Grand Cata has a nice selection of wine and small plates to pair with the wine of your choice. We…read morehad a decent size group (13 people), and with the small location we ended up having to sit outside after a rainstorm due to them being full inside. They also seemed slightly overwhelmed with a slightly larger group even though one of the girls in our group had given the place a heads up that we were coming. The wines we ordered (Tannat, rose and sangria) were all delicious. As a group we ordered charcuterie, skewers, cheese balls and empanadas. All the snack plates were tasty. Overall, it was a decent experience once we were able to get the few tables set up outside. Definitely good for a nice little date night but for large groups they don't really have the space for i

This Spanish and South American focused wine bar is a lovely addition to the Mosaic district. I…read moretried the cava rose (delish), beef empanadas, and charcuterie board. It sounds like the wine list changes about every quarter, so there's opportunity to try different sips! Food did take a while (~25 min) for what it was, but will definitely cut some slack as there was only one server on to take care of the whole places. Offerings were quality and appreciated having a taste of Spain with the manchego, cava, and Serrano ham!

About a 2-2.5: I was able to attend the 2nd Annual Food, Wine & Arts Festival at Halstead Square…read morethis year (many thanks to Yelp NoVA!), and I was pretty excited for the event! Various activities include a free yoga class by Eat Yoga Drink, live music performed by Nelly's Echo on the main stage, wine tasting (for an additional fee per person, which includes a souvenir glass and 5 sample tickets), pop-up art exhibits, and appearances by various vendors (such as Blackfinn Ameripubb, Dickey's Barbecue Pit, Lost Dog Cafe, etc.). While the festival itself was on only a block spread on Gallows, it was a little confusing in regards to the registration/check-in process. There was no main registration table where ticket-holders and/or ticket-buyers can check-in. There was no security, as anyone can just access the festival by just walking off around the block or entering via the doors from the public garage. Most of the vendors didn't have signs or any indication of what their businesses were, so most didn't seem to know what they were standing in line for! I was only able to see one of the Crave Frozen Yogurt staff coming out from a random door with a tray of frozen yogurt samples, but I didn't see any other samples or vendors that were listed on the festival site. T____T I was sad that I didn't see any of the paint and sip from Pinot's Palette, one vendor that I really wanted to check out! T____T When we asked some of the attendees and the vendors to direct us to where we can check-in and/or purchase tickets, no one had a clue! I did pick up a poop bag dispenser and a reusable grocery bag from the Halstead Square table, and met a friendly adoptable cat from the Lost Dog Cafe. I'm glad I was able to check this event out, but I think there could have been better signage, some volunteers and/or a help desk for the attendees, and a better organization from the festival organizers!

Same as Hannah, I was able to attend this 2nd Annual Food, Wine & Arts Festival at Halstead Square…read moreevent with an Elite pass from Yelp NoVA. I was able to taste a lot of different wines and sample various food, including free chips and salsa, yogurt, and one or two others. Since its their 2nd event, hopefully this year will be more organized and offer more to food and drink craving yelpers :)

I received multiple emails about the Fit Foodie 5K race Weekend a while back and then saw our CM…read morewas giving away tickets to both Sunday activities and jumped on a chance to enter to win them. Thanks Gretchen! It was awesome! I signed up for the Sunrise Celebrity Yoga class with Kristin McGee (love her) and had a blast! It was a challenging power flow yoga session-just as I expected. Kristin is a very skillful instructor and the staff from Spark Yoga walked around to provide hands on modification, which I thought was a nice touch. I actually wish the boot-camp session had not been at the same time, because I would have loved to do both. Maybe next year? The brunch tables were being set up as we did our practice (which I found to be a little distracting, but I guess that is what happens with outdoor yoga) and looked lovely. After the hour session we were encouraged to stop by the vendor booth to get samples (magazines, snacks, seed packets, water), meet Kristin and the staff from Spark Yoga. I hope to participate in this event again next year.

I was SUPER DUPER excited when I found that I won a pair of tickets to Cooking Light & Health's…read more'The Fit Foodie 5K Race Weekend!' This annual event started back in '13 in San Diego, and had expanded to Fairfax, VA and Austin, TX for the '14 year - yahoo! The premise of this event is to encourage a healthy lifestyle - a balance of being fit with a combination of cooking and fitness demonstrations, so that you can have the pleasure of both worlds of working out hard and that you can also indulge in healthy food at the same time. This year, the event has teamed up with City of Hope, as this charity focuses on treatment and research for cancer, diabetes, and other life-threatening diseases. Checking in was a breeze; I was able to attend the Celebrity Sunrise Yoga, held at the Mosaic, presented by PlainSmart. The celebrity trainer for this event was Ms. Kristin McGee, where the attendees were able to do some balancing and strengthening yoga moves, great for all skill levels. Intense/relaxing, all at the same time! Another event that you can sign up for was the Obstacle Course Bootcamp and even a Celerity Chef Brunch that you could attend with an additional registration/cost. A great way to jump-start a 'healthy' week! I would love to check out the event next year, and look forward to having them again in NoVA! :D Thanks for the opportunity, Gretchen! :D

Surprisingly of all the times I've been in the area and have frequented mosaic since it opened I…read morehave not tried Alta Strada. I must say I was happy with my experience. We were a group of 8 going for a surprise dinner for a bride to be. The decor was rustic and very cute. For the most part they were efficient and quite kind. The few times it was a bit slow I think it was because we were a bigger party chatting and waiting for the main guest, they didn't know when the best time to ask what we needed. So not really on them. I tried the seasonal mocktail (wish I remembered the one I got), calamari, and the penne all a vodka with chicken as my protein. Everything was presented well and tasted great. I am very interested to return to try some of their other items on the menu.

My girlfriends and I stopped in for our first visit on a Saturday afternoon for lunch, and we were…read morepleasantly surprised to be seated immediately. Service throughout the meal was excellent. Our waitress was attentive without hovering, kept drinks topped off, checked in at all the right times, and made the experience feel welcoming from start to finish. The dining room itself left me with mixed feelings. It was incredibly humid inside, to the point where it became distracting during the meal. The booth seating also wasn't my favorite. The pleather-style upholstery made it surprisingly difficult to slide in and out, especially if you're sitting toward the wall. It's a small detail, but one that stood out. We ordered family-style so everyone could sample a little of everything, which I always think is the best way to experience a menu. The Caesar salad was the undeniable star of the table. Absolute banger. The dressing tasted unmistakably house-made with the perfect balance of richness, garlic, lemon, and anchovy. It's one of those deceptively simple dishes that can be hard to execute well, and they absolutely nailed it. The carbonara was enjoyable overall with a silky sauce and great flavor, but the pancetta was cut into pieces that were much larger than necessary. Smaller pieces would have distributed the flavor more evenly and made each bite feel better balanced. The table bread with the red sauce was another pleasant surprise. Fresh, comforting, and exactly the kind of thing that keeps everyone reaching for "just one more piece." The chicken parm sandwich had plenty of potential, but it was noticeably dry. It really needed a more generous helping of marinara to bring everything together and add the moisture you'd expect from a chicken parm. One area that could definitely use some attention is the restrooms. They were functional, but they felt tired compared to the rest of the restaurant and would really benefit from a refresh or remodel. Overall, this was a solid first visit with far more positives than negatives. While I'd probably skip the carbonara and chicken parm sandwich next time in favor of trying other menu items, that Caesar salad is something I'd order again in a heartbeat. It's rare for a salad to completely steal the show, but this one absolutely did. I'll definitely be back to see what else the kitchen has to offer.

Jenny is a Virginia artist who specializes in children's murals for residential and commercial…read moreprojects. You will be hard-pressed to find a more talented and creative muralist in the VA, MD, & DC area. I asked Jenny create a cheerful aviation theme for my toddler's room. She showed me several different sketches and was happy to make edits to create my dream mural. She is a busy lady, but was able to schedule us within 2 weeks and finished in one day. We LOVE it!! Professional, talented, and easy to work with- highly recommend her.

She has done 2 murals one for each child. They turned out beautiful and very personalized. She is…read morevery pleasant to work with has a special artistic touch.

We had an amazing experience on this Korean walking food tour in Annandale! We went with my wife…read moreand another couple, and it turned out to be such a memorable experience. The tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and took the time to answer all of our questions, which made the experience even more engaging. She also came up with some really fun games that helped everyone interact and made the tour feel very lively and memorable. I've lived in Northern Virginia for almost 30 years and have always been fascinated by Koreatown, but this tour gave me a whole new appreciation for it. The food was fantastic, and the overall experience was fun. You can really tell this is a great, well-run business--the owners clearly care about creating a high-quality and enjoyable experience for everyone. We would definitely recommend this tour to anyone, whether you're local or visiting. We are already planning to do it again for a birthday celebration!

The Korean food tour was amazing! It was awesome to support local businesses while trying a ton of…read moredifferent Korean dishes. Such a fun way to try new food! Mina was a great host. She was so friendly and knowledgeable! She seemed to have a great relationship with all the businesses we went to as well, with the shop owners being super excited when we came in!

Robert was a terrific and very informative guide. The history and foods were all amazing. Highly…read morerecommend!

We took a food tour for Leesburg VA in early March. It has…read morebeen 2+ months but to this day, I am still a bit sour about the tour guide that we had, Jen (she was Half-Asian). My girl friends and I signed up for this food tour to eat at food restaurants and have fun amongst each otherm the tour guide treated us like children, and acted like she was a historical teacher the whole time. We were not overly disruptive and just wanted to each other's company while having good food. We signed up for a "FOOD" tour but instead Jen instead that it was also a historical tour and made us very uncomfortable by over-lectueinf and quizzing us about historical facts about Leesburg, slavery and Civil War. At one point, between the third and fourth food tour stop, she made us take a huge detour around the town so she could over explain about histories behind slavery trading in Leesburg. At once point we got really bored and tired of being treated like children (we are all professional women over 30+ years old), and started laughing behind a bit in the street to chat. She had a full to turn to one of my friends and say 'plesee tell your friends to stop talking and pay attention to what I'm saying about these important events.' She over-shared that she leads school tours in DC during g other parts of the year and maybe she confused us with the school-aged children. But we did not enjoy our experience with her. I contemplated not sharing this awhile because I really think hard about leaving a negative review, but even two months later, her condescending attitude and the way we were treated as a group really stings us. I hope this type of tour guide can be curtailed and mapped for a "food" tour experience they advertised and we paid for instead of historical lectures. The tour guide needs to be re-educater.