Northside Social Falls Church — Restaurant in Falls Church

Not at all impressed. I came in with a party of 3. I ordered the white bean soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. The soup was pasty and cold, and the bread on the sandwich was hard. But the worst part of our experience was being ordered to move to another section of the restaurant after we had already begun eating. -Uncomfortable and unwelcoming and we won't be back. Hello Randi, Thank you for responding. Concerning a refund, our orders were charged to two separate accounts, one of which is mine, and the other of my two companions who were accompanying me for the start of our New Years Eve celebration. We chose your restaurant to begin our festivities with, based on the recommendationof a neighborhood family, but we were treated horribly and discriminatorily, and It was hugely disappointing and embarrassing - so much so that it ruined our entire evening. Regarding signage you note was posted concerning the closure of the 2nd floor for the event - nothing was posted clearly or within any of my parties vision when we took our seats upstairs, but we later noticed a sign off to the left. - Again, not within our clear vision, and we as customers shouldn't be expected to search for warning signs. The sign should have been placed on or in front of the steps in order to avoid the situation we as your customers endured. - The eventual placement of the sign was placed where it was for the ease of your staff - not to notify customers and avoid what we experienced. Each of the three of us had gone up and down the stairs several times - in fact at least 10 times. - We ordered, we picked up our order when the buzzer notified us; we went up and down the steps to obtain silverware and condiments which were not provided; we asked for beverages; we used the restroom; etc., and not once did we see any signage or warnings, nor did any of the numerous staff members behind the counter or upstairs that we encountered say a word to any of us that the 2nd floor was closed to customers for any reason. The horrendous treatment we received did not end with being ordered to leave the 2nd floor of your establishment, either. As I was literally eating my meal, spoon to my mouth, we were ordered to leave, but found ourselves trapped inside the small room by barstools as we dangled our personal belongings and myself with a heavy tray with food atop, without any assistance or apologies offered from your employees. In fact, we were accused by a staff member of ignoring nonexistent signage, as we made our way down the curvy steps, interrupted, burdened, hungry, confused and feeling unwelcome. Furthermore, once we reached the first floor, we took a seat in the row in front of the counter; seats we did not want for Covid and privacy reasons, where for a second time our meal was rudely interrupted when we were approached and questioned about our service dog, although there were at least two other dogs in the restaurant that none of us witnessed the owners being questioned or spoken to about their pets at all. I therefore would like you to know that it is my belief that our party was targeted for discriminatory treatment by your restaurant and staff due to the fact that two of us in my party are senior citizens, and the third is a person with special needs. Our experience on that night was horrible, derogatory, humiliating, and it ruined our entire evening, which we have not yet recovered from, an example being that we are still talking about it 4 days later. You and the restaurant owners, as well as the public, need to know about this so that it does not...

Very good place overall, but something that has been bothering me recently is the filter/house coffee. It's incredibly watered down. The coffee looks like tinted water and hardly has any flavor. This may be because I'm getting my coffee around noon (I've been there in the mornings and it tends to be thicker plus I appreciate the bottomless mug) but still, I'd expect a solid house coffee before 2 or 3 and not something that tastes like the grounds have been filtered 2-3x. So please guys, load that filter up even a bit after the morning joe rush. They tend to have forty-six (i think by Counter Culture Coffee) and a featured single-origin, both of which, when there's more than a 1 to 50ish coffee to water ratio, are very good.

As for the food, the bakery items are delicious and varied. I like the smoked smoked salmon and egg breakfast sandwich. Just be prepared for the hardly-cooked egg to explode in your face, so either press down on it first and it'll saturate your sandwich (if that's your thing) or try to get them to at least cook it medium. I asked twice and they did so once. I didn't mind that much, though, and the bun was worth it. Also I'd probably suggest having the chocolate croissant's filling more spread out rather than two slightly narrow and hard lines that feels kind of shrinkwrapped-style.

Not a super diverse crowd but that comes with the territory--similar to the demographics of the Falls Church City in which it resides, maybe a little more (btw this is not to be confused with the broader "Falls Church" address within Fairfax County which is significantly more diverse). To compare with nearby Rare Bird Coffee Roasters, this is more establishment (NoVa style) meets new--and very cool nooks and crannies with a rustic vibe, complete with three charming outdoor spaces on three levels. Meanwhile, Rare Bird is more minimalist, with a yuppie (generally more diverse) crowd lined up quietly tapping away on their laptops, super nice hipster staff, plus some neat plants and paintings. Northside Social is, as the name suggests, more in twos or small business meetings. Northside is more of a restaurant whereas rare bird is more of a pure coffee shop, though the bakery items are delicious and the morning bread is healthy and filling.

Now this has become more of a dual review, but since you may be looking into both, hopefully that's a...

My wife and I have enjoyed their coffee. It’s excellent, counter culture. The food is ok, maybe slightly better than typical bar food. But the last experience (we went frequently) was such an uncomfortable crapshow…I have directed my wife not give them another $. Why you say?!

Dear Northside: Did you think to put on the menu that your “smoked salmon” is just a pile of raw salmon scraps (not locks) lumped onto a salad? Did you ever consider customers might confuse your “smoked salmon” with something OTHER than a pile of raw salmon trimmings? Is it a good idea to berate and guilt trip a regular customer over and over because he didn’t know your smoked salmon was a pile of raw left over salmon your cook scraped off the cutting board? Is it polite to guilt trip a customer if they apologize profusely and ask for something else? Is it a good idea to tell a customer you have “too many orders” going to replace the order? Do your customers get warm and fuzzies when the counter guy scolds them in front of other guests? Does the customer feel better that you reminded him you asked twice.. “if he really wanted smoked salmon”(without mentioning it’s a vomitous pile of raw salmon scrapings)? Do you realize your scoffy elitist attitude is offensive to a customer that put himself through college working every job in the restaurant industry? Did you consider that your menu is an overpriced print out of mediocre bar food that I tolerate because my wife likes your coffee? Does it make a customer want to come back to a restaurant when the counter guy slowly walks over (carrying his wooden cross) and brings a tasteless, overcooked, 4 oz pink hockey puck replacement to the table? Has your customer service been effective if I tell my wife to get the check instead of ordering more food? Did you realize an upset customer tells up to 20 or more people about a bad experience? Was that ‘salmon shaming’ worth the $5-6 dollars you lost compared to my salty review that could reach thousands of people? Would you like me to bring my smoker over there and demonstrate how to prepare...