William Jeffrey's Tavern — Restaurant in Virginia

We're done with this place. I work a few blocks away, and our group has been frequenting this establishment several times a month for the past two years. I don't know what has happened lately, but it's not what it used to be. There has been a lot of turnover and none of the good bartenders/servers seem to be working there anymore. On Monday, the 6th of March, four of us ordered medium burgers and three of us received well-done burgers. It was a shame, because when the burgers are cooked right, they're top notch. We were too hungry to send them back, but pointed out the mistake to our server. The manager on duty was gracious enough to comp us a round of beer, which didn't make up for the charred burgers, but at least he made a positive effort. Today, Friday the 10th of March, we stopped in for the crab cake sandwich special and some drinks. When we received our beers, the glasses were barely 2/3 full. None of us touched our glasses, we all just marveled at the lousy pour, watching the 4" head evaporate into a half-empty glass. We politely asked our server to fill the glasses. She hesitated with a kind of fearful exclamation (like someone in an abusive relationship), "That's how we're told to pour them, but I'll see..." Moments later the new manager on duty (a short, dark-haired goatee-wearing gentleman who doesn't even look old enough to drink) is at our tableside, explaining how these particular beers (these exotic porters and ales) are a "ten ounce pour," meant to be served with a lot of head to enhance the flavor or some b/s, and that is how they pour them. If you're going to serve only 10 ounces of beer in your unknown volume hipster stemware, you need to put that on your menu, since your prices lead me to expect 16 ounces. We explained that we've all been drinking beer for several decades and were never before served a half-empty glass in a bar. We also pointed out that we're fairly regular customers and inquired whether he'd like to keep us as regular customers. The answer was clear; he'd rather bicker over a couple ounces of beer and guarantee he'd never see us again. For the record, he never answered the question. We were very close to leaving the warm, war-time ration beers on the table to head over to the Celtic House, but opted to stay and argue with this annoying child. "What do you want me to do?" he asks. "I'd like a full beer, but since you refuse to do that, I'll take the half beer." It was awkward, somewhat embarrassing, and overall an unpleasant experience. The food was pretty mediocre as well. The crab cakes were barely warm, but it was an interesting technique to stuff potato chips in the sandwich so you won't notice any shell fragments that slipped by. W&J, you're suspect. This person does not belong in the hospitality business and certainly lacks the capacity to manage a bar. I can't imagine why someone would argue with customers over something so petty, especially when the place was so clearly struggling to attract a crowd. I would think the owners would like to bring in more locals and retain regular customers, but if that's the intent, they obviously haven't communicated it to their guy on the floor. If you're seeking a good bar on Colombia Pike between Courthouse and Walter Reed, AVOID WILLIAM AND JEFFREY'S. Walk another block to the Celtic House, a real bar, with cold beer in real pint glasses--filled to the top. The food is better, and the bartenders know how to hold a conversation (in addition to knowing how to tap a beer). Two stars, only because of carryover from good experiences in the past; this was definitely a...

Nice place with decent service and good food. I was there for a dinner event and we had steak and mashed potatoes, by the looks of the place, you wouldn't think a steak would be great... More of a wings, nachos, burgers vibe... But the steak was quite good, the entire meal was good. The beer selection was great and the old fashion signature cocktail they had was fantastic. I would refer to this place as an upscale gastro... I was visiting from out of town and had eaten at a lot of 'iconic' places around town, but the food here held it's own. The reason for the 4 star review and not 5 star review was because of the beer: The beer selection is great... Lots of good choices. They're apparently trained on how to pour a beer, only not trained well... Having tended bar for years, I was surprised to see that my beer can about 1/2 less from the top of the glass. It was a craft beer so I knew they needed to put a head on it, the glass just looked a bit empty. I brought this to the bartender's attention and asked him to put a head on the beer, he persisted to give me a canned response of how the beer was supposed to be poured and blah blah blah... He's not shorting me on beer... I replied that I never said you were shorting me on beer, just pour it right... After explaining to him that there should be "foam" on top, he added the "foam"..... Interesting, I'm guessing they get a lot of people who think they are being shorted on beer... Maybe if they either filled the glass with more liquid, or learned how to put a head on a craft beer, they would not have...

Came here for Mother's Day Brunch and was kind of disappointed. The atmosphere was nice, and the food was good (both in quality and portion sizes), but the service and menu were lacking.

First off, our server was very tall, and required all of us to crane our necks up to look at him so we could order. Had we been at a high-top or the bar, this wouldn't be an issue, but sitting in a booth, it felt very awkward and tense. The server also mentioned that the price of the brunch buffet went up, which he didn't need to mention as we had said we had never been to the restaurant before, and had no idea what the price was other than reading it on the menu.

Also, when I asked for Almond Milk to go with my coffee, I was told they "only have dairy milk" which is very frustrating as I'm Lactose-Intolerant, and most restaurants can cater to this very simple request. This popped up again when I ordered the Huevos Rancheros, and the server did not remind me of the cheese in the meal (mostly my fault, but still, if I don't have coffee because you only have dairy milk, it'd be nice, ya know?). My mother and I are also both Gluten-Intolerant (I know, we're the best at restaurants), and while the server went out of his way to confirm the details of the menu items available, he was also very curt about doing so.

William Jeffrey's was a backup choice for us as our first option did not have menu items that conformed to mine and my mother's dietary restrictions, so I am not angry, just a little...