Ada's on the River — Restaurant in Alexandria

My wife and I hired a babysitter and made a reservation for an all-too-rare date night, excited to try Ada's based on recommendations from friends. When we arrived, we were asked if we wanted to sit inside or on the patio, and since the weather was great and the views are spectacular, we opted for the patio.

A few minutes into our meal, I noticed a mouse run under the table next to us, and under a planter - no problem, we're outside, these things happen. I quietly told a waiter who was stopping by our table, and his reply was "yeah, we definitely get some mice out here, it's worse when the sun goes down."

Ok, not ideal, but as the meal progressed we saw a few more, and by the time we paid and left we had to shoo them away from our feet every few minutes. It makes for a stressful eating experience.

Our waitress asked how everything was, and my wife was honest about having to brush away the mice and how disappointed we were. She replied "yeah, it can be really bad, I don't know what we can do, we're outside." We didn't ask to speak to a manager, didn't cause a scene at all, just told her it wasn't great.

She sent over an assistant manager, who heard we weren't totally satisfied, and her response was "we don't know what to do, we've asked some of the long term residents of the building how they keep mice out. Being outside there's not much we can do. I hope this doesn't stop you from coming back to eat here."

At this point we were completely frustrated - we've eaten outside at restaurants all over the area, in other cities and countries, and never had to keep shooing mice away from our feet as we finished a meal. So to have three separate staffers A. Acknowledge the problem and comment on how bad it is, and B. say there's nothing they can do, is really rough. We could have been moved inside, we could have been warned when we arrived, we could have had a glass of wine comped, literally a list of a thousand things that would have made us feel better than "yes, we know we have a lot of mice, really nothing we can do about it, come back soon!" The assistant manager told us she had informed the general manager about the problem.

The food was great, the views were great, but we're a pretty average family, so this was a splurge dinner for us. Mice are one thing - but again, never been a problem anywhere else I've eaten outside - but to have the staff just basically tell us that mice are part of the experience is totally another.

Note - I sent this note to the restaurant a week ago via their website's contact form, and did not receive a call or email...

Upon walking in we were greeted warmly by the host who confirmed our reservation.She walked away for a second to check on if they still had a Thanksgiving menu for me because I had mistakenly thought they did the day after. Upon her walking away the bartender looked up and saw us alone and promptly asked if we've been helped. Very attentive to his surroundings and guest satisfaction I wish i had gotten his name. When the host returned she sat us right away even though we were a little early. She explained we were to late for that Thanksgiving feast, no worries I said.

When seated we were expeditiously greeted by Matthew who helped me and my companion select the perfect drinks for us both. She got life on the water made to be more sweet while I went for the slightly spicy smoke and spice.

We ordered the bread as an appetizer and we were surprised by the butter. It was so deliciously sweet while not being over bearing, and when paired with the charcoal colored bred that was soft of the inside and crispy on the outside it was amazing. Flavors I had definitely not had together before.

We ordered our entrees as we came close to finishing our bread. She got the House ground prime dry aged burger while I opted for the 75 day aged 14 oz new york strip, med well.

Both emerged from the kitchen beautifully plated and looking delectable. Her burger and my steak were both cooked to temperature and we're out of this world. I asked for a sauce that would enhance the already mouth watering steak and (though I can't quite remember the name of it) was brought what seemed to be pesto. Matthew was spot on in his recommendation because it definitely enhanced the favor without overpowering the actual flavor of the meat as A1 would have.

As it was her birthday Matthew gave her a dessert on the house that ended up being her favorite cheesecake she ever had. The cheesecake tower on Graham tulies( seemed like thin and delicious, maybe house made Graham crackers?) The cheesecake was light and fluffy which isn't standard for cheesecake but workout way better and has a significantly improved mouth feel. I like regular cheesecake but it's thickness makes me avoid it more often than not. That won't be a problem with the cheesecake tower. While maintaining the taste and smell of cheesecake it was very light and mixed with the tulies it was amazing.

The manager was very attentive as well checking on tables when servers were responding to guest needs.

I was very pleased with the entire experience and my hats of to Matthew for making it a seamless experience from...

My husband and I have frequented Ada’s on many occasions to celebrate birthdays and different events. Last night may be the last time that we visit. While celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary and spending at least $300.00 on our dinner we were highly disappointed with the general manager, Chris George. Not only did he come to the back room at least 3 times and greet every table except ours but my husband tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and locked eyes with him twice to see if he would come check on our table as he did with every other table. But no, he didn’t. While our server was amazing and we tipped him generously, we decided to move to the bar area for a nightcap. While there our bartender took care of our order. There was a party celebrating their member’s 24th birthday and Chris George gave them two bottles of champagne and a soufflé. He then checked on the other two women that were there but again saw us and said nothing. At this point we are spending $400 at this establishment and are being purposely ignored.

When I asked to speak with him privately, I addressed my concerns and instead of apologizing he took a defensive approach. Now mind you, I am a Latina, born and raised in Virginia, Chris George is black. The tables that he proceeded to check in on and comp “bubbles” as he put it were all white. There were two other parties at the bar next to us, all black, who he also did not come check on nor offer any type of service.

So when I brought this to his attention he claimed that he could not be racist as he is black. He asked what I wanted in a very rude fashion, asked if I wanted to be comped for our meal, to which I was offended because money wasn’t the issue, it was to make him aware of how he treat his customers who are darker in melanin. I responded that I wanted him to hold himself accountable and in the future treat all dining guests the same. He then proceeded to say “whatever” and walked away. Attached is the panorama of the back area where we were dining and it clearly shows who all were there. While Ada’s is a beautiful establishment and we have had amazing service with the staff, the general manager’s conduct and then rudeness will never have me go back. I hope that this is an eye opening experience for Chris George and he takes a moment to reflect and treat everyone the same, not only those who he thinks should be treated a certain way due...