Columbus Grill — Restaurant in Manassas Park

I have driven past Columbus Grill many times over the past several years and had no idea of the pallet pleasing options their menu offered.

Visited here on a Tuesday evening. I was seated in a party of 2. One other table had 6-8 seated, the rest of the restaurant was empty aside from a few people at the bar.

Giving 4/5 due to service which was slow and inattentive. Drinking glasses remained empty over 10 minutes on two occasions and the wait staff was no where to be found. Waited another 15 minutes after my last bite before finally having to seek out our server on my own.

On to the good stuff, the food:

Started off with a round of oysters, which are grown and harvested locally. Temperature of my first oyster was far above what it should have been and didn't provide an appetizing first bite. After covering the oysters with some of the provided ice, they chilled down to a more reasonable temperature for raw seafood which made for a very palatable experience. Oysters were semi-sweet, light beige, with a mild finish.

Note to chef: consider adding shallot and garlic infused red wine vinegar to compliment these sweet gems.

Next up was the bruschetta which provided a finely tuned and perfectly balanced flavor of balsamic glaze, fresh tomato, and basil which got better with each bite. I wanted to get more, but knew I had to hold off and leave room for the main course, which was the Paella.

I grew up eating my mother's Paella which had influences from Spain and Guatamala. She passed several years ago and I really missed her paella, which she never left the recipe for.

Until my visit at Columbus Grill, I have longed for a paella with a similar flavor profile, yet all others fell short with something missing. However, this paella hit the mark and left me recalling memories from my childhood.

Each ingredient in this paella complimented one another. Every bite was a pallet fiesta with the perfect blend of spices, veggies, and meat (lobster, shrimp, and chicken). The sauce was creamy and velvety. My only regret is not ordering a Blanc or Riesling which would have of paired well.

Writing this review has me craving more and I need to go...

Hidden Gem

In an area of town where fast food dominates the market, Columbus Grill is a breath of fresh air.

The food here us absolutely first class!

It's nearly impossible to enjoy fine dining without having to venture into Old Town or further, but CG has managed pull it off.

Here are a few of my highlights, having been here 3 times.

Late night bar- flat bread Pizza. The pizza was unlike any other. A mix of Cheeses overt flat bread, with fresh veggies and a type of sausage that was not your typical papa johns or Pizza Hut, but more like you would see at upscale Italian restaurants. And the sauce was simply amazing. I rarely eat pizza with a fork and knife, but that's just what this experience called for.

Filet - cooked medium. Most steaks in this area call for A1, even Longhorn at times, but I never had to request it here. Perfectly pink with a hint of red, the meat was cooked to perfection with all the juices and flavor remaining.

Sunday Brunch. This is probably the best of CG. I have been to every Sunday brunch in Old town, including sports pub, City Square, City Tavern, and Ashton family restaurant, however, I'd have to rank CG at the top.

The Highlights were raw oysters and clams ;(exquisitely garnished to add flavor without the need to add hot sauce or cocktail sauce), seasoned blue crabs, roast beef (cooked reddish pink on one side), and some exotic dishes that I could only guess are probably authentic Portuguese dishes with rice.

They also have your typical American brunch items like omelets MTO, pancakes, waffles, biscuits and gravy, along with the other normal breakfast meats. My favorite was the bacon that was cooked extra crispy to perfection without the burnt black color.

Also a shout out to Catherine, my fabulous server, who made sure my first brunch here was unlike any other. The true sign of a great server is when you never had to request for a single thing because she already knew what to ask for before...

We had booked their banquet hall with their coordinator Ana two months before the event. We went in person to do everything and even left a $300.00 deposit. One our first meeting we informed her we had 20-25 guest and wanted to do a buffet, she gave us the package deals and said it would not be an issue, but since it was not 40 guest she could not guarantee us the banquet room, just because if a larger party wanted to rent the space they would prioritize them, which we understood. She offered us a private space in the restaurant, which we agreed to if and when they room was not booked by a larger party. Two weeks before the event I contacted Ana to touch base on last minute details, again I went in person. I informed her we had some cancellations and it would be roughly 16 people. She then said she could no longer offer us a buffet and it would be a pre-selected meal, but at the same price as she offered us for the buffet $32.00, which made absolutely no sense..How are you going to charge $32.00 for a pre selected meal and a buffet? I proceeded to ask her if a larger party had reserved the banquet room, she said no, but that she had spoken to the owner and they would not allow us to use it as it was to much set up for them for such a small party, which was not what she previously said. We had previously requested permission to bring a Mariachi Band for 1 hour, which she agreed to, at the end she said it would be to much noise and would disturb other guest.. Overall it was such a bad experience, I cancelled everything as they were not holding up their end to the deal. Thankfully I got my deposit back and I went to a much better restaurant to...