card, the manager decided that he would not accept the gift card. Didn't care that we paid for the meal in advance. So we were out the price of a $50 gift card--birthday ruined. I guess that explains the owner's Ferrari out front, you don't get rich off of poor service by honoring your customer! About the food, enjoy the lukewarm goodness that is their food. Half of the time, depending on the mood of the staff, expect warm food on cold plates with inconsistent presentation. Bypass this place! read more

I've been to this restaurant about 4 times since I've moved to Manassas. The first time was a mixed review and for dinner. We tried their squid for an appetizer it was horrible, and I'm a big squid lover, it was under cooked and milky with little to no seasoning, but their meat on a rock was delicious. Another time we went for lunch. Loved their steak with fries and an egg on top, hand an appetizer of sausage which was good but a bit too greasy. From there it went all downhill. It was nothing but misses, long service waits, and a horrible cold brunch buffet. Everything is overpriced for under prepared, under seasoned food. I gave them 2 stars just because their steaks were at least kick ass. read more

Some of the selections from the Sunday brunch buffet. Other offerings include: omelette station, waffles, pancakes, chicken, oysters, fruit, jello, seasoned rice. read more

Columbus Grill - Mediterranean Near Me - Manassas, Virginia

Service sucked Bartender not paying attention if we needed anything else No management around Please go to espresso Portuguese American grill Better service and food read more

This place has been on my radar for a while. I finally made it and I'm glad I did. Our family ordered every bacalhau (portuguese for cod) dish and we are still undecided which was more delicious. Going back this weekend... and I live far... read more

Columbus Grill - Mediterranean Near Me - Manassas, Virginia

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Sorry - but I would not recommend this restaurant. Ate there this evening and food was just not good. A couple of things: - They were out of the appetizer we ordered - Boccacino con Presunto (we got there at 6:30pm and no one else was there) - Calamari (which we ordered instead) were very 'chewy - Crabcakes have a very strange consistancy - almost 'watery' - and they are definitly not lump crabmeat - My husband ordered Maricada and it was very 'soupy' and messy. Definitly needed a bib - which they do not offer. He also got a 'bonus' rubberband in the dish, which, when brought to the waitresses attention, resulted in nothing (most restaurants would have at least offered to comp dessert). - We also found out that there were specials that we were never told about. The dessert tray looked good, but we opted to skip. I did speak with the people at the front when I left and they apologized, but again, I'm sorry to say, we will not be back. read more

So as you can see I really liked this place, and when I do something I like to be thorough. So I'll section this off so you can quickly pick out what you want to know from my review. And if you care to know who's writing this. I'm a single white male in my late twenties, who works in the IT industry for the government. I'm pretty brutal when it comes to food service and what I eat. I had my long stent in the food industry as a server, cook, and manager. I've eaten at some top shelf places: Ruth's Chris, Tuscana West, Phillips, and a gaggle of other popular and independently owned places all over. How'd I find this place: Well I had been driving past it on my commute to work every day since it was a furniture store four years ago. I alway's wondered what it was after they built it, but just never really took the time to go in. A few friends of mine said they were going for some drinks and dancing a couple weeks back. So I decided to stop by and check it out, I had thought the place was just an upscale restaurant. Even on a pretty busy night they had more room to dance than The Park in DC. The Ambiance and Cleanliness: The first thing I noticed coming into this place was how clean it was kept. Generally I sneer at most restaurants that have bars when I walk in because they assume they don't have to keep it all as clean, but even the bar was kept super clean here. I'm a sucker for architecture, and the ambiance of the way they built the place was just great too. What is this place: Well like I said I always just thought it was an upscale restaurant. Turns out there's a decent amount of space to dance when the DJ's playing. So turns out after 9:30 on Friday & Saturday, and I don't know what other nights. They have a DJ in there playing, there were even people out on the patio dancing. It was pretty great. The Food: So after going in there to dance a few times, I decided to grab a bite to eat. One of the thing I'm gona point out that I loved is the way they had the Salad menu set up. I know a few vegans, and they always have to order their salad and ask them to take off the meat; but they still have to pay the same price. The salad menu here is just salads, if you want to add a meat to it you just get charged a few extra bucks. They also offered every salad as a side salad at half the menu price when ordering an entrée. I love a good salad, but you always have to pay $10 plus for anything aside from a house or caesar. I was able to get a salad with avocado, mango, heart of palm, and a tasty dressing for $4! Other than that I just went with the crab cake sandwich, which I was really impressed with. I'm used to sub-par crab cakes at most places a bunch of bread with a little crab. This thing was a real crab cake, something you'd expect to eat at the Inner Harbor or in Main. And the sauce that they put on the sandwich complemented it perfectly. It came with fries, which it's funny to write about fries in a review; but you could taste that these weren't flash frozen and just thrown in a deep fryer. I don't know how they made them, but it tasted like something I'd make at home. It also looks like you can change out your side if you want to as well though, so I probably could have gotten asparagus with it if I wanted. Which I might do next time. The Prices: The price on the Entrée I had was just right. $11 for a good sized crab cake sandwich and a big plate of fresh fries; and the $4 for a salad with avocado and mango. Most places charge that for some lettuce and tomato with ranch dressing. Some of the other items looked pricey at first, but when I saw the quality and size of my meal; I'd be happy to pay the extra $2-4 more for an entrée that's going to be of that quality over a chain bar and grill any day. A dollar more for quality ingredients, a dollar for larger portions, and a dollar for cleanliness and chef's not cook's. I was happy to pay that. I can't wait to go back and try something else this weekend. The Service: I've been in there a couple times to the bar, and all of the bartenders were very friendly and the mixed drinks were good. The bartenders were pretty cute too, I'd go there over hooters any day for a game. I had been in there a few times drinking and dancing, and the owner seems to always be there so when I went in to eat he actually offered me a complementary glass of what I assume is their house wine. He told me it was from his brother's vineyard from back in Portugal where he's from originally. I'm not a wine connoisseur, but I can hold my own when it comes to picking good wines. I'm not gona say it was the best wine I've ever had, but I'd definitely drink it again. I'm assuming it's a house wine so probably pretty well priced, and for a house wine, if that's what it was. I'm impressed. If you are a wine connoisseur though, it looks like this guy knows his wine. He has a wall in the restaurant dedicated as a wine rack and he probably had a hundred different wines minimum there. read more

Solid food, very cool chill atmosphere I got the pork with potatoes dish, very very good. Wife got a braised beef dish that was very good as well. Full bar, seem to be a hot spot for drinking on a Saturday Night Update: Went back again a few months later. The atmosphere is definetly for the drinking crowd. Me and my wife went their for a meal and they pretty much forgot about us. Meals came out pretty late and overdone. Whoever the chef was didn't know how to cook seafood correctly. Just beware if you are on the restaurant side, if the bar is popping, don't expect to be promptly served. read more

We had booked their banquet hall with their coordinator Ana two months before the event. We went in person to do everything and even left a $300.00 deposit. One our first meeting we informed her we had 20-25 guest and wanted to do a buffet, she gave us the package deals and said it would not be an issue, but since it was not 40 guest she could not guarantee us the banquet room, just because if a larger party wanted to rent the space they would prioritize them, which we understood. She offered us a private space in the restaurant, which we agreed to if and when they room was not booked by a larger party. Two weeks before the event I contacted Ana to touch base on last minute details, again I went in person. I informed her we had some cancellations and it would be roughly 16 people. She then said she could no longer offer us a buffet and it would be a pre-selected meal, but at the same price as she offered us for the buffet $32.00, which made absolutely no sense..How are you going to charge $32.00 for a pre selected meal and a buffet? I proceeded to ask her if a larger party had reserved the banquet room, she said no, but that she had spoken to the owner and they would not allow us to use it as it was to much set up for them for such a small party, which was not what she previously said. We had previously requested permission to bring a Mariachi Band for 1 hour, which she agreed to, at the end she said it would be to much noise and would disturb other guest.. Overall it was such a bad experience, I cancelled everything as they were not holding up their end to the deal. Thankfully I got my deposit back and I went to a much better restaurant to host our event. read more

Food is Ok. Drink list ok "but" if your looking for a place to eat where you can have a conversation with the people at your table....forget it. Bar area (inside and out) music is way to loud. It's a great place to be if you're an old guy watching and drooling over the young girls, then you are in the right place. Frankly, I wouldn't let my daughter eat or work there. read more

I was looking for Portuguese food and Columbus grill popped up on my search. We were impressed by how big the place is (we loved the minimalist decoration) with a separate bar and dining areas. The bartender was polite and she brought our waitress, Gisele, who took us to the dining area. The staff was wearing masks and keeping social distance. Gisele was attentive and polite. The Portuguese food (cod, pork, soup and dumplings) were delicious!!! We will be back, service and food were amazing!! read more

The good is not well prepared. Bland and poor temperatures. Bartenders are slow and have little personality. I really have no clue as to why someone would choose this place. Def still hungry and if I wanted to drink would still be thirsty. Just looked forward to leaving. Last when I got my check it wasnt even itemized. Stay away!!! read more

Great place. Went here for lunch and everything was Amazing. The staff were amazing as well. The seafood veloute was awesome and loved the cheese, prosciutto and chourico platter was so good. Desert die for. We will be back . Ask for George on Fridays and Saturdays read more

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Just stopped by Columbus grill for the first time in 3 years. This used to be my favorite hangout until I moved away! Had a great bartender Sarai who took great care of me, my wife and my daughter! She gave us great recommendations on food and her Sangia's are the "Bomb"! Thank you very much Sarai for making our dinner so special! read more

Best Sunday breakfast in Manassas. Fantastic main menu as well. For an off the beaten path selection of great seafood and Mediterranean fare you can't miss. read more

Dinner was great. The bread basket was fresh and warm. My 22 oz sangria was good but sure had a kick. I started talking all loud and stuff lol. The atmosphere was nice and classy. I will be back! read more

Columbus Grill - My salmon dinner. Yummy - Mediterranean Near Me - Manassas, Virginia

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Really good!! My husband said it was the best meal so far on our trip. He had the Bitoque and said it was delicious. Ihad the Mediterranean Pita sandwich. It had red pepper humus with avocado, and greens. I loved it! The waitress was perfect. She was there as needed but did not hover. I appreciated her service. read more

Well kept secret! Well worth the 30 minute drive! We were a party of 10 of all ages. Everyone ordered something different and all were very pleased with their dishes, from Octopus to Lamb Shank! Great selection of unique wines. Best bruschetta I have tasted. Everything was prepared with care, and was delicious! The homemade potato chips were quite a treat... excellent! The service was a bit slow considering they weren't busy. The meals were all served in a timely manner... i.e., the kitchen was running smoothly, but the servers were not as attentive as we would have liked. Overall, excellent unique dishes, including Portugese, that were all a big hit! And we are foodies, so not so easy to please! Some in our party had been to Portugal, and could attest to the authenticity of the foods we were served. Kudos to the chefs! read more

I had such a terrible experience, celebrated a 21st birthday. I paid for 3 hours of open bar. My guest had to buy their our drink bcuz they only had 2 servers for 50 people. I think gratuity should be up to the clients discretion and they made it a point to be enforced to what they wanted to charge 20%. Pet yamila that's in the contract, like I told her Latinos screwing your Latinos. If you have an event and want to screwed go ahead and call Yamila she's the person to call. read more

Celebrated Mother's Day here & had an amazing time. Great service & quality food. I won't lie at first I was skeptical because of the location and the "look" of the restaurant BUT I was pleasantly surprised at how GREAT the food was. From their lamb & paella entree to their lemon cake & coffee I loved it all. My family and I will visit again! read more

Nice interior. Shared a bottle of a good red. Cheese & meats appetizer platter was tasty as was the Bruschetta. Paella entree mediocre at best. "Saffron" rice needed Saffron and was not "crusted" at bottom. The flan cake and coffee were the high point of the meal. read more

I ate there Sunday for my belated birthday family bash. It was our first time eating there. It was beautiful inside. There were some intimate niches that had beautiful booths with granite countertop tables. It was warm and inviting. Our waitress, Julie was very sweet and had a great sense of humor. She asked us if we would like a refill before we even realized that we were running low. Now the food........All I can say is WOW!!! The food was AMAZING! I don't even know where to start. The bread that came out while we were waiting had a crisp crust and tender right out of the oven center. Mix that with the creamy butter that they serve it with...yummy. We took home extra. I had the seafood soup and asked if I could substitute shrimp for the scallops. She asked the chef and I was delighted to hear that they would absolutely be able to do it. The soup was one of the best I have ever had. It wasn't like some you get that they have the creamy base of the soup made up of pureed seafood and throw in one or two small shrimps and call it seafood soup. No, this one had a tomatoey lobster base with huge chunks of shrimp, crab, and maybe lobster in just about every spoonful. It was amazing. I also had the rack of lamb with mashed potatoes and gravy. The lamb was pretty good too. It was seasoned well with Rosemary and was very tender. The mashed potatoes were delicious and the gravy was rich and savory. Be careful of the deserts! It will be hard to choose just one. I chose the Lemon Cake. It tasted home made, but looked store bought. They also had a dollop of whipped cream on the side with a sprig of mint on top. It was very refreshing and tasted like Lemon heaven. I think my eyes rolled into the back of my head a couple times on this dinner and desert. Especially the desert. I think it was one of the best dinners I have had in a very long time. Would Really love to go back. All of us were pleasantly surprised. We will be telling everyone. Definitely a must try at least once. read more

I LOVE THIS PLACE! The bathrooms are SO clean I couldn't believe it lol but that was so comforting to see that they were beautiful as well. I always order the Seafood Veloute with the jumbo lump crab and scallops in a rich creamy lobster-based soup. I freaking LOVE it! The salmon is always made to perfection, I always have a good time enjoying anything with Salmon on the menu. If you like avocado, you should definitely try the Mediterranean Pita! It has roasted red pepper hummus with avocado, red onion, and balsamic tossed garden greens on house-made pita. It also comes with fries!! it is very filling so feel free to share. If you like buffet style then you would LOVE their brunch that they have on Sundays! Last time I went ..I couldn't stop eating lmao ALSO! I hope you get Lora as your server, what a cutiepie! I want to thank her for always having a smile on her face! Really represents the restaurant well. She's so quick on her feet, super sweet and very professional. I always try to get her when I go, I really enjoy myself the most when I do. I NEVER knew about this place but I am so glad I gave it a try! I've referred it to everyone I know :) Thankyou! read more

Stopped by Columbus for the first time in years and had a great time! My bartender Sarai was so helpful with recommendations on what to eat & her sangria's were delicious. Will definitely be back! read more

Just gross unexciting food. They got one star for the dessert: Bread pudding. Not bad. Everything else, NOT good.

Was in VA for a mini vacation and decided to have dinner at the Columbus Grill. We were greeted with a welcoming smile by the hostess. Since it was a later dinner hour between 8:30 and 9:00 we did not have to wait to be seated. There is a nice warm ambience about this restaurant with the dark wood. The restaurant has open areas as well as smaller areas for a more private dining experience for larger groups or an intimate dining experience for couples. Our server Chris as well as the Manager were quick to come out to welcome us. Both our server Chris and the Manager were very attentive. Menu selections were suggested which was appreciated by my dining partner and myself. With appetizer & dinner selections completed we enjoyed a very tasty White Sangria. The appetizers of Shrimp and Beer and Bruschetta arrived quickly. The main course of Penne Alfredo Primavera w/Shrimp came shortly afterwards. All the food was piping hot, very tasty and flavorable with very generous portions. Our meal ended with the homemade fruit tart w/vanilla ice cream. A tip for those of you who like deserts all of the deserts are made on site. If you have the opportunity to dine at the Columbus Grill I would do so. I know you will be in for a pleasant dining experience. If I am in the area again I will certainly do so! read more

One of my favorite places to eat in Manassas! The lamb chops are WONDERFUL and reasonably priced. The service on point! Please keep the Gateo wine in stock! We love it! We'll definitely be back! read more

**1.5 stars** I decided to give Columbus Grill a shot for the first time after they gave me an offer for free Sunday brunch for my birthday via Facebook. I love brunch and I love free things! To start, this restaurant is very well put together and aesthetically pleasing. To go along with the Columbus theme, there are a few "coves" in the dining area with booths for larger parties. Each of these has a name like Nina, Pinta & Santa Maria. Get it? Cute! The floors and railings are a dark, sleek wood - beautiful. The brunch buffet is from 11am to 2pm. We arrived around 12:30 without a reservation and were quickly seated by a friendly hostess. To be honest, the brunch area was not crowded at all - should've taken that as a sign. Now on to the food... First off, it seemed that CG doesn't put out a lot of one dish at a time. The food runs out and it takes a while to refill. It wasn't a great feeling to arrive hungry, find half of the buffet in need of refilling and having to wait on more. *Sigh* It was quite an eclectic mix of brunch foods. There were: pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, an omelet station, biscuits, fruit, salad and small deserts. Mixed in were things like a cod dish, rice, garbanzo beans, macaroni and cheese (not your "normal" mac & cheese), oysters on the half-shell, some sort of red, pasty looking dish and a small meat carving area. There is a lady who mans both the omelet and meat carving "stations". To be honest, I wouldn't have even known omelets were an option had she not asked me if I wanted one - kudos to her! I'm some-what of a picky eater, so off the bat, there are a few things I refused to even try. The fish, runny scrambled eggs, red dish I couldn't determine, oysters... not my thing and I couldn't tell you if they were good or not. That's on me. However, I did sample just about everything else. The pancakes and waffles were HORRENDOUS! They tasted like the frozen variety from the grocery store, yet had been freezer burnt, cooked anyway, and left out too long. The bacon was very fatty and not cooked for long. I happen to like it cooked this way (way less fat would've been nice though), but my dining partner couldn't even eat it at all because she likes hers at least some-what crisp. The mini dessert tarts looked beautiful - however, they're all cream cheese based. I hate 99.8% of all things made with cream cheese. It would've been nice to have more variety in that aspect. My made-to-order omelet was decent. I liked the maple flavoring of the sausage and the breakfast potatoes were cooked to a light, crisp perfection (although could stand for a little seasoning). The salad offerings were fresh. Now, my favorite of it all.... THE MAC & CHEESE! It was made with white cheeses and had some type of thin meat in it. Ham? Not sure, but it was Columbus Grill's saving grace. Kinda. As for service, the dude was decent. For the most part he was good about coming by and refilling our drinks. We did have to ask another server walking by if we could get some ketchup at one point. That server pretty much just looked at us like, "Why are you talking to me? I'm not your server." Yeah. Not a sign of teamwork and customer service. Also when we asked for our check, I needed to tell him about my free meal offer. I tried and he pretty much just cut me off and kept walking, saying "yeah, yeah, you got a Groupon." Um, NO dude. Stop and LISTEN for a freakin second! When he did return and was ready to listen to me, we got things settled quickly. In the end, my food was free and we both got waters. The total for one buffet with tax was about $22. For a brunch that was amazing, this would be a super sweet deal. For a brunch that was sub-par... a tad much, in my mind. After reading the reviews of this place (post-visit) it also seems that the prices have increased since they opened in 2009 and there's always a deal on Groupon, Specialicious, ect. I wish I could say that the VERY NICE offer of a free birthday meal would reel me back in to Columbus Grill, but it won't. read more

Wow they have the best grilled Fish in the area. If you like salads and grilled meats this place is the best in Manassas

We recently moved to the area and I pass the Columbus Grill every day on my commute. Earlier this week, we encountered a Living Social deal while discussing what to do for my birthday (today). We jumped on the deal, which was a Sunday Brunch for Two for $15. Disappointingly, we got what we paid for. Brunch runs from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm on Sundays. We arrived around 11:00 am and, not having reservations (the voucher didn't say we needed them, so we didn't make them), we were seated fairly quickly in the main dining area. The low lighting and decor was romantic and appealing, but the coziness soon gave way to noise as families using the same coupon started to trickle in. The acoustics in the place are terrible; this is no fault of theirs, but it put a damper on the meal a little. As for the meal... the buffet line is set up in a somewhat confusing manner- there were two small tables with plates, one with bread, biscuits, butter, jelly, chocolate muffins and slices of chocolate cake. The other had a bowl of fruit (honeydew, cantaloupe, and grapes), a plate of pineapple, more of the chocolate cake, and small squares of different individual cakes. On the main table, there were open dishes of salad, veggies, and garbanzo beans, then the hot foods, two types per heated container- the breakfast items were in the center, between the lunch items and the open dishes. Between my fiancé and I, we tried everything. Despite being only an hour into service, the food was not very hot (I recognize it's hard to contain heat when people keep leaving the serving lids open, but there was also a lady who, I assume, since she never spoke to anybody, was making omelettes to order and acting as carver- I never saw her do either. Maybe she was there to telepathically remind people to close the lids?), and at no point did we see (and we were there for almost an hour) anybody refilling the containers. Despite being cold, though, the shrimp pasta was quite lovely, as was the chicken piccata, and baccalau. However, we both agreed that side dishes were our favorites- my fiancé really liked the bread and I really liked the brunch potatoes. Shrug, fine, okay. However, my fiancé said the mussels on the half shell tasted dirty, but since I don't eat bivalves I can't confirm- however the shells also had this strange green tint that made me uncomfortable just looking at them. Moving on to desserts. Dessert was what really killed it for me. The grapes in the fruit salad were the kind with pips- I should have realized this by their size, but didn't, so had to try to spit them out without spitting everything out. I learned my lesson, but not in time to warn the young mother of two next to us before she gave one of the seedy grapes to her younger child who could not have been much more than a year old. Okay, fine, authentic Mediterranean grapes, I can handle that... but the cakes. The chocolate cake looked very nice, but upon tasting was incredibly dry and cardboard tasting; I'm pretty sure it has been frozen and improperly thawed. When I went up, the tray of little individual cakes that looked almost like petit fours had only three left- another gentleman beat me to it and took two, but left one for me. I took it, and in the first bite, something tasted off. It tasted confused, like it didn't know if it was supposed to be lemon (as I had suspected) or pineapple. But not a regular pineapple, like a rancid pineapple, like it had been sitting out somewhere too long or something. I couldn't finish it, and I hate wasting food on principle. The chocolate muffins were pretty good, though. Also a little dry, but nothing a little butter couldn't fix. In the intervening 20 minutes before we left, though, the desserts were never refilled. After we sat with our plates for what seemed like ages, our server came by, stated he had "forgotten" us (he was very sweet, but we only saw him three times the entire time we were there). The gratuity was included in the check, and it was a lot higher percentage than I would have liked considering all factors. This was the first brunch service with this coupon, so I understand a lot was happening, but I was disappointed on the whole. The two stars is for environment, friendliness of the servers (when they could be found), and brunch potatoes and bread. I am curious to see if it is different for dinner, so we may be back to try it some other time, but we certainly won't be back for brunch. read more

Sadly disappointed. The only reason they get 3 stars is because the seafood was very fresh. Sadly no flavor in the main dishes. The Mexican Tartar was amazing... but the cod and the sardines lack umph ....flat is the best way to describe the meal. read more

When thinking about our first experience at Columbus Grill, the word that comes to mind is 'nice.' Not mind-blowing, by any means, but overall just 'nice.' We went early on a Saturday evening, since our 4 year old daughter was with us, and it was pretty empty. It was about 5:45ish. The decor was well done - I love the dark woods and black accents. I could picture it as trendy and fun, had it really been humming. As it was, it was mostly older couples eating early, like us. I'd like to go back for a dinner without my daughter later in the evening, to see if it picks up as the evening gets later. The service was kind of throwing off the vibe, though. Everyone was perfectly nice, but most of the people we interacted with seemed on the timid side, like they weren't sure of themselves, or the food, or what they were supposed to do - almost like no one had ever worked in a nice restaurant before. I guess 'awkward' is the best word for it. Our server did go out of her way to find me information on the wine I had that I really enjoyed, which I definitely appreciated. As the hour approached 7 o'clock it started to get a little busier, and our server seemed like she was warming up. But look at me blathering on about everything but the food - my apologies! On to the food... I tried the Caldo Verde soup, which was only 'ok' in my opinion. I'd never had it before, so it may just be that I don't care for it as a general rule. It wasn't bad, just not quite my thing. My daughter got the Ziti with cheese sauce, and she literally kept saying "This is the BEST dinner EVER!" to anyone who would listen. My husband got the steak special, which is served on an extremely hot granite (?) slab with three sauces for dipping. His was seasoned well, fairly tender, and he liked two of the sauces. However, if you are a big stickler for eating your meat rare or medium rare, this dish is not for you. The slices of meat are so thin, they are clearly on their way to medium well by the time you get them off the granite slab. I had the Penne with crab, which had an astoundingly generous amount of fresh crab meat and a delicate tomato cream sauce. It was very good, and again, I was just astounded by the amount of crab meat they used! Since I knew I'd be writing a review, I used that as an excuse to get my very own dessert (any excuse, right?!). I ordered the flan, which they make in-house, and my husband and daughter split the chocolate peanut butter pie. The flan was delicious, probably second best to the one I had in Miami years ago. And my husband and daughter finished off theirs with no complaints. There was a fresh mango mousse that was very intriguing, which I will definitely try next time. The meal was pretty pricey for three, coming in at about $90 with tip, and probably overall not quite as good a restaurant as say, Sweetwater. However, it's still new, and I really like not having the hassle of having to call ahead or wait forever. I hope this place catches on, because I think once they get into the groove, this could be a really great place. read more

The soups are fresh and well seasoned. I enjoyed that the bar waiter was not always taking my dishes away and hurrying me along. I would like to be a regular customer at this restaurant. read more

Ordered the special which was New York Strip, chicken and shrimp. Ordered the steak med rare and it came out well done, as was the chicken (very dry). As a rule, I will never send anything back to the chef. Just left it on the plate. - except for the tiger shrimp. Salads were good. We also ordered Tuna which was somewhat better. Everything was very salty. Waitress pull a Houdini after she delivered the meal. Service slow. read more

I've always driven past this restaurant and noticed it wasn't ever busy. But online reviews were mostly positive and I didn't feel like eating at a chain restaurant, so I decided to check it out. I started with a glass of 100 Marias red wine...yum...and a scallop tapas for an appetizer. Both great choices! The scallops were cooked perfectly...I'd definitely order it again. 5 scallops for $9, definitely worth it considering you'd get the same portion at a fancier restaurant for 3x the price. My paella entree seemed to be made with regular rice instead of arborio, which threw me off. But the flavor was delicious and there was a healthy portion of seafood which surprised me. The serving size is definitely enough to feed 2 people. I probably would try something else on my next visit since there seemed to be other tasty options. My friend ordered the lemon chicken pasta and said it was tasty...it looked really good. For dessert, I had the flan and she had creme brûlée. I cannot say enough good things about the flan. Love. Love. Love. And especially loved the serving size! This is the best flan I've tasted...hands down. The service was sparse at first, but attentive throughout our meal. I had an Entertainment coupon that threw them for a loop since they didn't know how to enter it in their computer but after I showed them the book, it was fine. If I was down in Manassas more, this would be a regular dinner spot for me. Compared to La Tasca or other chain tapas restaurants, I'd gladly go back to Columbus Grill...the quality was far superior. I really hope more people try this restaurant since it always looks so empty...I don't want to see it close! read more

I have been here twice for brunch. This place has very nice decor and a friendly staff, which is the only reason I didnt give it one star. The food is not good. The first time I went, I didnt think the food was very good, but since I saw a deal on Specialious, I decided to give them another try. This time it was just flat out nasty!!! Most of the food was cold and had been sitting out a long time. The meat was fatty and everything was crazy over salted. The fruit and the small desserts were the only good things there. read more

The bartenders here are ready to serve and take care of you. This is an overall nice place for dinner and drinks. Prices are reasonable and portions are very generous. When we go to the bar, we go when Sarai is working. Th $5 sangrias during happy hour can't be beat. Long islands for $6 during happy hour is awesome as well. Our favorite appetizer is the camarones ajillos read more

Great food, great bartenders! Bartender Sarai did an outstanding job when i went. Definitely going back and recommending my friends to go!