BIA Kitchen — Restaurant in Purcellville

Brand new upscale European style bistro occupies an old building in the old town of Purcellville. The inside is fully renovated and very appealing with exposed brick walls wood beams and details all contributing to the bistro look. Tables are generously spaced and chairs are very comfortable.

The welcome starts at the downstairs door opener for you on arrival and continues with every staff encounter on your way to the table. The servers are nicely dressed in black with long gray aprons, adding to the bistro atmosphere.

There is a full bar service for cocktails and wines, but we had already had a happy hour earlier so we sadly skipped a very tempting variety offered by our server.

Food is served in small plates, as we were aptly informed by our server. However at least for the two dishes we had the portion size was more than a typical Tapas plate.

For a starter we had Ceviche Scallops which were very tender and in citrusy marinade .

The dishes are brought out at as they are prepared, we like the staggered delivery of the dishes, but we had long waits in between the dishes- could be they are still working out some issues. On the other hand reasonably slow serving may not be a bad thing all together as it facilitates conversing like it used to be before fast food took over.

For main courses we chose two dishes: the Bia Mix Grill and the Duck confit. Both were excellent, however the duck was exceptional, and should not be missed in our opinion.

The bread basket was a bit of a miss - bread was not warmed or out of the ordinary. Moreover the Mix Grill is served with slices of bread which are a very nice feature, especially with the jam and mustard that accompany it. In our case though, because of the long wait the bread basket was complimentary - a very professional and appropriate gesture!

The desserts are not featured on the menu, and we picked the daily offer of Berry Cobbler with vanilla ice cream, served on a small hot iron skillet.

Realizing the place is still in its opening stage (just opened about a week ago) we found some areas that need improving upon to get the 5th star:

The serving plates are a bit small if you are sharing a dish as they are not big enough to hold the large size knife and fork without them slipping off onto the table. We asked for larger plates and the server brought some out with no issues - problem solved but should have been avoided to begin with.

The dishes were missing serving utensils which caused a lot of food to fall on the table and inconvenience to the diners.

Clearing and cleaning the table between dishes - this was very inconsistent and mainly happened only upon specific request by us. even then our server (who was very polite and responsive otherwise) did not clean the table, rather just removed the empty dishes. Dessert was served to the table while we still had the main course dishes (with leftover food on them) still in front of us.

As in the beginning - upon leaving the restaurant we were again treated with the same friendly farewell at the door - which left us very happy!

We will definitely come again, and hope to update the review with the expected...

Love the place. But BIA has a long way to go. If you own this place, please don your thickest skin when you read this.

SERVICE We ate at the bar. Alcohol service was good. Eating service at the bar was not. Two of us were given one menu, not two. Had to ask for another.

Food came with no utensils, side plates, nor napkins. Had to ask again. More food came, and kitchen delivery person had to try and place the food around the 4 or 5 menus still on the bar in front of us, instead of removing the menus and getting them out of the way after we ordered. This is food service kindergarten stuff. Training obviously not done.

FOOD Overall, blah. I would not order anything we had tonight again, there. We did not want to finish it all (small plates). We went to Magnolias for followup.

ROAST TOMATO FOCACCIA. The "focaccia" small slice of bread with a slice of some lightly melted cheese on top, surrounded by some tasty grilled/broiled red peppers (or maybe cherry tomatoes?), and perhaps braised baby arugula (not sure). Sorry but that was no more a focaccia as a half a grilled cheese could ever be.

BREAD BASKET okay. Nothing wrong with it. Nothing remarkable or to write home about, either.

CALABRIA STYLE SPICY AND OVEN-BAKED MIXED OLIVES. Just marinated, olives. Nothing special. Baked, maybe. If so, I certainly could not tell that had any impact on their flavor.

SAUTEED MUSSELS. Nothing special, too plain and drab to ever order them again.

PAN ROASTED CALAMARI. Certainly my biggest disappointment. Beautiful little baby squid, almost devoid of virtually any flavor. They would have been better served almost any other way.

DUCK CONFIT: overcooked, tough and salty.

MY ANALYSIS: Training sorely lacking. I learned how to do most of what they needed to know tonite, about serving correctly at my mama's dining room table.

Food is not even remotely up to snuff yet. If anyone is actually tasting the food they are serving, if that is the case, then there is something very wrong there.

I did not see any sign of a manager. Anywhere. Lots of scurrying, getting peeps seated, etc. But nobody running the show nor looking to see if everything which was needed is getting done.

BIA is young. It may be the best LOOKING place in town to eat. The feel of the place and atmosphere is very nice. I like the bar, the help, etc. But I'll give it 6 months to settle in before trying it again. I really do want them to succeed. We do need a new place which can up Purcellville's food game. But BIA is not ready yet. Owners, please take this to heart. I'm not looking for you to startup at Michelin star level. But you have to get the basics right, and build from there. It appears to me you...

Good food, service, and ambiance. Hidden gem, will definitely be back.

Updated 11/12/23 Had dinner last night for Veterans Day since my husband and I are both veterans. I arrived 15 minutes early for a reservation and planned on having a drink at the table while I waited for my husband. I was told at the door to walk in and Cheryl would take care of me. I walked in, and the bar was completely crowded. All the tables were also taken, and there was no hostess insight. I stood around awkwardly and uncomfortably in the middle of the area for about 10 minutes until I was finally greeted by a very busy waitress who asked if I had a reservation. When I said yes, but I’m a bit early, she said just go upstairs and speak with the hostess. I went upstairs, and a very nice young female hostess greeted me, but told me the table was not ready yet as there was still the previous reservation at the table, she said, “but let me ask my manager.” Her manager happened to be Cheryl who spoke to me in a very rude manner and told me the table was not ready. It would be ready at 7:15. I told her I understand I was early and I was just hoping to have a drink, she said the bar is downstairs. You can go downstairs and was quite rude about it. Almost like get out of here was her attitude. I actually suffer from an anxiety disorder. I do not feel comfortable in crowded and loud places and I actually thought the restaurant would not be that busy since it was not offering any Veterans Day specials. The one time we had come before I believe was early on a weekend or sometime during the week so it was quite nice and relaxing. At this point, I was looking for some guidance on where I could sit while I waited for my husband, and whether somebody would notify us when the table was ready or we should just walk back upstairs. None of this guidance was provided. Instead, I walked back downstairs by myself and tried to find a spot to sit at the bar. At this point I was also quite shaken and triggered.

The bartender staff was busy as well, but friendly, he did finally asked if we were gonna order food. We told him we had a reservation at 7:15 and he said he would let the manager know which of course I thought oh gosh. At 7:15 Cheryl came back to tell us the table was ready and we could come upstairs when we were ready. I was done with her and let my husband lead. Once we were sat Karen our waitress greeted us and was very nice. The butternut squash soup is probably the best I’ve had. I think the food is really good. I just recommend avoiding this place on weekends and...