RT's Restaurant — Restaurant in Alexandria

I feel a little guilty about this one. This is the place that I often take people to when they visit the area. I have been frequenting this place for years, and have always had great experiences. I have long owed them a great review. Countless pints of She-Crab Soup with extra bread, various gumbo's, etoufees, fish specials, and more have been enjoyed over the years. It all started because of the She-Crab Soup, though. On a snowy day, ordered four bowls of She Crab Soup for takeout(didn't know about pints yet), and trekked them home, walking. Two of the four people eating hadn't gotten back to the house yet when the food did. And when they finally did arrive, the soup was all gone. Granted it was four hours later and the soup happened to be the only food in the house, but that event will seemingly never be forgotten. And once we (stupidly) told them how good the soup was.... Oh man. Everything is ok now, all the blood has been cleaned off the walls. But from that point on, She-Crab Soup must be ordered for the entire class, or it does not get spoken of. Seriously. I'm reminded of a Koala bear when someone rips the eucalyptus leaf out of its hands. Pleasant and peaceful becoming nothing but claws and rage. Moral of the story, RTs has fantastic food throughout their menu, the specials are always strong, and all the traditional Cajun dishes are wonderful. New Orleans was one of my favorite food vacations ever, and RTs reminds me why everytime I enjoy their food. Once again, apologies on the lateness of my review. PS I had to edit my review. My favorite dessert in the world is Key Lime Pie. And RTs has a solid example. Harder to find the further north you get, it seems. I almost screwed up again when I forgot...

Although my recent visit was during Alexandria’s Winter 2025 Restaurant Week ($30 3-course prix fixe menu), RT’s has long been my year-round favorite go-to for Cajun specialities in the DMV – like the cup of she-crab soup and southern fried catfish smothered with a dark brown shrimp and crab étouffée. Indeed, I recently learned that RT’s has been named among Forbes Magazine’s top 50 Southern Restauants in the country!

For this visit, I had a cup of the chicken and andouille sausage gumbo and the shrimp and crawfish étouffée. Both were served piping hot, with Tabasco on hand for those who are so inclined. With the bar tab (a strong shot of Wild Turkey neat and a draft Abita Amber) and tip it came to $65, and I had half of the étouffée for dinner the next day. Not a bad deal for Alexandria, Virginia. (Note also the restaurant is right across the street from the Birchmere Music Hall – Over the Rhine will be performing there later in February 2025!)

I’ve been a fan for more than ten years, and service has been consistently excellent – not obtrusive but attentive; tolerant of kids and accommodating of those in need of accommodation. Prices, including bar prices, are well within the norm for the area, and daily specials are especially tempting. We’ll be a party of six (three adults and boys 7, 5 and 3 years) for Mardi Gras this March 4, and I know I’ll order the outstanding alligator stew as an appetizer and either the Trout Orleans or the very traditional crawfish étouffée, with Abita Amber and a shot of...

Gave this place a try during Alexandria Restaurant Week, and it did not disappoint.

I can be a harsh critic when it comes to Southern/Cajun food because I grew up with it all my life in Mississippi, but this place really has some great flavors on offer and fantastic service.

The red beans and rice were awesome, which may not mean a lot to some people but it's easy to overlook the small things.

The gumbo (not pictured) was also delicious... although it's not my preferred version (I like it to be a bit on the soupy side), I would definitely order this again.

I am not big on desserts, but the bread pudding (not pictured) was phenomenal! I am not even joking this is the best bread pudding I have ever had.

The wife's crab cake was just that...not full of filler and broiled perfectly.

All right, that's it.....ah yes, the fried catfish.....I didn't expect them to mess this up after tasting the gumbo, but here we are. It was fried perfectly, well battered, but had little to no seasoning in the fish fry. Surely it was a mistake because I don't see how everything else was so good and this was a miss.

Either way, I am coming back for sure because they have a whole bunch of other stuff I have to try.

Ohhhhh they also have Abita (amber and turbo...