Axe and Ale House — Restaurant in Virginia

My little family and I ate here over the weekend. We were greeted by a very sweet older gentlemen who showed us around. We really liked him. The place is kid friendly with games and music that was not inappropriate. There isn't a lot of games, but more than enough to keep your child happy.

We ordered our son the cheese pizza. The pizza was good, but it came out barely warm and somewhat undercooked. I hate cold or barely warm pizza. The cheese should have been pulling apart or at least hot in any shape or form. I don't understand why it wasn't hot, cheesy, and gooey as there were only 2 other tables in the building besides ours!! We ordered his in advance as he was hungry, and with only 3 tables and few people at the bar, well I'm just not understanding the issue at hand!

Next.... our food comes out (mine and my husbands). The wings are a decent size, but I asked for "saucy" wings. I had to ask for a cup of the peach sauce (it is in person, not on their menu online) that came out cold. My wings were already semi-warm, so that didn't help. I ate 2 wings out of the 5. The flavor was amazing, and the wings had such potential, but again, they were barely warm and somewhat dry. The waffle fries were soft and warmer than the wings. I enjoyed those. The sauce it came with was cold as ever. I don't know if that is how it should have been, but it should have been warmed up to accommodate the waffle fries in a different way. The quinoa bowl was pitiful, especially for the price!!! I am a tiny person who can't eat a lot, but that? That was made for a child, and could have been devoured in seconds by anyone smaller than me! It didn't have but a few slices of pulled pork that was very dry and somewhat hard in places. It was basically quinoa and a small portion of whatever else, so there's that. I ate a little bit of it. I had to doctor it up with Chipotle Ranch (yum) and cilantro lime creme (that was not all that good). My husbands sub (forgot what he ordered) was actually good. We really liked the sauce that came with it. It was the best part of the meal. He ordered the baked potato as a side, and yep... even it was cold. Sheesh!

Anyway... our server was attentive and so very kind. I just don't understand why the food was like that. You could have easily heated it all up beforehand. We didn't complain because we were starving. We drove 1 hour and 40 mins away to eat somewhere new. This was place was more or less a letdown even though the food was decent tasting. We will not be returning, especially when portions are small (except for the 12" pizza we had to order because there wasn't anything smaller for a child) and for the price you pay at a 30-50% warmth...

This was our first visit to Axe and Ale. We visited for the Valentine's special.

FOOD The food was awesome. I had the white pizza made with the smoked chicken and it was very good. I was drinking vodka lemonade with fresh strawberries. They were very good, not weak and watered down but not overwhelming in vodka either. I appreciate the simple 1 page menu, and I forgot to snap a picture if it.

SERVICE I can't express how welcoming, helpful and friendly every single employee there was. We didn't seem to have a specific server with the open seating option but that didn't put any kinks in service. Everyone stopped by making sure we had everything we needed. I wish I had caught the guy's names. There were 3 in particular that simply went above and beyond. Amazing service.

ATMOSPHERE This has a very relaxing atmosphere. Everyone was so chill. There was of course axe throwing. (I found out axe throwing can even be enjoyed by children ages 10 and up). The necessary waiver was very quick and easy with the scan of a QR code and completed in about 1 min. I was very bad at the axe throwing, but it was still a lot fun! Ask them for tips! They will try to help you not suck as bad as i did at it 😂There is a free arcade game by the bar with PacMan and Donkey Kong etc. There are several other paid arcade games (only negative I have to say is the change machine was out of order) There was a lounge area with swings and a larger Jenga type game. There were a couple room options for venues - which i already plan on booking for a future event!. The atmosphere is my favorite part about this place, everything just felt very casual and relaxing.

CLEANLINESS This place was clean. The bar was not sticky and they stayed on top of bussing quickly. There was no dust build up on the decor or ceiling vents. Visiting the restroom, it was clean and fully stocked. I appreciated the full size mirror in the women's bathroom for a quick appearance check.

DECOR There was so much to look at. There was nothing organized or aestheticly beautiful to look at, but gave us lots of conversations starters. Like, the head wearing a viking helmet and heart sunglasses. It had an eclectic feel that made the place more interesting... and I appreciate it seemed clean and not dusty! The space was thoughtfully painted, the ceilings were dark with the same color carried behind the bar, then lighter walls on the other side to lighten the space. The mural on the outside of the building is beautiful.

Overall it was a great experience and is one of our new favorite spots to...

Came to this restaurant yesterday for the 1st time thinking it would be a nice place to try. Boy were we wrong!! Arrived and got immediately seated. The gentlemen that was taking care of us was very nice. Got our drinks while we looked at the menu. I ordered the cheese quesadilla with sweet potato fries. My friend had the club sandwich with waffle fries. My quesadilla was severely overcooked to where the cheese was rubber(NO JOKE). I waited until someone came to check on us. A young male came over and I asked him "would you eat this?". His reply was SHOCKING. He said " I am not picky, I would eat just about anything, but I can remake it for you." I said YES PLEASE. The fries were not the best but I could at least eat them. He came back shortly with the new one and it somewhat looked better looking at it on the outside. He said they use a toaster oven and they sometimes have problems. I went to eat it and it was almost like the 1st one, but not as burnt. The cheese was not rubber but very close. I tried to eat some, just bairly getting 1.5 slices down and I couldn't do anymore. My friends food he would never eat again. The waiter never asked how the food was again. When we got the bill there was no discount for my meal due to what happened or it even taken off. We left a tip but not a good one to show how unhappy we were with the service. We are NOT the ones to tip poorly. We always give very good tips but this didn't warrant one. I was extremely disappointed because I wanted to come back to do Ax Throwing but they have totally lost my business. Please be aware before you go in what kind of food they are serving. It's nasty. I had a very upset stomach and was very sick the next day. I am sure it's from this...