Alfresco Tap and Grill — Restaurant in Washington

We went for the first time at happy hour yesterday 5/29. I think the pricing is appropriate, portions as well - the food was decent for happy hour. We had the calamari, tuna crudo, prosciutto, and one of each of the short rib and crab cake slider. All decently tasty, plates weren't sloppy.

Service was bad. We sat at the outside portion of the bar directly behind a bartender who didn't even turn around after we sat and were talking to each other out loud. Another server had to point us out to him. There were several other customers already sat at the bar too. It wasn't busy, we ordered 1 each of the frozen cocktails, which are batched, and our sliders hit the table before the drinks. We sat right at the frozen drinks dispenser too! We ordered the sliders and the tuna first - the tuna never came until I tried ordering it again. The tuna was good actually. A nice combination of avocado puree, avocado tempura, togarashi(edit the menu) spice and a few slices of good tuna - it was fresh. Bartender never really worked us. Didn't talk to us. Didn't give us a dinner menu and couldn't be bothered to make our second round of drinks after we ordered them and more food. He wandered off after we ordered before the end of happy hour and we had to ask for them again. The bartender that did make them - after happy hour - only charged us for one normally priced cocktail because we had ordered them before happy hour ended.

There were three bartenders behind the bar. Which one was the head bartender? Is there one? Who runs service there? I gave service two stars because, for the most part, everyone was nice, but lacks rigor. Set standards and have them adhered to. As a recently opened restaurant by Lauriol they should be on top of things, but they're not, like the leak from the roof at the end of the bar...

Update: Returned with a friend for happy hour. Excellent. We will be back often. Had cocktails and tried three appetizers: duck rolls (favorite - delish), ribs slider (delish), crab cake slider (good - but least favorite). Service was very good. The outdoor space was outstanding – still. Big thumbs up all around!

From two days ago: I stopped by for lunch because a couple of friends had asked me to check the restaurant out for future happy hours.

First, the service was amazing. I was seated outside right away; then the waiter came by and was very friendly – and quick with the order.

The menu is impressively varied and had several things I want to try later, like cool appetizers (duck rolls - yumm) and fish dishes (crab cake sandwiches, etc.). Today I wanted to try something basic first, so I had the (one patty) hamburger and fries. Delicious. The hamburger was cooked well and, most importantly, the flavor was very good. The fries were spiced well, too.

What is especially good about this restaurant is the friendly atmosphere and the abundance of outdoor space. There are two areas outside that have café tables: one facing 18th Street and the other facing the side street. Great for meals and happy hours.

I’m glad Alfresco came to the neighborhood. We needed a good space like this for basic, American cuisine - and a...

Welcome to the neighborhood! We’ve enjoyed watching the restaurant come to life and had a wonderful dinner last night. Service was friendly, and super efficient. Food and drinks all came out with exceptional speed (just like at sister restaurant Lauriol Plaza!). Short Rib Sliders as an app were a highlight. Shrimp Scampi hot and garlicky as expected. Could have used a wedge of grilled lemon for acidity. Cobb Salad with Chicken was HUGE and beautifully assembled. The Steak Frites was also perfectly grilled to temp and was a very generous cut of NY Strip Steak. Tons of Flavor. Personally I prefer a seasoned steak so a bit of salt and pepper while grilling would have been welcome. Fortunately the béarnaise sauce was one of the best I’ve had in DC, and the fries well salted and crisp. For dessert we split the Red Velvet Pavlova, which was tasty but the the texture a bit odd. If you love a plate of birthday cake and ice cream when the cake gets soaked by the melted ice cream, then this is your dish. Otherwise, we’ll stick with the Tiramisu. For a restaurant only opened a week, they navigated a BUSY, warm, spring Friday night in impressive fashion....