Augie's Mussel House and Beer Garden — Restaurant in Alexandria

Came for brunch on Sunday. The food and service were poor, but the bill was expensive. There are better brunch options on King Street, and for less money.

The Food: Overall it just wasn't good. The menu is predominantly focused on breakfast and southern comfort foods. These types of dishes are good, but they're also relatively easy to make. That is why I was so disappointed by the poor quality of the food we received.

I ordered an omelette with hash browns and a side of toast, and two appetizers - their homemade donuts and the steak and cheese egg rolls. When you order the homemade donuts you get 6 donut holes with 3 different dipping sauces for $9. They were ok, but there's no universe in which 6 donut holes warrant $9. The steak and cheese egg rolls were good, but are very similar to an appetizer available at several Great American restaurants and are less expensive there. My omelette was burned and dry, and the only toast they have available is the type of toast they use to make French toast. No sourdough, wheat or rye; just French toast. The hash browns were two discs like the kind you get a McDonald's and were probably frozen and reheated in a fryer.

My wife and her friend both ordered Cobb salads. They included pork belly, which both of them mistook for croutons because they were so hard and crunchy, and the eggs were boiled too hard.

The Service: The wait staff seemed friendly and we were seated right away, but the service was extremely slow. It took 40 minutes to get an omelette and two salads after we finished our appetizers. The servers were slow to clear plates and I had to ask the waitress to bring us the check.

The Experience: While we were there a small, live mouse was seen scampering about on the floor. The wait staff was quick to catch the mouse and release it outside. While not a huge deal, such an event doesn't exactly leave one feeling great about the cleanliness of what is otherwise a brand new establishment. We were sat inside at a wooden table that seemed to be curved creating a slope on one side making it very noisy to eat on. There was no salt or pepper or other condiments on the table, nor were any offered with the meal. The outdoor patio seemed like it would be nice if the weather were warmer, and there were large TVs with sports playing both inside and out. It may be a good place to grab a beer and catch a game.

Including tip I spent over $80 for two appetizers, an omelette and two salads. It just wasn't worth it - there are better brunch stops on King Street, withing a few blocks at comparable or...

Horrible service yesterday night. Went out to dinner with my mother and brought our dog. Mom made reservations a week in advance. Sat us in the far corner next to the speaker. They were blasting throwback dance music as if it’s a crowded bar on U Street or AdMo, not Old Town Alexandria where the median age of patron is over 30. That in and of itself isn’t an issue, but why seat the 30 year old with his 60 year old mother right by the speaker blasting 2000s party rap?

Regardless, we politely asked to move tables. They told us they’d figure something out, then did nothing. Eventually we moved ourselves given half the restaurant was empty. We were scolded for moving and told we’d have to move again, at which point we said we wouldn’t and it was ridiculous they ignored us (and sat us there to begin with).

The hostess threw her hands in the air and said “bye bye! Laughing and muttering insults about us as she walked away”. I was shocked by how rude she was. We later made a comment about her behavior to a manager as we left who shook his head, smiled and condescendingly said “have a nice day”. I could understand if we were some of the belligerent day drinkers they were targeting, but my mom ordered an iced tea and I ordered a single glass of wine. We were both stone cold sober and there was no reason to dismiss us like this.

Regarding the food - the mussels we got were okay - possibly a bit undercooked. The buffalo shrimp was not crispy. The scallops were okay but they weren’t nearly as good over the pea risotto as the brown butter version they previously served.

Overall, the experience was terrible and very disappointing considering this used to be one of my favorite places both to bring friends for a fun afternoon and to get a quality meal with my family or a date. Sadly, I can’t say I’d return until something changes. Easily the worst service I’ve ever had dining out in my life, and I’ve lived in six different states so that’s quite the...

Awesome selection of mussels (classic and unique styles), nice draft/cocktails/wine menu, attentive service, and wonderful outdoor patio.

We came with friends to enjoy a dinner on their heated, outdoor patio. It was about low 40s and they had multiple overhead heaters on; we all had hats and thick jackets and were generally warm, though I highly recommend bringing a blanket or dressing very warmly if it’s anything below 50. The heaters are warm, but only do so much as the area is entirely exposed.

Food: I had the French onion soup for appetizer, which was warm, perfectly sized, and delicious. I enjoyed the Spicy Grapefruit mussels for dinner; while the grapefruit wasn’t apparent, they tasted delicious and had great spice to them! All of the mussels were edible and not a single tasted grainy or rubbery. They obviously know how to cook mussels and cook them well, and have a great supplier! Friends had the pretzels, hot chicken tenders, hot chicken sandwich, and the curry mussels. The curry was delicious and perfectly seasoned. I’m not a fan of hot/spicy chicken, so I didn’t get a chance to try it but my friends said it was great!

Drinks: we split some bottles of wine and others had some beers. The menus are pretty good with plenty of options for both. There was also a good selection of cocktails, but we didn’t have any.

Service: service was great! We were checked on often without it feeling overbearing. When we requested a few additional things with the meal, they were quick to bring them out to us. The food runners were a bit reluctant to help but it wasn’t an issue and I’m sure they were busy.

Ambiance: the inside has a great bar area and plenty of seating. The outdoor patio is year round and just as awesome, with a bar and a picnic table style seating area as well.

Overall, recommend for the great mussels! Maybe a bit overpriced but it’s Alexandria and the food was worth the...