Caboose Commons — Restaurant in Merrifield

I never noticed the warehouse that Caboose Commons is in before it was built. I've driven past it probably 10,000 times, but literally never saw it. I don't know if it's been there for years or whether it was custom built. All I know is that, one day I saw a grand opening sign on a building and decided to give the place a shot.

I'm glad I did.

Upon walking into the cafe/brewery/restaurant/collaborative workspace I was amazed at the size. It's probably a good three stories tall and completely open. There's a small counter where you order your food a bunch of tables and several levels where you can go work, eat, meet, greet or do whatever your heart desires.

I decided to eat, so I grabbed a menu and began deliberating what I would shove into my body. The menus aren't particularly nice, they look like they've been printed out at someone's home, but they are filled to the bursting with interesting food and drink options. They have everything from hamburgers to soups, pour overs to beers which made deciding what I wanted a bit of a process.

Eventually, I landed on their IPA BBQ Burger and a Township pour over coffee. An odd combination, I know, but I wanted to give everything a fair taste.

The cashier was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable in coffee and made some great suggestions.

I'll say the meal was somewhat expensive. I paid $13 for the hamburger and another $4 for the coffee. I was then handed a number and sent off to go find a table wherever my heart desired. Obviously, I went for the upper levels.

In doing so I walked past the brewery and decided to take a peek inside. From what I can tell, they have 6-8 fermenters and what looks like a full-time employee in charge of managing the brewing. Pretty impressive for a small shop.

I walked up the stairs and picked a nice table overlooking the ground floor. After about 15 minutes, I had my burger and coffee.

The burger was good, not mind-blowing. The bun was crispy, the meat was well-cooked and the BBQ sauce added an interesting, southern flavor. But there was nothing on it that really knocked me out of my seat. I did, however, enjoy the fries.

The coffee was wonderful. Very strong and punchy. You could tell it was fresh and the pour over was done very nicely. Honestly, that in-and-of-itself is enough to make me want to go back. Others that tried the beer said it was good.

Overall, I really like this place. I'll say it's probably not somewhere I'd go to get a full meal again and, judging from the clientele, it doesn't seem like that's what's happening anyway. Most people were sipping on a coffee or beer and knocking out some work on their computers; more of what you would expect from a coffee shop.

I'd suggest not going at peak hours. We went a little after lunch and the place wasn't empty, but we were able to find plenty of seating no problem. But I've heard that if you go at the wrong time you can have a little trouble.

Looking forward...

A great place to socialize with your furry friend and relish in some comfort food! I really appreciate that aside from beer, there's cider and wine on tap and cocktails. The farm to table culinary dishes are all made in-house and a big step up from traditional bar food with a variety of vegetarian and healthy dishes.

Old Hill Betwixt Cider (5/5) - The Shenandoah cider is mildly sweet and refreshing.

The Grilled Cheese (5/5) - Hits the spot with oozing rich mascarpone and blend of farmhouse cheeses and herbs sandwiched between buttery house-made bread. I was so full from the grilled cheese that I barely had room for the fries. The fries were a bit too salty for me, but my hubby devoured them.

Avocado Toast (3/5) - Too salty and overwhelming flavors. While the buttery toast was generously loaded with slices of avocado and a heap of greens, I wish the avocado was chunky and mashed up. A heavy pour of sea salt and copious sesame and poppy seeds on the toast smothered with butter overpowered the avocado. Just drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of seeds while holding the salt would have gone a long way.

Nachos (3/5) - Albeit I got vegetarian nachos without the BBQ Boar Shoulder, they were bland with little flavor. The pimento cheese sauce was underwhelming and didn't have the spicy kick that I was hoping for.

The best part is the casual atmosphere of dog lovers! The dogs are trained and friendly and the owners are super nice! Our beloved Keeshond puppy had a blast socializing with other dogs and meeting people. Her fluffiness attracted curiosity of countless people and copious petting. If you're not a big fan of dogs, there's space plenty of space inside.

Come early as the place was packed on a bustling Fri night @ 9pm and we had to scour around for a table. Excited to come back for Shanti to make some new friends and try some...

We left before ordering. Here's why:

the restaurant charges a 15% "fair and living wage fee" on top of any tip the customer decides to pay. We felt this was unreasonable because it passes labor cost to us whilst allowing the owners to cop out of actually paying their people fairly. If the owners feel that strongly about paying their staff, then pay them accordingly and let the cost pass through to us on the menu pricing and the bill. At least then we get to decide if the overall cost is reasonable and whether or not we want to come back or even order at all.

the tip is paid BEFORE receiving service and food. This is ridiculous for obvious reasons. And it doesn't quite make sense to ask me for a tip after listing a 15% fee that's supposed to go towards paying the staff a "fair" wage.

the ordering process requires a smartphone-scanned QR code that loads an ordering website to which we must agree to "terms and conditions," load payment information, and possibly make an account. Again, ridiculous. We're talking about ordering food and drink at a restaurant, not signing up for Netflix. After speaking with a manager, he made it clear that we could have ordered at the bar; however, when I asked the question at the bar when we initially walked in the server there pointed me to the QR code and the website.

customers don't get to ask questions about the menu because there was no server available while ordering. We're reduced to ordering through the website and agreeing to opaque terms before even trying their product.

...so we left. The place felt more like a political rally than a restaurant for all. Thankfully, we still had the choice to leave.

To be fair, I brought all of this up to the young manager and he was quite reasonable and polite. He did a great job handling our...