Solace Brewing Company — Restaurant in Virginia

Now that my wife and I have announced the pregnancy, I can finally write this review.

Back in August, we went the same day they were doing their Faded collaboration with Faded Inc. When we got there it wasn't that busy and our friends hadn't arrived yet. We went to the bar and I clearly asked if they had any drinks that did not have any alcohol. The bartender suggested these "mocktails" they were selling. I asked about alcohol content again, and she said something to the effect of "that's why I suggested these". Once we got our drinks, my wife tried hers and it obviously had a good amount of alcohol. She took it to another bartender and that bartender said that it was something like 7% alcohol. My wife gave her the drink and asked again what didn't have alcohol in it. The bartender pointed to the sodas they had in a fridge and a water cooler they keep set up on a table. Not only did they charge us for the drink that clearly had alcohol in it, but also for the soda.

After all of that happened.. One of the people in our group bought some chips and salsa and set them on his table. He turned to talk to me for maybe 30 seconds to a minute and in that time a server walked up and threw his obviously fresh order of chips and salsa into the trash and someone took his table. When he brought this up to the staff, everyone was rude and wouldn't comp the food they threw away.

Lastly, when going up to buy another beer, my friend held his glass up to the bartender and politely asked if he took our empty glasses. Without saying anything, the bartender snatched it from his hand and slammed it on the bar followed by a nasty "what do you want".

I find it so fitting that this particular day ended with the Solace logo getting shaved into a horses @$$. I've concluded that unless one of my friends is holding their funeral there, we won't go back. The staff is astoundingly rude as you can see from several...

==== Oct 2024 ==== Finally, a food kitchen after so many years. There were always the food truck option but you need to love that specific food truck of the day in order to enjoy the beer.

The new kitchen food menu is eerily similar to DayBreak Kitchen and Biscuits at Crooked Run brewery near Dulles Airport. Ordered couple fried shareables items and tacos after seeing orders of relatively small burger options at other tables. The fried options were ok, not great, just plain ol' fried stuff you can find everywhere. Can pass on tacos which were extremely small and filled with forgettable ingredients like tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, chopped bite-full of chicken, and a drizzle of some sauce. There were rumors of more gastropub-like items like fried chicken liver/gizzard, wings, vietnamese spring rolls, fried squid, oxtail, etc. but it doesn't sound like any of these interesting food options came to fruition; which is too bad.

The price to food ratio is already too high for the potentially bland menu offering. The beer continues to be stellar. Only wish there were better food options to help enhance the beer.

Original review 2019 ==== What a great place to relax and drink and stretch out. This is a Microbrew with a solid spectrum of beer flavors. Surprisingly family friendly and pets are allowed. And if you like a specific brew, you can get a growler or a 4-pack home. Bathrooms are nice and clean so that is always a plus. There is no issues with parking at all. There is no food sold here; although the occasional food truck does stop by; of course, with food comes a different licensing requirements and added cost. So for now, I prefer the...

I went for the dueling pianos event in November. The musicians were so incredibly talented and they put on a wonderful show. There was a lot of variety in the songs requested. The last few songs everyone was dancing and singing along in the center of the brewery. So much fun! Great crowd! The tickets on eventbrite were easy to purchase.

The brewery itself seemed terribly understaffed for such a large event. I ordered food at the very beginning of the night, before it got busy, and after 30 mins I asked if the waitress could check on it. She did not. 15 mins later I asked again and they brought out the food- which was not good. Super greasy and over cooked. It was typical bar food. There was a special (reduced) menu that night due to the event. So there wasn't a big selection to begin with. I had ordered under the "shareable appetizers" menu but we did not receive extra plates. Nachos were a bit awkward to eat without our own plates.

The staff also had a hard time refilling the large Gatorade jug of water that everyone was using. They handed out small cups, so you had to refill frequently. I remembered that when I came to Solace in the past, water was an issue, so I bought my own bottles of water for everyone in the group. I saved the day since all 8 of us were parched.

Overall it was a fun event but I suggest eating beforehand and bringing...