Old Anglers Inn — Restaurant in Potomac

TLDR: Beautiful location, but a criminally overpriced menu and disappointing service make Old Anglers a hard pass.

Vibe: 4/5. Located in the scenic backwoods of Potomac Maryland, Old Anglers is a predominantly outdoor dining restaurant. The dining area is situated over several patios surrounding the historic Old Anglers Inn building which has a small bar and inside dining room. The outdoor space is well decorated, complete with a cascading waterfall, water fountain and mood lighting which makes for a lovely ambiance while having dinner. The outdoor tables are your standard metal patio tables, which can hold 4 people comfortably. Each table also has an umbrella for shade, a must for early afternoon summer dinners. Parking is also convenient, as they have a private parking lot directly in front of the dining area, with some additional auxiliary parking across the street.

Service: 1/5. Unfortunately, the service we experienced during our dinner at Old Anglers left a lot to be desired. My party of 4 had a reservation at 6pm on Father's Day. We anticipated that the service would be a bit chaotic, however we didn't expect it to be downright disappointing. After we were seated, it took approximately 15-20 minutes for our waiter to stop by the table to introduce himself and take drink orders. We opted to order a bottle of wine, however they were out of our original choice. Instead of asking us what we wanted as an alternative, the waiter brought another random bottle to the table and said this is what we should order. We agreed, thinking it was a comparable bottle as that's what restaurants usually do, however we would later realize that it was a significantly more expensive bottle than the original we wanted ($50 more). We were able to order our appetizers at the same time as the wine, which was a wise idea, as it would take another 30 minutes to flag our waiter down to place our main entrees. When ordering our mains, our server didn't seem well versed on the menu. One of the entrees, the beet power bowl, had an option on the menu for a hanger steak add-on for $18. When this was ordered, the waiter said that they could only do it if they charged us for the entire steak frites meal ($38). We had to physically show him the menu to get the $18 add on price! At this point, we were hoping the worst was over, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Two of our diners asked for cups of hot water with a lemon wedge to drink with dinner. When the bill came, our waiter tried to charge us $5 EACH for said cups of hot water. Our bill was $400+ and we had to fight tooth and nail for him to remove the charges. This is totally unacceptable. Overall, the entire service felt super rushed, impersonal and a constant nickel and dime shakedown for an already overpriced menu.

Food: 3/5. Old Anglers attempts to execute a modern American style menu with hints of Mediterranean flare. For our dinner service, we ordered the grilled octopus, fried calamari and wedge salad for the table. All the apps came out quickly and well prepared. The calamari was a clear winner, with perfectly crispy breading, pairing well with the Thai chili sauce. The octopus was also very tasty, but was skimpy on the octopus portion (less than 1 tentacle) for $35+. For mains, we ordered the seafood pasta, the filet mignon special and the beet power bowl with hanger steak. All mains came out together and hot. The seafood pasta had good taste, but seemed clumsily thrown together with the noodles and seafood appearing to be tossed around by another diner (sauce all over the top of the plate). The filet was passable, but could have been seasoned better. Finally, the power bowl had good flavor from the tahini and sweet beets. The hanger steak was perfectly cooked medium rare, so nothing to complain about here. We also opted for bread service, but with the additional $2 charge for a 1/4 of a baguette, I cannot recommend it. Overall, the food was passable with some hits and some misses, but from a value perspective, Old Anglers is a...

Old Angler’s Inn is a whole vibe. The second you step onto the patio, you can feel the charm—stone-paved, fire pit glowing, fountain trickling in the background. It’s got that old-school, historic feel, but what really sets it apart is the music. Instead of the usual stuffy fine-dining soundtrack, they play classic R&B—Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Stevie Wonder. It gives the place a warmth that makes you want to settle in and stay a while.

The service was solid from the jump. Attentive but not overbearing, friendly but professional. Even with a packed house, the staff kept things moving without making it feel rushed. And one of the biggest pluses? They’re pet-friendly. I had my service dog with me, and they welcomed him without hesitation. That’s a small thing, but not every place gets it right.

Now, the food. I got the steak frites, and my wife had the Wagyu burger. My steak was good—cooked a little more than I asked for but still juicy, with a nice herb butter on top that added a little richness. The fries? Eh. They were crispy, but they needed more seasoning. Just a little extra salt or some kind of house blend would’ve taken them to the next level.

The Wagyu burger, though? That was the move. Juicy, full of flavor, on a soft brioche bun that pulled it all together. The cheese melted just right, the caramelized onions gave it a little sweetness, and the whole thing just worked. It came with fries and a pickle—nothing fancy, but simple and solid. If I could go back and reorder, I’d get the burger for myself.

Drinks were good. I had a Cabernet Sauvignon that paired well with the steak, and my wife had one of their cocktails—strong, smooth, and well-balanced. For dessert, we split the chocolate lava cake, and it delivered. Rich, gooey center, not too sweet, and the vanilla bean ice cream on the side was the perfect touch.

Overall, Old Angler’s Inn is worth a visit. The setting is beautiful, the music gives it personality, and the service is warm and professional. The food was mostly on point, with just a few small misses, but nothing that would stop me from going back. If you’re looking for a good meal in a relaxed but elegant atmosphere, it’s a great spot. And if you’re debating what to order, go...

Definitely not the place to get the best bang for your buck. My boyfriend and I decided to stop by after our hike on the Billy Goat Trail in Great Falls National Park nearby. There were two kinds of people there - those who had been in the park like us and were wearing workout clothes and those who had dressed up brunch-style. Since it was a nice day out, we were able to sit outside. It's a cute place, especially with a little fountain in the midst of their patio. If you were just passing by, you'd think it was a charming little lunch/dinner spot. It's been around since 1860

However, food was very average for the prices. They don't have an extensive selection of appetizers and entrees to begin with, so we were quite limited to what we wanted to order. I chose the soup du jour (which was chilled asparagus soup) and the house smoked salmon. My boyfriend also chose the soup du jour and the chicken caesar salad. The chilled asparagus soup was fine. I thought my salmon wasn't too bad. It also had some baby greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, and cilantro as a small side salad. They gave me more salmon than I anticipated, which was a nice discovery. My boyfriend's chicken caesar salad, however, was not good. It was clearly obvious that they had cooked it sometime before and then refrigerated it and cooked it again, leaving the chicken to be extremely, extremely dry. For $16, that is not what you want.

Soup du jour: $8 House smoked salmon: $14 Chicken caesar salad: $16

Our food also took forever to come out and we only ordered soup, an appetizer of smoked salmon, and salad. At the rate they were going, especially in regards to the salad, I thought they were pulling the veggies from a back garden they had. Our server was nice and tried to keep checking up on our food, but the timing was really, really slow for such simple, casual food. I'm glad we were just in the area coming to eat here post-hike. If I had to drive all the way out here for this quality of food for these prices, I'd...