The chicken and waffles are really good. We also really liked the Saigon sandwich, and the waffles…read morebefore you sent them were great. If you don't have a gluten allergy the place is great for brunch. The $35 all you can eat actually worked out really well cause we tried a lot of different things. The ambience is really nice and the servers are nice as well. Staffed with the amount of people that usually are here. My daughter's review: chiknnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn and wafflesssssssssssssssssssssssssss. And the water iz 100000000000000 times 10000000000000000 starz

I really enjoyed my meal at Surreal. I had the mushroom and spinach omelette with a side of…read moreapplewood-smoked bacon, plus the roasted beet and goat cheese salad, and everything was delicious. The omelette was especially good--light, fluffy, and finished with a nice touch of salt and chives. Their hot sauce was amazing too, and I loved it on the eggs. One thing I really appreciated was their $35 prix-fixe-style option, where you can choose as many items from the menu as you want and they serve them in smaller portions. That was such a great option, especially for an expensive DC brunch, because it let me try several things without committing to full-size entrées. The bread basket was also tasty, and overall the food and experience were great. I did remove one star because I indicated that I cannot have fresh garlic due to a dietary intolerance, but some of the bread contained visible pieces of fresh garlic. Unfortunately, I had already eaten some before realizing it. I know accommodations can be difficult, but I would have appreciated a heads-up about which items contained fresh garlic so I could avoid them.

This place has a nice selection of oysters. Brine or no, there were two options each. The tuna…read moreappetizer was fantastic. Very high quality tuna there! Soft and buttery like toro. I asked the bartender to do "less sweet" on a margarita and she absolutely crushed it. Best marg in Crystal City/Arlington so far.

Such a cool spot but THE WORST hostess and bartender service - and the default tip to 25%... you…read moredon't deserve $.02. The hostess is never at the stand- so you walk to grab a drink and after passing by you 8-10 times are finally acknowledged.. only to be asked if you checked in with the hostess. Nope/ there isn't one and I only want a drink- I'm waiting on a friend. After an audible ughhhh and a distinct eye roll I'm reluctantly served. There's better spots around here- I wouldn't waste my time or money here again.

I came to Federico's one Saturday evening to celebrate a friend's birthday. It's a family-owned…read morerestaurant that gives a very home-y vibe. We started with a couple Irish coffees, garlic bread, and salads. For our entrees we shared wood fire pizza and one of their monthly specials, crab and shrimp stuffed salmon with garlic butter pasta and veggies. The special was definitely my favorite of the night. We also had great service, and our waiter was very attentive, communicative, and also brought out a birthday dessert surprise for my friend!

Took my husband here for Father's Day. I was not very pleased with our waiter. He was forgetful and…read morehad a "hyper" energy which is fine but it was almost like he was all over the place. At one point my husband asked him a question about the price on an items and his answer was "I don't check prices ". In terms of the food, I felt the sauce was a bit watered down but I like the restaurant set up inside. It is intimate and quiet.

We stopped by on a whim because the restaurant looked inviting and happened to be offering happy…read morehour. We grabbed seats at the bar, and it ended up being a great choice. The bartenders were incredibly friendly and even let us sample a new cocktail they were experimenting with, which was a nice touch. The drinks we ordered were both strong and well-balanced. This was also my first time trying escargot. They serve it deshelled and topped with a flaky puff pastry, which definitely made it less intimidating for a first-timer. It was rich, buttery, and a great introduction to a dish I'd always been hesitant to order. For our meal, we shared the burger and the calamari. The burger was good but didn't really stand out, while the calamari was the surprise favorite. It had a nice crispy texture with just the right amount of heat. For dessert, we tried the rice pudding and the crème brûlée. The rice pudding was light, creamy, and not overly sweet, which I really enjoyed. The crème brûlée, however, was a bit of a mixed bag. The caramelized sugar layer was so thick that it was difficult to crack through, and I ended up lifting it off and eating the custard on its own. The custard itself was slightly runnier than I expected, but it was still rich and flavorful. Overall, I really enjoyed the atmosphere, the friendly service, and the cocktail program. I'd definitely come back for happy hour and to work my way through more of the menu.

Bar Colline has an extensive menu of appetizers and main courses. Our server Polina was polished…read moreand adept at helping us navigate the menu and the wine list. Don't let the French menu intimidate and limit your choices. Instead of enjoying their onion soup which we enjoyed before - we picked the prawn and rice croquettes in saffron rouille- marvelous and chicken liver mouse Foie De Volaille- outstanding. Main course choices of sea bass and mussels were delightful w texture and flavors that were welcoming and filling. The bar is a dynamic center point for the restaurant with high ceiling and lots of natural light pouring into the space. The space can handle large crowds and there are private spaces available. We were in on a late Sunday afternoon and the setting near the window gave us a great view of the well maintained streetscape. We enjoyed a pre dinner Manhattan that was straight up and so refreshing. Polina recommended a Sauvignon Blanc and a Chardonnay that really complimented our main course selections. Parking is plentiful in one of Crystal City's many parking garages and the streetscape is welcoming and smartly designed with colorful plantings.

We stopped in during a Profs and Pints event and ordered the loaded fries to snack on while…read morelistening to a presentation about sailors in the Colonial Navy. As it turned out, both the talk and the fries were surprisingly good. The fries were crispy and generously covered with a melted cheese-like sauce, a white sauce, plenty of jalapeño peppers, and lots of tasty bacon pieces. It's the kind of thing you'd expect to find at a sports bar, but these were executed better than expected. The fries stayed crisp under the toppings, the bacon added plenty of flavor, and the jalapeños brought just enough heat to keep every bite interesting. It was classic sports bar food, just done unusually well.

We went here to watch the US vs. Belgium world cup game. I'm so glad we caught the game here since…read morewe were able to grab seats with a great view. The bar was packed so the vibe was amazing but the drinks and food came out pretty quick. We got a couple of soccer themed drinks which was fun!

We enjoyed a very leisurely and delicious meal at Hummingbird Bar and Kitchen. The Prix-fixe menu…read morewas perfect for us as we were starved. I love the quaint and rustic feeling of the space which contrasted with the elevated dining experience. The view of the Potomac from the courtyard and restaurant were spectacular The Strawberry Fields Forever specialty cocktail is a refreshing blend of strawberry, mint, and rum. The Palm Royale is just as delightful with St Elder and Pomegranate liqueurs with champagne. Ludmyla was very friendly and Alla the manager helped us out with gluten free options. We enjoyed the Hummingbird Salad, Shrimp Cocktail, Lobster Lemon Linguine (with GF pasta) and Steak Frites. The Crème Brûlée and Flourless Chocolate Torte were a decadent finale for a splendid meal. It is hard to believe such a great restaurant is located inside a hotel. Hotel Indigo is very fortunate.

Staying here at Hotel Indigo so decided to go ahead and use our $15 daily credit since we were…read morebeing charged daily fee by hotel (for things we didn't really want but no choice so oh well....). Came on a Monday with my family of 4 and the food was great overall (yay) and HH drink prices also great (double-yay). So.... Why only two stars? When our check came it was for $189, but that didn't quite seem to add up based on what we ordered. I noticed there was no itemized receipt so I asked one of the servers if we could please have that. He returned and dropped it off quickly and it said $166 which did add up. Hmmmm? Why the $23 discrepancy? I sat there and our waiter wasn't making eye-contact in the practically empty restaurant but ten minutes later he walked over with a new check showing the $166 amount. No explanation, no oops/sorry, just a here you go. It was kinda disappointing given the nice meal we just had. Anyway, I just played along and said thank you and tipped him $30 (slightly less than I normally would on $166 but sorry, couldn't help but feel some shadiness with the check)

Last of the three 2022 runner-ups to original out of town picks, R is for Ragtime. Ragtime…read moredescribes a bygone era of music a type of jazz popular in the late 19th & early 20th century. The restaurant/bar has a trumpet as their logo and has some New Orleans decor. I was here for a Meetup group on Friday, February 18, 2022 after I had work travel to Loudoun County, Arlington was on my way home (although not my fastest option). I opted to get a fried shrimp Po Boy sandwich with mac n' cheese. It was great. I think it's the best Po Boy I've had the DMV although to be fair, I haven't had that many in this area, but this one was definitely delicious. Mac n Cheese was better than it looked. It wasn't the very best mac n cheese, but it was above average. I think I had a wine too as I barely made it there in time for happy hour, which ends at 7, as I had a movie walking distance from there at AMC Courthouse beforehand. I think I ordered straight from the bar for quicker convenience then ordered food at the table if I remember correctly. Server was nice, but took a bit of time, but it was a large group; it wasn't anything unreasonable. I also talked a lot with this woman, walked with her to her car (it was on my way to my car a block or two further) on that cold windy night. We talked outside briefly, but it was quite cold. So, we parted by but not before I asked for the digits; we exchanged phone numbers. See my 5-star Urban Thai review written on 2/28/26, which tells about my 2 dates with her. She was kind of strange, but she was a good person in spite of her not being a good match for me.

The food is decent the waiters and host are great but I was there recently and couldn't help but…read morenotice one of the managers named Millad was rude and disrespectful towards his staff primarily the female staff I could tell he was making them feel uncomfortable by their body language, if they have a guy like this as a manager I question the owners decision making and I'd really have HR take a look at this guy if I were him because it rubbed me the wrong way seeing this happen in real time as someone who has daughters himself!

Always an amazing visit and the food is top notch. Found this hole in the wall hidden gem a few…read moreyears back on a trip to DC, and have gone back nearly every visit since. French Onion Soup 16oz Prime Rib Cornbread Pilot Noir, Lyric - Santa Barbara, CA

How would I rate my experience? Strange. This was our agreed locale for an after-hours dinner. The…read morefirst thing I noticed when I sat down was myself. Yep, there is a row of tables against the window where you can look up and see a 45-degree mirror pointing directly back at you. Some people may like that. I do not. At all. That turns out to be my only star deduction. Although this place purports to be smoked meats, we all tended to order other items. I ended up set on the Epic Smokehouse Burger, a "Blend of ground pork and beef, bacon, smoked gouda cheese & apple wine homemade BBQ sauce." What a great blend that is. They cooked it rare to order - maybe I even needed to let it sit a minute to finish! Normally it arrives already medium, so that was nice. I ended up dipping my fries in my friend's steak juice dip (drained directly from the cooked steak I think) that he wasn't using. Great flavor, not too runny, perfect amount in the cup. So this turns out to be a nice place. Except the ambiance. Do get a table that is not reflective.