Alexandria Restaurants

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The Scoop Grill & Homemade Ice Cream (or just "The Creamery" as their sign reads) fills a nice niche along the Alexandria waterfront: inexpensive quality frozen custard. Sure they offer a variety of other foods like deli sandwiches, chili, regular ice cream, even cobbler, but where else can you get custard, that frozen delight that tastes like pudding in a cone?

This is definately better than Ben and Jerry's, but really a toss-up when compared to Pop's Ice Cream across the street. Pop's is a little fancier with an old-fashioned feel, but the Scoop is more kid friendly, more popular, and has more food options than just plain old ice cream.

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Taqueria Poblano--TP to those in the know--is located on central Mount Vernon Avenue in Alexandria's Del Ray neighborhood near Old Town. This neighborhood is known for its Latino population, but the mainstream Mexican restaurants are lacking. My personal favorite is Los Tios, but Taqueria Poblano runs a close second. On a recent Wednesday we arrived and the place was packed; we had a 15 minute wait for a table for five.

They squeezed us into a four-person table by the door, and we made room. Most of us ordered house margaritas--on the rocks because they don't have frozen! They started us with a small basket of chips and salsa, but we plowed through it in no time and the waiter brought us two more baskets of chips. Soon our meals arrived; I had the "tres enchiladas," pork, chicken, and beef enchiladas in a tasty sauce with beans and rice ($14). Lhenne1 had the pork tacos, with soft flour tortillas, fried veggies, and rice ($13). Both meals were very tasty, but the service was a bit spotty (though not horrible!). They were very busy, probably unexpectedly so for a Wednesday.

Our total bill for two meals and two margaritas was right around $40.

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Eamonn's Dublin Chipper is one of the most original sandwich places I have ever visited. This tiny shop on King Street is designed after a Dublin fish and chips shop, and that is about all they do. But when your motto is "thanks be to cod," you can bet they do it well.

Here cod is king, but there is some variety in their seafood. Besides cod dinners ($5 or $8) and cod wiches ($7.50), and can try ray, grouper, prawns, or their fish of the day (each is under $10). They have a very small selection of other entrees including their "Batter Burgher" which must be a battered and deep fried hamburger, battered sausage, and some sides. That is their entire menu other than a crazy variety of unique European/Redneck desserts like fried bananas, fried dough balls, and fried candy bars. Don't forget the beer: Guinness on tap in plastic cups and a few bottled varieties available.

We arrived on a Friday evening around 8pm, and it was standing room only. Luckily the food is delivered quickly and seats are constantly opening up. We sat at the counter opposite the cash register sipping beers while we waited for our cod wiches to arrive. It took about five minutes, max and we were munching down tasty sandwiches along with our chips and coleslaw. Our total bill was about $25 for two beers, two sandwiches, and two sides--not too bad for this town, and great, unique food to boot.

Upstairs from Eammon's, accessible from a nondescript side door with a blue light is a "modern day speakeasy" called the PX. This swanky bar is another unique place by the same crew that runs Eammon's and one of Alexandria's top restaurants called Restaurant Eve. Reservations for the PX are recommended and the dress code (sport coat, slacks, etc) is strictly enforced.

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Hank's Oyster Bar is a small, but comfortable place just two blocks from my apartment in Old Town Alexandria. From the outside look for the deep blue building. Inside you will find a nice, bright, modern restaurant with just enough original red brick exposed to add a touch of character. The only problem inside is the tight quarters lead to very little space between tables, especially when you add heavy winter coats on cold nights. They specialize in fresh oysters on the half shell, but other food options include grilled and fried seafood, as well as a small variety of meat entrees.

We ordered two dozen oysters during happy hour (or "oyster hour") when the delicious raw mollusks were just $1 each! The oysters came on an aluminum tray neatly arranged over ice. We received three different kinds of oysters, two from Virginia and one from Washington State. The tasty shellfish were also served with three slices of lemon, and three sauces: a regular tartar sauce, a shallot vinegar sauce, and a horseradish sauce. We also had draft beers for a kind of expensive price of $5 or $6 each. A great finishing touch is the tiny bowl of dark chocolate served with the bill at the end of the meal.

Oyster Hour runs Tuesday through Friday from 5:30 to 7pm.

Hank's other location is in Washington DC on 17th Street, and it was named Washingtonians's number 86 of DC top 100 restaurants in 2009.


Did you know one dozen raw oysters contains just 100 calories, and are rich in zinc, iron, calcium, and vitamin A.

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I don't frequent a lot of chain restaurants, but I do enjoy barbecue, and Famous Dave's is convenient to the shopping areas south of Old Town Alexandria. We stopped in for lunch one day while shopping in the area. The dining room must have been full, because they put us at a high-top table at the nearly deserted bar.

I chose the barbecued brisket sandwich with beans and my friend had the barbecue combo with brisket and another meat. The food took longer than expected, but still not too slow for a quick business lunch if that would be your intent. When my food arrived, I was amazed by the tender and tasty brisket, probably some of the best I've ever had. The beans also had big chunks of brisket throughout and they were delicious. I added a little extra "Texas Pit" barbecue sauce from the table and my meal was perfect. I gulped down the sandwich in about five minutes because it was so good! Our two meals with no drinks were about $15.

Famous Dave's was started in 1994 in Wisconsin by an Ojibwe Indian. Today the restaurant has locations in about 40 states in the US, though they are concentrated in the Northeast between New York City and Washington DC, as well as the upper Midwest around Chicago and Minneapolis.

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Overwood is a newer restaurant (opened in 2007) that occupies a former warehouse and bakery constructed in the 1800s. It is one of those place with the perfect atmosphere of being warm and welcoming without being pretentious... i.e. no frilly white table cloths, but at least a nice wine list and cloth napkins. The decor is reminiscent of the past with old wooden beams, steel pipes, and red brick alongside modern ceilings, lights, and dividers. It has a nice bar with lots of beer options and four dining rooms that can seat about 200 at mostly small, intimate, candlelit tables.

We arrived around around 7pm and were quickly seated at a table for two near the noisy and crowded bar. We were happy to learn that our Tuesday arrival meant half price bottles of wine, so we started by ordering a bottle of a Brooks Winery (Oregon) wine that was a mix of Riesling, pinot gris and bianco grapes. The bottle is normally $39, but was half price on this fine night.

Laura ordered their seasoned and roasted half chicken served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy and roasted Brussels sprouts priced at $16. I had one of the specials of the day, the oven seared scallops served with basmati rice, a salad, and tomatoes with olive oil for $20. The food arrived no more than 10 minutes after we ordered, which made our meal seemed rushed... maybe they could start off each table with bread just to slow the meal down a bit? My scallops were excellent, but only four were served, which made for a tiny meal; I ended up eating every last morsel on the plate, plus some of Laura's. Everything in Laura's meal was tasty, and the chicken was moist and full of flavor. Her meal was also big enough to share and still have some leftover.

When we finished eating we still had half a bottle of wine left, so we decline coffee or desert and sat sipping wine for another 45 minutes.

We returned again on a Sunday in summer 2009, with a few friends, and I was surprised to find the restaurant was not at all busy. On this day the four of us started with the salmon brucshetta and fried green tomatoes ($8.50) as appetizers; both were excellent! For our meals we had the "crispy iron skillet flounder" ($18); the crab cakes; the beef, veal & pork meatloaf ($14), and the clam linguine (about $15). We were all impressed with the food, even more so than last time. The flounder was gigantic with the skin scored before frying for easier eating, the crab cake was a small portion but tasty, the meatloaf was unbelievably good, and the linguine was also tasty, but not the best option at a place like Overwood.

This is a great spot with a lot of character, some creative and tasty food, and generally attentive service. On the negative side, the portions vary an awful lot, and the timing of the dishes was rushed--good for a quick business lunch, not so good at a relaxing dinner.

Once a Civil War hospital, the Fish Market Restaurant is located in an old building in old Town Alexandria, one block from the waterfront. The upstairs dining room has an early nineteenth century atmosphere, with exposed wood beams and thick wooden floors. In the summer months, tables are placed on the sidewalk outside so diners can enjoy the sunshine.

Seafood is of course the specialty here. The oyster po’ boys are great ($9.99) and while I normally prefer broiled crab cakes, the fried crab cakes here are quite good ($20.99 – platter).

Prices are reasonable and the menu offers a nice selection. This is a great place for families.

When you’re done, head next door to Pop’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream (same owners) for desert.

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Pop's Old Fashioned Ice Cream Shop is located on King Street, not far from the waterfront. The atmosphere here is exactly what you expect in "Old Town". Ice cream, sundaes and milkshakes are served. Little white tables and striped wallpaper give you the feel that you'll see a horse and buggy drive by at any moment (in Old Town, you just may). Stop here after a trip down King Street on the trolley for a cone on a hot day.

The shop is very touristy, so expect long lines on hot summer days. The owners also own the Fish Market next door.