Elysium Axe Bar — Restaurant in Purcellville

I went to check out this place a week ago just to scope it out and see what it was like. The space is very nice, clean, and it was clear a lot of thought and effort went into designing and executing the vision for this space. I spoke with an employee at that time and was told that for axe throwing, it was $20 a person per 30 minutes, and that Thursdays are a Ladies Night event where from 6-7 it is free for ladies and after that hour it is 50% for ladies. Knowing this, I organized for a group of girls to meet up tonight so we could try out the axe throwing games (which was a cool take on standard axe throwing), and everything started well and the games were fun. However, the information I was given was NOT accurate. The $20 per person was actually $45 and the free hour was not real, it was 50% off, but I did not expect to pay $22 per person when I was told it was free. Even the post on their Facebook page is rather unclear and says it is free "instruction" on ladies night from 6-7, so I knew it might cost $10 per person, based entirely on what I was told the week before. Well, we did get some instructions on the game play and some throwing tips, and then we didn't see our server again until we flagged him down to get water and drinks.

Overall, it was an ok experience, the staff were nice, but it was absolutely not worth the price and I have no intention of going back. There are far better things to do in the area at a price point that actually makes...

My husband and I had come from drinking wine (to celebrate our wedding anniversary) at a nearby vineyard that had quite possibly the worst wine we have ever had. The day was so windy, my husband's food flipped out of his hands onto the ground and we left feeling really irritated about how our anniversary was going. We decided to try axe throwing to conclude what was turning out to be a horrible anniversary day and we ended up having a really fun time at Elysium. The staff member that helped us get set up was super friendly and attentive. We were never without great advice on throwing the axe or without a drink in our hands. The place has great ambiance to begin with, but right now it is decorated for Halloween and they did such a great job! It put us in the Halloween spirit, for sure. My husband and I are wine and whiskey snobs, so we didn't have high expectations for bar drinks. We were pleasantly surprised by the fun libations on the menu and we enjoyed our cocktails a lot more than we expected. And the bar food was pretty good! Overall I give this place 5 stars and an extra invisible star for helping us turn a really bad day into...

I visited Elysium on 12Nov. From the moment you walk in, all the staff make you feel warm and welcome. Bianca is a wonderful host, Skyler is friendly and attentive, and Scott makes you feel like family. And you know Scott is a generous and forgiving boss, because he employs crayon-eaters.

The food is great, and the beer circulates, so even if you don't like a specific line up, just come back next time and chances are they'll have something that better suites your palate; on Sunday Skyler was experimenting with some new cocktails for the season. Personally, I'm hoping they can get some red ales.

This axe bar is seriously one of my favorite places to hang out - it's hard to find a decent bar among all the microbroweries serving IPAs and a million kids running around. Here I get to drink normal beer, talk to cool people with cool stories, and throw axes....