Rustico Alexandria — Restaurant in Alexandria

I have mixed feelings about my one and only visit while passing thru my hometown Alexandria. Google maps compared rustico to Mike's Grill and Sweet Water Tavern (Great American Restaurants) so it immediately got my attention as those franchises are known for great food and even better service. I'm big on service because I've worked as a hostess and waitress off and on since I was a teen. From your local family restaurant to 5 star restaurants on the Potomac. I know first hand what good service looks like and the hard work behind it, from the bussers to the management. Upon entrance multiple employees including the manager made eye contact but at no point acknowledged my family for 2 minutes while waiting to be greeted and seated. It was 5pm on a Saturday with ample open tables. When the hostess finally came to the front she didn't greet us, she simply asked it it's a table for 3. She sat us immediately, grabbed me some ice as I requested for my son's forehead (he had just suffered a contusion in the car thanks to his teenage brother), and was nice enough to pour us waters. Approximately 7 minutes later, long enough for us to choose what we wanted for dinner, a young man approaches and simply asks if we have any questions. I asked him if he was our server. He explained our server was in the back but they work as a team so he could help us. We ordered our dinners- a kids pepperoni pizza, a Rustico burger, and the mushroom pizza. He was nice enough to offer a sampler of a beer he recommended per my described taste. I can't recall the name but it was delicious. I requested the largest size which appeared to be no more than 8 oz. This was disappointing. The beer and food were quite good, no complaints except for feeling the pricing was a bit pretentious for a basic burger (aoli is the only thing that made it maybe just a little different from your ordinary burger but I'm unsure it was enough to justify the $17 price tag. The entire time while there, from beginning to end, our server nor manager came to our table. It was solely the hostess, the food runner who took our dinner orders and another food runner who delivered our food. I asked the food runner if the tip I leave would go to him directly or be split with the server. He said they split the tips. He confirmed the servers tips the food runners at the end of the shift a percentage of their tips. I told him I don't think the server deserves a penny. Unfortunately I only had $5 cash. So I gave the hostess the $5 cash and tipped $5 on the credit card receipt (the bill was $50 before tax)with instructions that the tip should only go to the food runner. I don't know that it'll be honored but I did what I thought was fair. Hence my mixed feelings -food was good but unsure it's worth the price tag and service was good from the support staff but absolutely nonexistent from the server who is supposed to be...

Sunday night dinner review

Wonderful experience. We recently moved to Potomac Yards neighborhood and on a Saturday walk the manager greeted us and we checked out the menu. He was so informative that I couldn't wait to come back.

At 8 PM on a Sunday night we had no wait for a table. This restaurant is amazing. Exposed duct work, dimmed lighting, a full wall mural made of painted glass art. There are booths, tables, high tables with cushioned chairs, sofa seating, and bar seating.

Our waiter Gloria greeted us with a big smile but (possibly) more importantly she had extensive knowledge over all 50+ beers on tap and the food menu. Tip- ask questions and take note of the tasting size.

As appetizers we had the BBQ & slaw Amazing, 3 pieces, flavorful and filling And the corn bread with sweet jam spread. Both of those appetizers were great.

The dinner entrees We had the highly recommended pork chop. We were hesitant because of the quote of 7 ounces of meat. But my 6'4 250 lb boyfriend really enjoyed it. However I think my salmon over flavorful chickpeas by far won out. The medium salmon was stellar.

As dessert we had the banana bread topped with ice cream, not quite my homemade banana nut bread, but good none the less. They used very different barley grain and pecans, which was detailed on the menu. Worth trying a different taste if you're a fan of banana bread. However, I would recommend trying something else.

My boyfriend had about 7 beers, he enjoyed them all. I wish I could remember the names they ranged from coconut flavor, to still fermenting complete with live whatever lives in beer! He did feel they were a little warm so eventually we were supplied with chilled glass.

Rustico has a full bar, but no cocktail menu so come with ideas ready or drink beer.

Our waitress made the experience so fun. She was informative, polite (excused herself from the table, said excuse me when entering the conversation), held one arm behind her back when reaching across the table, had our water always full. In fact, besides for one expletive that slipped out while we were all in a moment of banter she displayed the utmost of professionalism. We'll come back to our new neighborhood favorite to try all the different seats, more beer, and we'll...

I came to Rustico with my hubby and a group of his work buddies on Saturday for a semi-late dinner. The wait was somewhat long, but nothing unexpected for a Saturday night, especially considering we were a party of 8. The restaurant has a really lovely ambiance. It 's very industrial: it boasts high ceilings, exposed ducts and walls adorned with fun and funky decor.

The beer menu is extensive and impressive, for sure, but the food menu is pretty limited.

Once we were seated the evening went downhill for me. To start off, our waiter was absolutely horrible; not unfriendly, but not really present. He'd drift by the table and take drink orders for a couple of people and then disappear. 15 or 20 minutes later he'd be back with the drink orders he took and take a few more orders. It felt like ordering took forever. Although our waiter seemed competent and knowledgeable about the menu, he was just inexcusably bad. I only got one drink all night because he never came by and asked if I wanted another. Although he floated by the table a couple more times, it was difficult to get his attention.

I ordered the grilled Salmon BLT. Although they had a satisfying crunch, the smoked pepper chips that came as a side were not peppery...they were extremely salty. Think of a salt-lick and then add a dash of salt and you'll have the taste about right. The salmon was cooked well. It was pretty charred--which I am fine with, but probably something to note since it didn't explicitly say "charred" on the menu. It came with what was described as a bacon vinaigrette, which I asked them to hold, along with the bacon. Overall, the sandwich did have a vinegary taste, which I attributed to the "tomato jam" which I'm pretty sure was just canned tomatoes, but the sandwich did NOT have a bad flavor. The bread was gross though. It was soggy to the point of disintegrating and like I mentioned above, the waiter didn't interact with the table enough for me to voice my displeasure.

My first experience was very anticlimactic. My husband is a huge fan of this place, though, so I would go back. Maybe next time I'll try...