Spirits Food & Friends — Restaurant in Alexandria

Spirits used to be a place of inconsistency, laziness, and downright erratic. But this time around, the establishment had made a complete turn with their revamped menu I'll tell you. My family and I arrived and the staff had their masks on and was ready to work. One of the ladies took us to our seats outside and it was fairly beautiful and even a bit empty. The chairs were a bit low but our waitress was happy to arrange them. Our waitress was friendly, beautiful, and was willing to get our orders which made the experience their pleasant. One of my relatives ordered a strawberry lemonade and it came back delicious as ever. We then ordered an assortment of items with some being apps and one being an entree. This is what we ordered; Homemade Chicken Salad Wrap, Spinach and Artichoke Dip, Deviled Eggs, Philly Cheesesteak Eggrolls, and the Spicy Chicken Creole Pasta. She brought our food and everything was hot and ready. The chicken salad wrap was so good and fresh I was baffled. The veggies were so very crisp and a nice flavor that was heaven with the spinach and almond wrap which was soft. The Spinach and Artichoke dip was decent, nothing to write home about but it's a solid dish to order to get your meal started. The bread supplied was crisp and was not missing flavor. The dip itself was nice and a bit hefty with the spinach being the absolute star of the dish. The "Who came first" deviled eggs was such a sweet delight. The eggs had a sweet sauce and came with a piece of fried chicken on top that actually help lifted the eggs overall taste. The crispy chicken on top of the soft egg and yolk made it a near perfect combination. The Philly Cheesesteak Eggrolls were absolutely exceptional and had such a nice crispy and crunchy exterior that worked well with the sauce it came with. The spicy chicken Creole pasta was the best dish and I think is maybe the best dish there. This pasta has a creamy thick sauce that leaves a nice flavor in your mouth even after you eat it. The andouille, onions, and bell peppers made the dish nice and hearty with plenty of meat to spare. The chicken was exceptionally good as well.

Finally, the dessert. The dessert here is absolutely amazing. Its very limited on the menu but it's such a nice way to end a meal with a friend or even with yourself if you're a sweet freak. My table ordered the White Chocolate Bread Pudding and I ordered the Brownie dessert. The White Chocolate Bread Pudding was unforgettably tasty. The flavors are a bit subtle but the sweetness from the bread pudding added with the ice cream makes it immaculate. The best part about the bread pudding is the beginning of eating it as thats where you would get most of the amazing sauce and topping. The brownie dessert is where I decided where I stood with the place. The brownie dessert was maybe the best brownie dessert I've ever had and thats a high honor in itself. I usually can't eat such rich desserts as I can only take so much but I ended up eating the whole thing down to the very last piece. It's sweet, chocolaty, soft, and the cranberry spread that comes on the plate gives it a better bite especially paired with the almonds. Spirits, you stepped your game up and I expect more and more. Good job guys! (Oh and also, the prices...

Spirits food and friends is a decently sized restaurant, it can fit a good amount of people inside and the patio area outside is nice too. We went on a Friday night, so we had to wait about 15 minutes with a few other groups of people. There were 4 open tables inside so I don't understand why we were waiting when there were tables with no one sitting at them. The people inside range from all ages, college kids to adults with families. Once seated, it was pretty loud inside. It is a bar with a bunch of people talking and we were able to have a conversation at our table without yelling, but just be mindful it is loud inside. We didn't have to wait long for the server to come or to serve the food. She was nice but maybe she was to busy but she wasn't that personable. Said "hello" and took our orders and left, there wasn't any real talking to her and it seemed like the other servers were the same, they didn't small talk with the tables so I'm guessing it's because it was busy. We ordered the crawfish beignets, crawfish with lots of cheese in a fried ball. While it was amazing! there wasn't much crawfish inside it. This was $10 so I felt there should have been more to it and more than just 4 of them. While REALLY good, the $10 price is to steep to order them again. Fried gator was also an appetizer and at $10 also I wasn't going to try that too. My table got the tracys chicken, fried shrimp and a salad. The chicken was really good and I would get it again it was that good. The shrimp were just fried shrimp so nothing special. The salads are cool because you can make your own and it's a good price and size of food. Starts at $7 with 2 bases and 5 additional "things" you can add with chicken being $4 more. So it's a nice option if you like salads as there were a lot of things you can add to the salad from cheeses, veggies, fruits and your "crunches" as they call them. A good place to eat and would go back...

I was hopeful for a solid meal and good service. Unfortunately, my experience left much to be desired. I ordered the Build-a-Burger, specifically requesting it medium rare…what I got was a completely well-done patty. To double-check, I took a bite, and sure enough, not a hint of pink.

To make matters worse, the burger didn’t even come with bacon, which I had requested. The first batch of fries was fantastic…done right and well-seasoned…but when they remade my burger, the second batch was greasy and overcooked. Not a deal-breaker in itself, but definitely frustrating.

I want to emphasize that Zoey, our server, was great…kind, understanding, and tried to make things right. The issue wasn’t with her, but rather whoever remade my food and the person who brought it out. Their attitude was downright rude, and it was clear I was a bother to them. That completely shifted the tone of the experience. If a restaurant is going to remake food, it should be done correctly and without attitude….it’s basic hospitality.

I wasn’t looking for a discount or anything free, and I even paid in full despite being offered a dessert to make up for it. I usually tip 45%, but this time, I left a standard 25%, which speaks volumes for me. The only saving grace? The beer….cold and exactly as expected.

What’s most frustrating is that I wasn’t ordering anything complicated. A medium-rare patty shouldn’t be difficult, and yet, it turned into an ordeal. Meanwhile, my coworkers had great meals, making my experience even more disappointing.

Overall, this visit left a bad taste in my mouth—literally and figuratively. It’s unfortunate because the atmosphere and initial service were fine, but the kitchen execution and attitude killed it. Would I go back?...