Wilson Hardware — Restaurant in Arlington

I really wanted to like Wilson Hardware given its location and the buzz around it, but unfortunately, my experience fell flat across the board.

Starting with the drinks — pretty underwhelming. I tried a couple of their cocktails, and both tasted like they were pre-mixed or just lazily thrown together. No balance, no creativity. You expect more from a place that markets itself as a trendy bar and restaurant. The flavor profiles were either too sweet or totally bland. Honestly, I've had better cocktails at much smaller, less-hyped places. They weren’t terrible, just very average… and forgettable.

The food was another miss. I tried a few of their small plates and a main entrée, and everything was just… meh. Nothing was outright bad, but nothing was memorable either. For the price point, the execution felt very phoned-in — like they’re relying more on the ambiance than the actual quality of the menu. The flavors didn’t pop, plating was basic, and overall it lacked the kind of attention to detail that makes you want to come back.

As for the atmosphere, it was okay. The décor is nice and somewhat modern-industrial, which seems to be the vibe they’re going for. It does feel like they’re trying to be both a bar and a restaurant, and they kind of land somewhere in the middle — not quite succeeding at either. The music was loud but not unbearable, and the crowd leaned more toward the bar-hopping scene, even on a weekday. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn’t make for a very relaxed or intimate dinner setting if that’s what you’re after.

Service was… fine. Staff was courteous but not very engaged. I didn’t get the sense that anyone was particularly interested in providing a great experience — more like just going through the motions. It wasn’t slow, but it also wasn’t warm or attentive. No one checked back on drinks or food unless flagged down, and that kind of set the tone for the whole night.

Overall, I wouldn’t say Wilson Hardware is bad, but there was nothing — absolutely nothing — that stood out in a positive way. If you’re looking for a place to grab a drink with a group and don’t care much about quality, it might work for that. But if you’re expecting a food-forward experience, great cocktails, or standout service, there are far better options nearby. It just feels like this place is coasting on aesthetics and location rather than actually delivering a compelling dining or drinking experience.

Verdict: Not worth going out of your way for. Plenty of better...

A girlfriend and I visited Wilson’s Hardware for Happy Hour on a Monday night. While nothing was profoundly wrong with WH, nothing was exceedingly exceptional. From the get-go, the décor is wannabe trendy with the overwhelming sterility of a chain hotel. Though the bar and restaurant is spacious- a full bar, a couple dining rooms, a ground level patio, and a rooftop patio, the space does little to help the vibe as patrons, especially in warmer months, are sprawled out about the restaurant. At 5:30 PM, the crowd was rather sparse, but grew into a full, bizarre mix of folks by 8:30 PM. Rather than a packed house of professionals, the bar was comfortably full with a crowd ranging from middle-aged cougars to blue-collar, casually dressed people and even college students.

Happy hour prices are good until 7:00 PM and include $6 frozen cocktails, $5 draft cocktails, $4 beers, and discounted wines. Appetizers are also half off the menu price. The draft cocktails are refreshing, albeit a bit sweet. I enjoyed the tequila watermelon draft cocktail and a bourbon frozen cocktail. Both were tasty, but were inconsistently served from cocktail-to-cocktail- short pours, no garnishes. Forewarning to eco-nuts: drinks are served exclusively in plastic (at least on the rooftop).

My girlfriend and I ordered Brussel sprouts and the heirloom tomato appetizers. The plates were served without utensils or plates to share. While the tomatoes were good, the overall flavor and presentation had no wow-factor. The Brussel sprouts were low on flavor and could’ve used more roasting as they were definitely more raw than al-dente.

As the night grew dark, the rooftop was illuminated with glowing glass lanterns overhead which gave it an ethereal and slightly magical feeling. The mash-up pop music blaring definitely did not match the energy of the crowd or the night. Overall, WH isn’t bad, it’s just not great and I’m not sure if the flaws are results of the restaurant being new or deeply rooted...

Their Sunday brunch is good for groups as we had we had a party of 9 and were able to get a reservation the day prior by calling. When we arrived I was surprised the restaurant was so large and there weren’t a lot of other patrons there. We were seated on the 2nd level and it was a bit humid/hot up there likely because we were near the door to their patio seating. We were seated for 10-15 mins before my boyfriend went to inquire about our server. We received complimentary parfaits while we waited for our food to arrive so I thought that was nice.

The brunch menu didn’t have a large selection of food items and we did make some substitutions to things ordered. I had the short rib hash; the short rib was cooked perfectly and was seasoned well. The “hash” was actually shredded hashbrowns plated with the short rib. So I ordered a side of home fries with my dish. I also ordered a plain toasted croissant and made a pretty good sandwich with my short rib. My boyfriend had the grilled chicken sandwich and at first the server stated he couldn’t make the breast a fried chicken breast. But I asked if it could just be the fried chicken that is served with the chicken and waffles and they were able to make the substitution and the sandwich was pretty good.

Great deal on the mimosa carafes at $20 per person we each ordered one. The mimosas were more champagne which we liked and we ended ordering additional carafes because we ended up staying well past brunch ended. We split everything 9 ways and paid ~$58 per person, so definitely a good value. I do think if I were to dine here again I would go with a smaller group so I could be seated on the first floor and I would try to go for lunch or dinner to explore a...