Astro Beer Hall — Restaurant in Bailey's Crossroads

REAL TEA: My friend and I checked out the new place last night. It seemed very inviting and fun from the outside. It was crowded for a Tuesday night, one week after its grand opening. That seemed promising to us. We grabbed a high top, and waited for a server to come by our table. However, we noticed that they were short staffed for dinner and that it hindered service. The staff were friendly enough, but we could tell they were stretched thin. The dining hall was better lit facing the street, but as for the back it appeared to dimly lit (perhaps poor planning and design?). There were only TWO bartenders for the 20+ ft infinity bar, they had a lot of patrons surrounding the bar. So I can only imagine that they couldn’t step away to serve the high tops. We had to go to them. 🚩

We ordered our food and a water + coke. When it got to the table, I was very disappointed. It was barely hot, warm room temp at best. Nothing too special about the presentation of food or the food itself. They give it fancy names, but it’s your typical average fare of basic looking food. I had the Asterioid sandwich with grilled chicken and my friend had the BLT sandwich. It came w/ tater tots and I had foregone the suspicious sounding Jalapeño coleslaw (nasty). The sandwich itself was tasty, however the grilled chicken breast was served whole and dry. 🚩🚩

That made it for an awkward eating experience in terms of the sandwich, as the other ingredients looked like they were meant for a flatter or smash burger. Not a robust one. Would have been better if the protein was butterflied and then grilled. They put way too many pickles on the sandwich. The tater tots you can tell are the prepared frozen kind and NOT made in house. They came out room temp and were barely warm. Most likely made in a batch prior to order and left in a tub to serve patrons. Or worst left in the window too long. 🚩🚩🚩

Overall score: 6/10, the food is way too overpriced for what they serve you and you can go elsewhere in the shopping village for better food (I suggest going to Subway, in the back of the shopping center, better value of food for your money). You’re paying for mostly the atmosphere, mediocre service and lack luster food. If you’re going to pay $17 for a lumpy chicken burger and room temp tots - go to Cheesecake Factory in Ballston or Carlyle Grand across the street. At least you’ll get a hot meal that way.

Sadly, I don’t see this place lasting long in Shirlington. With the below average service and food, I estimate they’ll be closed within 2 years. If you’re going to open up shop in Arlington, especially Shirlington - better come correct...

Like other reviewers, really wanted to like this place! Came at peak dinner time on a Tuesday. Bottom line: skip it unless the only thing you want is to lazily enjoy a good beer outside or have a standing happy hour with friends. Positives: nice vibe/energy, cool interior, friendly staff, good beer selection Fails: 1) Food - "loaded" tots described as topped with smoked gouda cheese sauce, bacon, pickled jalapenos, buttermilk ranch dressing, shredded cheddar & scallions... Reality? (just like those "loaded nachos" pictures on other reviews - can confirm) tater tots swimming in a Velveeta lake with bacon bits and piped zig zags of ranch dressing. Disappointing. The chicken & waffles with the "chicken tenders" on top? Nope. Same dense/overcooked chicken breast as appeared on the fried chicken sandwich (although the waffle was ok). 2) Service - after 5 min waiting for service at one of the bar top tables without anybody stopping by, we moved to the bar. Bartender was nice & got our beers quickly, but she struggled to get the order punched into the hand-held even telling us it was hard... only for our appetizer to come out at the same time as our entrees. She never asked if we wanted our app first, we never said, guess we assumed?? We tried everything, drank a bit of our beers, then left without finishing anything because it was unpleasant. Totally awkward when the nice manager asked how everything was. We dodged the question and left. I'm going to monitor the reviews to see if Food/Service improve. Otherwise, this place is a one-and-done. Not bothering...

Went here to watch football on 10/2. The best thing I can say is it's mediocre at best. Staffing level is a joke. They have hired so few people that all the employees are bitter and angry all ready after just 10 days or so. The management here is non existent. If you go expect to have a long wait for everything. Long wait for water. Long wait for drinks. Long wait for food. Here is the kicker after clearing our table and asking for the check it was still a 45 minute wait for the bill. I can understand if it was packed but they barely had a crowd. Even by half time of the first game there were still 20 to 30 percent of the high tops and seats were open. The amount of nursing babies and toddlers running around this place you would think you are at playground. Definitely not a place for the grown and sexy. No sound. No music. Just a boring library like atmosphere broken up by the occasional over sugared child running and screaming by you. The food was basic and bland. Sliders were so dry they couldn't slide down a waterslide. Look there is an amazing two level sports bar a block away, do yourself a solid and walk that extra block. Skip Astro's child care/playground/stay at home mom meet up place and head to a real sports bar to enjoy you...