Echelon Wine Bar — Restaurant in Leesburg

Punching way above the weight class of 2024 Northern Virginia casual fine dining restaurants is Echelon Wine Bar representing Leesburg, VA. Can almost kick myself for not discovering Echelon until now. Now I don't talk about interior ambience in my reviews since most all fine dining restaurants follow the same formula on interior design. But Echelon's interior space taps the perfect chord where the harmonious space [with its blend of pillows, couches, tables, bar seating, lighting] embraces you like you're eating the best home-cooked meal at your favorite aunt's house. Coupled with an entrance stairway to a basement level oasis really makes you feel like you are being transported to another space and time. As the food & wine was devoured, I almost didn't want to leave as there were zero noise or windows reminding me that I still had to return home after this meal.

While a wine bar at its core, the execution on food & wine menu is worth the price. Echelon's food & wine menu seem to highly prioritize flavor and quality with a rotating, limited set of selections (e.g. 2-4) for each menu course. All four courses we chose actually paired well with our white wine flight. But THE stand out dish is the Parmesan Grits where we each wish we did not have to share. In the middle of the grits, {cue short uploaded vid clip on breaking yolk in grits} who doesn't crave puncturing a runny yolk as it drapes over the rest of the dish like a sauce only mother nature can provide. Mussels in smoky paprika based cream sauce was runner up as it paired exceedingly well with the wine. Note to diner, do not let them take your bowl until all the mussel cream sauce devoured. If you've gotten this far in the review, then you know this is a second-visit required place to visit as it is for me since I'm craving to see what other courses pair this well with the wine.

Echelon Wine Bar's casual fine dining offering stands out compared to Conche, Clarity, or even formal fine dining restaurants. Choice is yours to try for yourself. Just note that Echelon...

A wonderful "speakeasy" in Leesburg!

Well, not really a speakeasy, but a great unassuming restaurant hidden in the bowels off of King Street in Leesburg.

Down a flight of stairs to a modern, classy looking basement restaurant. We went for 3 reasons: trying the wines, trying the food and participating at one of the wine classes they offer. On all three, they earned high marks.

We started the evening with a sampling of a white and red wine flight of 3 wines each of our choosing. This accompanied 3 dishes we shared: a cheese charcuterie, shrimp risotto, and a short rib tagliatelli.

We ordered the flights from their wine glasses menu which featured 8 to 10 of each. The whites we chose, a sparkling, a sauv blanc and a vermentino, were ok, but not outstanding; the sparkling was the best. The reds, however, were excellent. We chose a Malbec, a Red blend and a Syrah. The latter 2 were superb, rating a 9 on our simple 0-10 scale.

The charcuterie was fine, and the risotto and pasta dish were excellent. The sizes were larger than expected, being a bit larger than the typical tapas portion.

Overall, the meal was great. Prices were reasonable. Service was attentive and the atmosphere pleasant and trendy.

We then participated in a 1-hour wine tasting class featuring wines from 6 "ghost wineries" of Napa Valley (it was 2 days before Halloween). The ghost refers to successful wineries that were in operation in the 1800s, but had to shut down due to Prohibition, they have since been revived. The class was run by the owner and featured some presentation material.

The class was fun, 14 "students", the presenter very friendly and knowledgeable and the wines enjoyable. Two Chardonnays, a merlot and 3 cab sauvs. Again, we preferred the reds over the whites, in particular the cabs. Bottles were for purchase but quite pricey from $50 to $100 a bottle.

Overall a wonderful evening at the Eschelon Wine Bar. We...

I had a lovely dinner last night at Echelon, I was part of the Northern Italy Wine Dinner. Being by myself, I preferred a spot where I could feel comfortable alone. To my surprise, I was seating right next to Aimee & Todd (Owners of Lost Creek & Echelon) & the education director at Echelon. It felt like they thought about everything before hand.

All the wines we had were delicious, my favorite one was the Corvina, Farina Valpolicella. However, The Barolo Langue they served was very elegant, and a good impression for trying Nebbiolo for the first time. Thank you Aimee for choosing the pairings.

The meal was amazing!!! Please, my compliments to the chefs. My favorite dish was the Mushroom Ragu. I wish I could have some more of it. The dish was so flavorful at every bite, but thankfully, after some wine & delicious food, time for dessert came. If this would have been a religious ceremony, this would have been one of the solemn moments. Tiramisu with Nutella & Coco, paired with Moscato d 'Asti.

The servers were always so attentive, explained the dishes, and were very friendly.

Thank you all for such a great experience. I am sure Bacchus is admiring you and certainly happy for a wonderful job...