Draper's Steak & Seafood — Restaurant in Fairfax

At long last, my wife and I had an evening without the kids where we could literally go anywhere we wanted...anywhere in the whole wide world...anywhere as far away as we wanted...but we decided to go to Draper's.

We used to live in the City of Fairfax and watched in interest as the city tore down the old snowboard shop that also definitely served as a weed dispensary and, in its place, put up an absolutely beautiful building that also might still be a weed dispensary. Many a night before it opened, my wife and I would walk up to the windows and look at the lovely interior and long for the day that we could finally visit.

This week, we did. Upon walking inside we were immediately greeted by the hostess who led us to our outdoor, patio seating. As a side note, it was also just a pleasant, not-awkward interaction with another human being; which seems to be the exception to the rule for me lately....but that's probably more a reflection on me, I suppose.

All the same, we sat at our table and our waiter almost immediately brought us our jug of water and was back just a few minutes later to grab our appetizers. They were out of calamari which was a shame, but if forced us to try the bruschetta which turned out to be a true blessing in disguise. Everything on the plate tasted fresh and delicious and we literally ate everything, including the arugula which my wife snapped up like a frog does a fly.

Then, our waiter was back and took our orders. I ordered the grilled salmon and my wife ordered the seafood cioppino. Strangely enough, that's one of the last times that we saw our waiter the rest of the night, which was kind of a shame because he seemed like a really nice guy. It was even more of a shame because our water was quickly dwindling away and we realized the prosciutto was probably so good because it was really salty.

About 15 minutes later, our food came out and I must say...every single bite of it was delicious. I devoured the salmon like a grizzly in a Alaska almost faster than I could enjoy it. The fish was perfectly cooked, sat on a bed of savory mashed potatoes and covered in a tangy sort of sauce, which was lovely. The cioppino was also a hit with my wife and there was a lot of it. The only thing that got her was the raw squid (which, isn't that just unfried calamari?).

It was about at this point in our meal that I realized that I had forgotten my wallet and realized that I probably didn't have any way to pay for the meal that we had just ordered. I pulled aside a waiter (not our waiter, who we hadn't seen in a good while) and, fortunately, found out that they take Apple Pay which meant we wouldn't have to work in the kitchen for the next year to pay off our meals, which was an added bonus.

To wrap up, we grabbed a few coffees and stayed on the patio to chat a little while longer.

The appetizer, meals, coffees and tip cost us just over $100 which is pricy, but the quality of the meal was so good that I would consider the price well worth it, though probably not something we'll be able to do as often as I would like, unless I receive an unexpected windfall of money, which seems unlikely.

All in all, I would highly recommend giving Draper's a try. The food and atmosphere is lovely, our service wasn't great but that could have just been our waiter. The other tables around us seemed to be serviced just fine by other folks. We'll definitely be coming back and, next time,...

So I have been wanting to try Draper's but have been very hesitant. Being a steakhouse and seafood spot is a huge on taking. I wanted them to knock it out of the park especially because the restaurant is so close to my home. I generally have to go to DC or Arlington to have a upscale meal. Well anywho let's get right into it. I went to make a reservation online and they didn't have anything available within 90 minutes of my arrival time. I pulled up and parking was easy. They were able to seat me right away. The inside of the restaurant was very nice and had a good ambience. Outside dining was very nice as well and where I ended up dining. I was greated by a server in training as well as being assigned a actual server. Maddy was her name, let me just speak on how amazing she was, very personable and honestly made my meal. I started off with scallops and 3 cheese scalloped potatoes. The scalloped potatoes were very cheesy and good. The scallops had a nice sear but honestly could have been hotter. I then wanted lobster risotto and a burger. Unfortunately they were unable to accommodate the lobster risotto as a side. Again seemed like a bad call from a management side but fine. So I ended up with a burger and side of mushrooms. Unfortunately the burger came out with lettuce, tomatoes and bacon on it. All of these items I asked to be held; again Maddy was amazing and asked if she could take it back I told her no worries. The burger was tasteless, the meat wasn't seasoned and the cheese was as if it wasn't there. The garlic aoli was the only thing that gave the burger some life and taste. The fries that came with the burger came out hot and fresh the mushrooms were good but not very hot.

So this leads me to dessert... my mother ordered the key lime pie. The crust was so hard you needed a steak knife to cut into the pie. The filling was so sweet that you honestly thought you were eating pure sugar. I ordered the blue cream pie because it was suppose to be so delicious that you wouldn't want to share. It was ok, not bad but not great. Lastly I ordered the banana cheesecake dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The presentation was lovely but it should have been served warm as it was clearly fried. It came out room temperature and didn't really taste like cheesecake. Again it wasn't horrible but it was sub par at best.

I like good food and a good dining experience. I received wonderful service from Maddy and from the young lady in training. The bartender who also made me a drink that wasn't on the menu was great as well. I do feel that a manager should have come to the table to check-in because the restaurant wasn't busy at all as well as they should have realized that so much food was left on a plate coming back to the kitchen. I didn't ask to speak to one for the simple fact that I hate hearing empty apologizes or when they want to remove items off a bill and that that makes up for horrible food. I am more interested in open dialog with managers and GM's that want to ensure that the next experience is 1000x better. Again I eat out a lot and have lots of friends in this industry and it showed that the management wasn't interested in a conversation.

Restaurant is pretty aesthetically, service from Maddy is AMAZING but food mediocre at best. I would say to keep driving but if you go at least ask for Maddy bc the service...

We went to Drapers on Sunday, March 16 for an early birthday celebration for my lovely wife. Those in attendance were our 15 year old son, our 8 year old daughter, and my dad and stepmother. Absent was our 18 year old daughter who is at the USCGA. Anyway, we gathered to celebrate my wife's 25 birthday, and if you are mathematically inclined you know that's not possible, but if you have been married for 20 years, you understand that revealing your wife's true age is a one way ticket to the dog house. Anyway, our evening started by pulling into the ample parking lot. Around Fairfax City now, that is very important. When we entered, it was obvious that Drapers was walking the line between a fine dining restaurant and an upscale casual hangout. Somehow, they pulled it off beautifully! It's not everywhere where you can enjoy exquisite food while listening to Duran Duran and Bush! We started with appetizers ,of course, and they were universally loved. Our son got the crab dip and devoured it, I got the tuna tartare, which was amazing, my wife got a salad , which she split with my daughter, and my dad got grilled oysters. As previously mentioned, all were great and set the tone for things to come. The dinners were excellent running the gamut between lobster poboys, sea bass, and cioppino. I have to say that while my son loved the cioppino, I wasn't as fond. The chef, who is excellent no doubt, had his or her own take on cioppino which was more like a seafood pasta than the soupy dish I was expecting. The menu clearly explained the dish, but I went for it anyway as it is usually my favorite. It just wasn't for me, though I did devour the shellfish. Even though the mistake was mine, Drapers took the dish off of our check! I couldn't believe it and really didn't deserve it, but they did it anyway. After dinner, the key lime pie earned absolutely rave reviews from the table, while I just had a cup of coffee accompanied by a complimentary shot of Baileys! Our server, Maurice (pictured), was absolutely amazing. He was personable, professional, and deftly balanced his astute knowledge of the menu with his affable, delightful personality. He even brought my wife's key lime pie out with a candle on it. Maurice was like the embodiment of what I feel the restaurant is trying to accomplish. There is no doubt he could handle a Michelin place, but his personality fits perfectly with the upscale casual vibe of the joint. He literally couldn't have done a better job. The manager, George, also came by and he was personable as well. We will be returning to Drapers for sure. Even though my dish fell a bit short of my expectations, again due to my own mistake, everyone else loved their meals and the chef is obviously immensely talented. Thank you, Drapers, for making out evening...