Potomac Social Tavern — Restaurant in Virginia

While the food was good and the staff was friendly, the speed of service needs to take A LOT OF lessons from a good Mexican restaurant. I was there on a Friday night, so I will give management the benefit of the doubt that they got caught short-handed for service staff on busy night.

Our large group waited over 15 minutes to be seated since the tavern was at capacity, which is understandable. Once we were seated, it was well over 2 hours before we were done and had paid the bills.

We hardly had anyone checking on us for drink refills - to the point where I had to ask for water refills.

When we were first seated, we (as a large group) forgot to specifically point out that we would be on separate bills, which caused the staff to balk at first. I have never seen wait staff balk at having to split up a bill - for a large group, splitting up the bill shouldn't be an issue.

One family with two small children (infant / toddler age) were seated at the same time as my group. They left after a few minutes since they were waiting too long to have someone check on them, and the children couldn't wait on the slow service. I felt really badly for them.

The only reason I went up to 2 stars instead of 1 star is that the food was quite good. Sadly, the substandard speed of service soured my experience here. I guess they can guess away with the speed of service since there aren't a lot of convenient alternative options for evening dining near the tavern. They have the benefit of cornering a captive audience from out of town who won't...

We went last night and a really bad experience (except for the friends we were meeting). I was excited because I don't usually get to the city for dinner. Chose this restaurant because of the photos and menu. Both were appealing. Started off with a cocktail, dirty martini, which was very good but I noticed a gnat in the drink and of course sent it back. I got a replacement in a timely manner with an upgraded vodka - but it really didn't matter to me. We ordered "lemon drop martinis" for our guests and they came to us pink in color. Okay they were the happy hour special a hibiscus lemon drop which wasn't bad but I think I should have been told they weren't lemon drops. Food started and while my steak was underwhelming it was okay but the fries were cold. Like not even warm, cold. Sent those back and they didn't return for 25 minutes. Obviously the steak was gone. We did receive a wonderful peach liquor "shot" as an apology. Then we ordered desert and I ordered coffee. They didn't have any. Huh? Finally, and everyone is free to smoke or not smoke as their personal habits decide, but our waiter had a strong stale smoke odor that really wasn't pleasant. I won't go back. Too many options in DC. I hope everyone else has a great experience. It may have just been...

Stopped by Potomac Social Tavern recently to meet a friend for drinks. I don’t come here often, but the experience was overall pretty solid. The service stood out right away — really friendly and attentive without being pushy. Our server checked in just the right amount and made sure our drinks were always topped off.

The drinks were great — well-mixed, reasonably priced, and they had a nice variety on the cocktail menu. We didn’t try the food this time, but other tables seemed to be enjoying theirs, and I’ve heard mixed but mostly positive things about it.

The atmosphere was just okay — not bad, but nothing particularly exciting either. It kind of feels like a hotel bar vibe: clean and functional, but lacking a bit of character or energy. That said, it’s a good enough spot for a casual drink and a good conversation, especially if you're in the area or staying nearby.

Wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to come here regularly, but I’d definitely come back again to meet a friend or grab a low-key drink. The service alone makes it a...