Blue Iguana — Restaurant in Virginia

I’ve been a loyal customer of this location for years and have always had positive experiences—especially thanks to Brandon, who consistently provides outstanding service. There’s also another gentleman whose name I haven’t caught, but who has also been excellent during past visits.

Unfortunately, my recent visit was disappointing, and I feel compelled to share what happened.

During this visit, I ordered several items, including chicken tenders, and asked if I could take the food to-go. Aziza initially said that would be fine and mentioned she could bring the food out and I could request a to-go box at that time. However, when the food arrived, I asked for a box and was told I couldn’t have one because the item was part of the happy hour menu. This was not communicated earlier, nor was I informed of any such policy in the past.

To add to the confusion, we were charged $2 for extra ranch without any prior notice. In previous visits, Brandon has always been clear about additional charges, which I’ve appreciated.

Aziza’s refusal to provide a to-go box and her demeanor when addressing our concerns were especially disappointing—more so because she is the general manager. She even offered to refund the money instead of providing the box, which felt unprofessional and dismissive. Her tone and expression during our conversation made the situation more uncomfortable than it needed to be.

I traveled over an hour to dine at this location—a trip I’ve made regularly for years, often bringing friends and family. This experience was not only frustrating, but it also felt dismissive of the loyalty I’ve shown as a customer.

I would sincerely appreciate the chance to speak with someone directly about this matter, especially since I was told there was no one above the general manager to speak with. I value this restaurant and want to continue being a customer, but I hope this issue can be acknowledged and addressed appropriately.

Thank you for your time and attention. I look forward to...

One of my absolute new favorite local places. Their online menu looks small and kind of dated, but when I went in person, I had a very social and attentive waiter named Alejandro who recommended that I try their botanas.

The botanas is their specialty, you pick a base (rice, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, a tortilla, and others) and they load your base with chicken, sausage, shrimp and steak. My friends and I were blown away by how delicious this unassuming, $10 dish was. I paid $7 to add lobster to mine since it was already so cheap and it was far better than any $17 dish I've had. It beat out Sweet Water Tavern's Jambalaya pasta dish and that's one of my favorites for $19. You're unlikely to have any left over but I think that's a good thing. I've never been a fan of the massive portion sizes of typical restaurants.

My friends loved their tater tot appetizers and all of the desserts come with homemade icecreem. The apple pie is especially delicious because the ice cream melts down into the pie and cools it off a bit. While I was there they had a series of poker games going on around the tables and some people had their dogs out front. Super casual bar and just a very chill place overall. I see myself bringing everyone...

I placed an order for pickup from Blue Iguana that included the jumbo lump crab cakes with a Caesar salad and a loaded potato. When we got home, we discovered the loaded potato was missing entirely, and to make things worse, the crab cakes had been placed directly on top of the Caesar salad in the same container. As a result, the crab cakes were soggy and tasted like salad dressing — not what you’d expect from a dish that’s supposed to highlight jumbo lump crab.

My wife called to let them know what happened, and the manager was shockingly unprofessional. Instead of apologizing or trying to make it right, he acted as if she was lying, asked for pictures, and then hung up on her. When she called back, he admitted that the kitchen had indeed packed the crab cakes and salad in the same container — just as she said.

It’s one thing to make a mistake in the kitchen, but the way the manager handled it was completely unacceptable. Hanging up on a customer, accusing them of lying, and only acknowledging the issue after pushing back is not how you treat guests. We’ve eaten here before, but after this experience, we won’t be coming back. Very...