Open Road Reston — Restaurant in Reston

A Sports Fan and Comfort Foodie Paradise!

** sorry to write so much but when I take the time to weigh in, i want it to be more than just a thumbs up... you're welcome!

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Open Road Distilling Co. (ORD), in Reston Town Center, Virginia, with a bunch of friends and let me tell you, it's a sports fan and comfort foodie dream come true! From the moment we stepped through the door, I knew I was in my new “home”. ;)

Atmosphere: ORD has nailed the sports & “comfort bar” ambiance. The moment you walk in, you're greeted by the view into the distillery where you can see active spirits being finished and bottled on the spot. The brick and wood design topped with an Americana theme (I can never have enough flags and eagles...) gives an overall feeling of a warm down-home place to kick back with friends and frenemies (on sports rivalry days). Tons of big-screen TVs broadcasting all the major sports tie it all together. This place just has an energetic vibe that creates an electric, fun atmosphere for games. There's not a bad seat in the house and the place is HUGE! They also have a private room (I’ll call a “Tailgate party room) that you can rent for events, games, or just a great time with friends. I can't wait to try this room out for football games! Lastly, it is worth mentioning the additional “game-room” for the kids or for those still with some inner-child gaming interest. I didn’t get a chance to play anything but it's calling my name next time.

Service: I’m not a people person, but I would not do this review justice if I didn’t comment on the staff. The bar team is friendly, fun, and attentive (or did I mean attractive or both?) and the waitstaff we had went above and beyond to make us feel welcome (and we aren’t an easy group to warm up to). They knew the menu inside and out (for a brand-new place that just opened, this impressed me) and we ordered way too much food. Bottom line, the staff just conveyed a sense that “we mattered” and this is somewhat rare of late in many places we go. To the staff, WE LOVE YOU!

Cuisine and Drinks: Now, let's talk about the food and drinks. Because ORD is a distillery, they offer a wide range of custom drinks on the menu. Out of respect for my liver, I won’t comment specifically on how much of what was dranken’ but I can tell you that I did my job “breaking in the place” and simply could not find a drink I didn’t like. I hit it all... the Bourbon, Vodka, and Gin, all made and bottled on-site, did not disappoint and while I still have some work to do, I have all football season to update this should I discover something not up to my refined palette. The wings are a must-try, with a variety of flavors but I got the dry rub old bay and lemon pepper... Y.U.M! The wagyu meatball sliders are insanely juicy and flavorful, the birria quesadilla to die for, and the loaded nachos got crushed by our group. There were some other vegetable-based items on the menu but I can’t speak about the rabbit food. ;)

Overall Experience: I went back twice since opening to make sure my initial impression would hold... and it not only held, I feel like its exceeded each time. Simply, Open Road Distilling Co. is a great sports bar and a comfort food lover's paradise, and it's quickly become my go-to spot. The combination of bold and patriotic atmosphere, rock-star staff, yummy food, and extensive drink options make it a clear 5-star destination for me and an anchor destination within the Reston Town...

Update from 9/21: My scores for Open Road remain 5/5 in all categories after we went there last night. We tried the pizzas for the first time and ordered the chopped salad. Mike, our waiter, was very personable. Among Mike and the other staff who delivered food and checked in on us, the service was excellent.

The chopped salad was well seasoned and large enough that the two of us who split it felt we each had a good portion. Both of the pizzas we ordered were the small, 10" pizzas - the meat lovers (Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, and Bacon) was served hot and had good portions of meat on them. The Margherita pizza also came out hot and was very tasty. There were 3 of us in the group and we all ate our fill and still brought home half a pizza worth of food.

Of course, we also got a dessert, the s'more bar, which we shared. This is a room-temperature dish that would have been hard to eat cold, but too gooey if served warm. It was the right temperature for serving. It was also the perfect size for the 3 of us to share and get slightly more than just a taste of the dessert.

Two of us had drinks and they brought out samples for us to try. We liked the dry cider on draft and both of us ordered that - one with a small and one with a large. Overall, the bill for 3, + 1 person who joined us for wine and conversation but not food, was around $90 after tax, not a terrible bill with an appetizer, plenty of food, dessert and drinks. The noise level wasn't too loud and we could hear each other at the table without raising our voices. It was a great overall experience and we left happy.

Previous review (5 stars in all categories - from June 2024) Open Road had been around for a while but the bride and I went for the first time on a Wednesday night. The place has happy hour specials that run until 6 which we missed by about 45 minutes. The vibe was busy but not overcrowded. The bar area was fairly crowded, probably left over from the happy hour.

We ordered a few drinks including their honey old fashioned which is aged in a barrel. The old fashioned was very good. I had their sour which was also very good but comparable with other restaurants in the area.

We ordered nachos with pulled pork and wings with the teriyaki sauce. The wings were large and flavorful. The nachos had plenty of cheese, meat, and all the fixings. The chips were light, crispy, and delicious.

Our waitress was excellent, pausing to talk with us and answer our questions. It was our first time there and she explained the various dining options. At the distillery. There is a tasting room that was closed when we were there, and enclosed porch area, a large seating area where you can watch people all evening, a bar area, and a fine dining "speakeasy" called Magnolia. We looked in on Magnolia which also has a bar area.

We had a great time and...

Treated very poorly and seemingly ignored at our table. Not sure if it is because myself and my couple of friends look a little on the younger side, maybe the assumption was made that we wouldn’t tip well. Either way our waitress (Brittany P) barely checked on us the entire night, and when she did she was very quick and seemingly short with us. As opposed to the table of older adults sitting behind us in which we watched her check on many times. She didn’t ask us if we wanted drinks, just said “you good with water?” and when we were going to order food she said “are you all going to order anything?” Things like this happened the entire night, when we were nothing but polite. We were also never checked on after we got our food which was necessary as two of our meals came out cold and one was incorrect. At the end of the meal she just asked if we were done and one of my friends said she didn’t want a box when asked, our waitresses response was “really, you don’t want a box?” We all ordered full meals and an appetizer. Not that any sort of defense is needed, but we all have full time jobs and typically tip very well. We would have done the same if not for the...