2 Silos Brewing Co. — Restaurant in Manassas

We were taken aback by the size of this place! It was like a campus! The bartenders were super knowledgeable and friendly. We got the crab pretzel, Asian ribs, Brussels, and of course beer! Everything tasted delicious! So I’m not sure if this is their regular situation, or new/changed since covid, but we were told to sit wherever and order with the QR code on the table for food and then go to the central bar for alcohol. They had a similar setup at stone brewery in Richmond VA as well and I LOVED it. However, there are a few snags in their online menu when ordering via the QR code. The main issue I had was they had no sides or extras section of the menu. You could select your menu items and add notes and customizations but there were no options for any extras. For example, we got the crab pretzel (which was fantastic) but I would have loved to add a side of mustard or beer cheese to have in addition but that wasn’t an option. I could have put it in the notes but I felt weird not being able to just add it to my bill myself as it would likely be an up charge. We also ordered to go beer and merch and it was never delivered to our table. Totally fine! We asked the bartenders if we needed to grab it from inside and one of the two bartenders went inside to retrieve our order for us after checking our emailed receipt to confirm what we got. Of course the second the bartender leaves to grab our stuff from inside, a line forms at the (now one person short) bar. It just made me feel bad! I would have totally grabbed my stuff myself if the pickup directions were clear in the ordering system. At Stone in Richmond, there was an “order” you could submit through the QR code that said something like, “I have a question for the server!” I’m digressing though. Overall: Food, Bartenders, Beers, and service were all amazing. It just seems like they need to iron out a few details with their...

SO I went to Two Silos on the day they opened, and here are my thoughts: I'll let the long lines, lack of toilets, and slow service slide since they were packed on their first day in business. However, it appeared to me that their standard beer size was 10-12oz (plastic cup)....not the usual 16oz (pint) you get at most places. But that doesn't stop them from charging the same $6-8 per pour. And to be honest, the beer isn't anything special. Of the six I tried, one was gross, four were OK, and one was pretty good. But taste is subjective. At this place, you're paying outrageous beer prices for great atmosphere and live music, as they have a ton of live acts. That's great. Nothing wrong with that. I'll put it this way- if you're just looking to have a few beers, and a few laughs, with a few friends......go elsewhere. Any brewery in town would be better. However, if you're looking to spend time at a venue, enjoying live music, and premium amenities (besides bathrooms)....this place is good.

I can't really comment on the food. It was an hour wait to get anything from the kitchen. I did inquire about the food at "the pit". However, $13 for a pulled pork sandwich, with NO sides, seemed excessive. My advice would be to stop at Red Robin or Chick Fil A on your way in and save a few bucks. You'll need it to pay for the beers. LOL. Side note.....why don't these places ever offer pitchers of beer? Instead of having mile-long lines with people buying individual beers, you can have a much shorter line of less people ordering a pitcher for their whole party....you wouldn't even have to discount the beer much, if at all. Seems like...

An hour outside of D.C. is a campus for everyone. A brewery, a top-rated restaurant, an ice cream truck, a playground, yard games, and a stage with live music, there’s something for everyone.

Meeting friends who live in Virginia, my family of three went at 5:30 p.m. on a Friday in September. Here’s our experience.

1. Space: It’s a monster of a campus with plenty of free parking. There’s seating inside and even more outside in different areas. Dogs are allowed outside until 8 p.m. so we brought our puppy.

My six-year-old daughter loved the playground and small hill nearby where kids were rolling down. The yard games were also a hit. (You need to get bean bags inside.)

Even though it was filling up, we easily found an outdoor table that sat our group of seven.

2. Drinks: A brewery onsite, there are many types of beer on tap. Being a sour guy, I got the Strawberry Kiwi Sour. Honestly, it was among the worst sours I’ve had. It didn’t taste sour at all, but more hoppy. My wife enjoyed her IPA though.

3. Food: The menu includes pizzas, nachos, wings, and more. Ordering around 5:30 p.m., some of the items were $2 off. We got a cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, wings, the trio dips, and nachos. Nothing was noteworthy, but our daughter liked the cheese pizza. The ice cream truck sold average ice cream and charges 75 cents for toppings like sprinkles (whipped cream and a cherry are complimentary).

4. Amenities: The live music was a good touch. It wasn’t so loud that it drowned out conversations, but added great background noise. Kids were dancing and...