Learned about via OpenTable + ScoutMob.
The service wasn't anything that special or friendly, but we definitely enjoyed our food.
-- Cedar Plank Salmon; with fresh asparagus, ginger infused spinach, sesame sticky rice cake, Forikake mushrooms, and a ginger mango cream sauce ($21)
-- Sam's 10" Garden Pizza; with tomato, spinach, mozzarella, red onions, garlic, cremin & shiitake mushrooms ($13)
-- Praline Ice Cream Coupe; with layers of butterscotch praline and vanilla bean ice cream sandwiched between a pecan granola cookie crust. THIS WAS THE REAL WINNER. VERY DELICIOUS.
Including a 20% tip and the $12 discount via ScoutMob, the total came to $38. A bit pricey, but that probably has to do with the fact that they're rent is high (being in Old Town).
PS. I agree with other reviews. This place is not "romantic" as advertised.
We were pretty disappointed with this place. After living in old town for a couple of years we had always wondered about it, and we're definitely not going back. It's way overpriced and there is little to no ambience, except for some baskets hanging from the ceiling in the room we were seated in. My husband had the tortellini chardonnay which he said tasted warmed over, but my pizza, Bilbo's pizza, wasn't bad at all. The baked brie was ok, and the garden salad was fine. It's just such a shame because with the Hobbit/Shire theme this place could do so much more!
Review Source:Huge disappointment. It gets 2 stars only because of its great beer selection and raisin bread. Our meals were not good. The spinach salad was tasteless, the croutons were soggy and the half boiled egg on top looked like it had been sitting out for 2 days. The salmon was completely overcooked and was a very small portion. Not worth the $21. Won't be coming back for food, which is a shame since this was a pretty good restaurant when we first started coming back in the late 80s. Sad to see it go so far downhill.
Review Source:As much ranting and raving as I hear about this place... I FINALLY went.
The food was... tastey... but not anything I would ever get again. Â Nothing was spectacular... just good. Â I can't really remember what I ordered by name... I got a pizza that made me wish I went to a real pizza place for pizza. Â Girlfriend got a Chicken portabello... seemed a little too salty... but maybe that's the way it was suppose to be. Â So... bottom line... food is not worth the price.
Now... it would have been 2 stars... but the saving grace was the Cilantro fries and there vast beer menu. Â I just wish that there beer menu wasn't so expensive... otherwise... I could see myself there often.
Awesome Bloody Marys! I've been here a few times for brunch with friends and family. The Bloody Mary Mix is made in the restaurant and has just the right amount of substance and spice...plenty of fixin's and a salt mix on the rim that I'm pretty sure contains Old Bay.
Extremely varied and interesting food selection - granted I've gotten the Salmon/Crab cake sandwich every time because it's amazing but there are many tempting options with plenty of breakfast items as well and unique appetizers. Everything we ordered was delicious - minus the Lord of the Rings cake  for dessert which was just so-so (especially for the price). Huge beer and wine selection as well and the Lord of the Rings decor and game cards on the table add a kitschy, fun element.
It's not bad. But nothing outstanding. Large beer selection offset by higher prices. Food is good enough but not worth the prices they charge.
It's best described by me as an upscale dive bar. The LotR motif appeals to a certain demographic and Bilbo Baggins is a place that wants to be something that it is not. It seems stuck in the past, and things, between drinks and food, are stuck in a middling stasis that never moves forward towards improvement.
If in any other locale, it would prolly net an extra star. In Old Town ALX, so close to DC, this bar doesn't really stand out.
Shire Pizza was pretty good. The Crab and Andouille dip was ok but was paired with potato chips that seemed stale, might be better with pita or tortilla chips. Gnocchi with tomato cream sauce was really good!
I made reservations on <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fopentable.com&s=897c359bd752b4f5407d5ea86453c82be2d1913c8d0b51b18d81fc58f52a6497" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://opentable.com</a> which ended up a good decision because it was packed on Saturday at 8pm and we had a party of 6. They automatically add 20% to the tip of parties 6 and up, I guess that meant our server figured she didn't have to even give descent service. The other servers that bought our food and helped us seemed nice.
They have a large beer selection, craft beers, and rotating draft selection. The Green Dragon Bar (their bar downstairs) seemed like a nice little bar to hang out with friends.
This place was ok we decided to check it out because we were next door for some amazing sushi. There are better establishments in the Old Town area in my opinion but we wanted to try it out just to say we did. The place is a bit tight for seating in the bar area. The beers are also very expensive if you want to be adventerous but in all this was not the worst place I have been too. Nothing to really stand out and make me want to go back.
Review Source:My husband and I love beer, and he fancies himself a bit of a Lord of the Rings fan... so I suppose it was inevitable that we try this restaurant, living within walking distance away.
We decided to sit at the bar, as we were not super impressed with the table to which we were led. Â Oh well, the bar is better anyhow right? Wrong.
We sat at the bar (which holds maybe 12 people max?) for 20 MINUTES before anyone looked at us to long enough to ask what we wanted. Â 50 minutes before our food order was taken, and almost 2 HOURS before we saw the food we ordered. Â The 2 poor bartenders were nice enough, but clearly swamped. Â They removed 2 beers from our bill to compensate for the dilemma with the food, which would have been fine but...
When the food actually came, it was a) cold, and b) not very delicious. Â At 20 bucks a plate, this wasn't really acceptable.
The 2 stars are for the beer selection, which admittedly, is very good. Â That being said, even in Old Town, it's hard to stomach a pint of beer at $8 a throw.
We won't be returning, and I don't recommend you do either. Â Old Town has so many other superior choices to offer at this price point... you would have better luck pretty much anywhere else.
Had to go because I'm a huge hobbit fan. When we stayed in Alexandria for a photo conference in feb I made my friends walk to this cute little pub. The food wasn't anything to write home about but the beer list was insane! Â A little sad that the decore didn't match a hobbit hole nor the Green Dragon. Oh well.
Review Source:So after a sub-par brunch at another restaurant we decided to head here for some drinks and trivia reading (all the tables have trivia cards on them that you can use to test your drinking mates trivia knowledge). Â
You can park across the street for $5...so not too bad. Â
There are always a ton of beers to choose from and the bartender is very helpful when you are trying to decide which beer you want if you are undecided.
This is one of our go to spots and I haven't been disappointed once!
An utterly charming little place that satisfies geeks and non-geeks alike. They have a varied menu, extensive beer lists, and reasonable prices. There is on-street parking or a reasonably-priced public lot across the street (always a plus in Alexandria.) The service is consistently acceptable and the ingredients fresh. I've honestly never had a bad meal here, and I've been here a bunch. Definitely one of my regular go-to experiences with friends. Try "Bilbo's Salad" ("fresh tossed romaine and field greens, julienne of apples, fresh orange slices,
caramelized walnuts and crumbled Feta cheese in a toasted walnut raspberry vinaigrette" - but ask them to go easy on the dressing lest it overwhelm the crispness of the romaine and the tart orange) or my personal favorite, the "Shire Pizza" ("shredded pulled pork, caramelized onions, parmesan, goat cheese & BBQ" - OMG SO GOOD!!!!!!!)
One word: Lackluster.
I've been here 3 times - twice upstairs in the dining room and once in the bar. It's not the best place (Chef Robert would not approve of the huge disparate menu) but it has a wide variety of foods and a bazillion beers (which, not surprisingly is what drew me and Husband to give it a try).
The times in the dining room were all right. The servers were just ok. The food was good (pizza - can't generally go wrong there), and overall it was an ok experience.
When we ate in the bar (the most recent time), I wasn't impressed with our experience at all. There's no system for letting someone know you're there to get seated, so we had to track someone down and ask for a table. That frustrates me.
I didn't even want to come here because of the ridiculous name and theme, but beer selection won out and here we came.
I went to Bilbo Baggins with two friends for a Sunday night girls dinner. We wanted some place where one us could get a light salad and the other two could get bar food. Bilbo Baggins fit the bill, and was nice for several reasons.
First of all, it was a bit off the beaten path in Old Town, so it wasn't as crowded. Second, it was modestly priced. Third, it wasn't as loud as it would have been had we visited an Irish pub or the like---since we wanted to talk and catch up, this was key.
I can't say the food was out of this world, but I had no complaints about my burger. The service was good---our server even offered to split checks for us before we asked. No complaints, and would definitely consider going back when I'm in the area.
What a random little spot in Old Town Alexandria! Â My friend had her birthday dinner here before the midnight showing of The Hobbit back in December. Â How appropriate, right? Â I admit I have not seen any of the LOTR or Hobbit movies, so I can't really say much about them. Â However this restaurant was a cool little place that had a great beer menu and quite an assortment of entrees on their menu. Â I had a couple St Bernardus beers and had the pizza that had pulled pork and goat cheese on it. Â The pizza was alright, as was the rest of the foods I tried. Â Nothing really stood out; however I am very excited about their beer list. Â I don't frequent Old Town too often, but I may put extra effort to come back here sometime.
Review Source:It was a cold raining night in Alexandria, VA ... er... Middle Earth.
Having just arrived from S. Florida (91 degrees in Feb! - ???), I wasn't in much of a mood to journey far and wide for a bite to eat.
A short $8 cab ride from Residence Inn (another Yelp review) took me to Bilbo Baggins.
As other commenters have noted, it's much bigger inside that it looks from the outside. Â Up a couple of steps, and then a dog leg left to the bar.
I'm not a drinker, so this review won't be much help in that area.
Being the "late hour" for the kitchen (closed at 10pm on a Tues. night), the bartender (uber friendly) was nice enough to run my order in before the closing bell.
A simple caesar salad (sans cheese) and tomato soup was the order of the day. Both nicely done, simple and filing fare. Â With a just brewed batch of iced-tea, the total out the door (with decent tip) was $22.00. Putting it right in line with a meal in Old Town.
Also, as mentioned in other reviews, the menu is a strange/unusual/interesting mix. Â Definitely something for everyone.
I'd recommend it as a good place to gather with friends.
Cheers!
All my life I thought I was a real dork, you know a nerdy girl, but this bar/restaurant put my nerdiness into perspective. Now I know that I may be a nerd (i.e. science geek), but this ain't my brand of geek, I could not get out of here fast enough. I can't even roll with this crowd, ambiance and horrible food.
It's not cause I don't have the attention span or interest to read the Lord of the Rings series, and may had given up on the movies by the second movie, or that I've never seen Star Wars or Star Trek or all the other movies that people tend to look at you like you have a horn growing out of your head if you haven't seen them. It's not that.
I get the theme restaurant. It's cute. This place is quirky and old. Â Nooks and crannies, painted vines all over the walls, tacky decor, a map of the Shire (nice touch), a downstairs bar with lots of locals (slightly more mature crowd) and an upstairs restaurant. I get all that.
Here's what I don't get. The food is inexcusably awful and overpriced. To add to my point, Â one of the window panes outside has the words "Romantic Atmosphere" written on it.
TOTAL FALSE ADVERTISING.
If you are a guy and  want to to take the risk of bringing a girl on a date here, you better be sure she's more into the theme than the actual food. If you're not into Lord of the Rings, and can't offer a humorous/entertaining reason why you dragged her here, your quirky date idea will backfire on you and you will be sitting upstairs under really bright unflattering lights, being served by staff in bizarre uniforms (think vests with flair) who look like they want to jump off a bridge at the end of their shift, while having some really awkward conversation over an unappetizing dinner.
Yes, the beer offerings (<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bilbobaggins.net%2Fmenus%2FBEERMENU.pdf&s=ac5796c991a6ef65f98dac4f4f11c1cf67044a64d06bff3ed8191c5aa776816b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.bilbobaggins.…</a>) here are respectable and extensive without a doubt (plenty of microbrews) but all the beer in the world will not make the food better. For example, I ordered the Gandalf's pie, it came with mozzarella, prosciutto, tomatoes, and herbs. The pizza was hard to stomach, being that there was barely any sauce or tomatoes, and just a hard to slice rubbery flour dough with covered with meat. I made it through through half a slice. The Bilbo Baggins pizza, or what us mortals refer to as Margherita pizza, had the same effect going on.
No I will not be returning to the Shire, because it was not hobbit-forming (lame pun).
Bilbo Baggins has a pretty cool interior with a Middle Earth theme. Â There is a bar, and 2 floors of seating. Â The best thing about Bilbo Baggins is the great beer selection. Â They have about a dozen on tap, and pages of bottles. Â
The food is pretty good too. Â The portabello mushroom and brie appetizer and all of the pizzas are worth trying. Â The last time I visited I got the vegetarian platter because it sounded interesting, and was pleasantly surprised by the taste and variety of foods I got. Â
Bilbo Baggins has great food and drink, but doesn't offer the best value. Â Happy hour (Mon-Thurs, 4-7) prices are great, but during other times I think you may be slightly overpaying. Â Overall, a fine choice for happy hour, or if you are looking for a decent meal and don't care too much about price.
Arrived around 10pm. Â The bar was crowded but there were several open tables in the room to the right when you walk in. Â It was a confusing whether we were to seat ourselves and as we stood there looking confused, one of the servers finally pointed us in the right direction. Â And then it got weird. Â Really weird. Â
We got drink menus from one server (male). Â Then another server (female) came over to take our order, but we weren't ready. Â Then the guy came over to take our order, and we still weren't ready. Â Then the girl came again... and then the guy... and then they started arguing, in front of us, about why the lady server was trying to take the table. Â
Ok, it was resolved, our server was the guy. Â We ordered our drinks and moved on. Â Then, after 2 rounds, the guy tells us he is leaving so we need to close out with him and we'll have the other server (points to the lady who he was fighting with) for the rest of the night. Â
Then we never got served again. Â They fought some more. Â The guy stormed out with a cigarette in his mouth. Â The lady stood there for a while and then she shut off the lights. Â Literally. Â She shut off the lights in our section.
The only perk of this situation was the bartender realized there was some drama and comped a beer when one of us went to the bar to order another drink (after ~20 minutes of not having a server). Â The bartender came over to our table and said he would take care of us from now on. Â
For a party of 4, drinking expensive beers/cocktails, there is likely going to be a nice bill & tip at the end of the night. Â But not if you split it up, service is shoddy, and there's weird fighting between the servers. Â The guy fought to take our table and then ditched halfway through, leaving us with someone who was pissed off. Â If he knew he was going to leave, he should have let the other server have our table from the start.
Maybe they're just mad about having to wear those silly vests?
Pros: The beer selection is extremely impressive. Â The only place that has a better selection is Total Beverage.
Cons: Everything is overpriced!
The food is average at best and I'm not sure how the owner hasn't realized this and done something about it. Â Granted the we were all drinking, but we are not 19 years old coming home drunk at 2am looking for anything to eat and that;s what it tasted like. Â If you are going to run a restaurant and charge that much money (even in Old Town) try serving something good. Â Maybe pick 6 or 7 dishes and perfect them.
The waitress was awful. Â Whenever we could find her, she made it seem like we were putting her out by asking for another drink or napkins. Â
We gave the place two visits, but now its time to move on. Â Bottom line is that I would not recommend this place.
Bilbo Baggins is a rather large establishment that looks much smaller from the outside. Â The bar is downstairs to your left when you walk in, and there are a couple of dining areas down here as well. Â Then you go upstairs and it opens up into what I can only assume is Bilbo's house with taller ceilings (I am pretty sure there were dwarves hiding and singing songs).
I have been here a few times, but never for brunch. Â It just so happens that we were there on a Sunday afternoon, and the brunch menu was in full effect.
I had the fried chicken biscuit with sausage gravy, and it was unbelievable. Â The chicken was seasoned and fried perfectly, the biscuit was fluffy, and the gravy was better than chocolate milk. Â Ok, that makes no sense, but no one told me that I had to. Â If this dish is offered, get it. Â It also came with a side of scrambled eggs that weren't too shabby. Â
I got to try 4 beers (In a sampler, I am not a lush, people. Â It was 1 in the afternoon!) that I have never had before, and if you know me at all, you know that this is a rare occurrence. Â It would seem that Bilbo has stepped up his game in the draft beer department. Â The Stone offering (Enjoy by 02-15-13 Double IPA) left a lot to be desired though. Â I feel like Stone should know better than to brew something that tastes like a raccoon ate a squirrel. Â Wait a minute, this isn't a review for Stone Brewing Company is it? Â I didn't think so, so why am I rambling about them? Â
Our server was very friendly, and made sure we were comfortable. Â He offered to break out his iPad for my friends 16 month olds entertainment, gave us the Wi-Fi password, and brought out a fruit plate for her to nibble on while we enjoyed the deliciousness that is Bilbo Baggins' kitchen offerings. Â
All in all it was a very pleasant dining experience. Â If you haven't been, you are missing out. Â The prices are pretty reasonable, mostly on par with what I am lead to believe are standard Alexandria prices.
I always love coming here! Any Hobbit would be happy to make Bilbo's their daily watering hole.
Food: I like Bilbo's for brunch but I have had dinner as well. The prices are on point for Old Town. The food isn't too stuffy either. I had salmon and crab cake Benedict and my wife had the Reuben. Both hit the spot! Specially the salmon and crab cake. Very will seasoned and fried to the perfect crispiness. My buddy go the fried chicken biscuit with gravy. Geeze, that was good!!! I recommend it. the Reuben was nothing special but not many Reuben's are. It met our expectations and hit the spot.
Drinks: They have diversified their draft menu quite a bit. They had a lot of good and rare beers that we were excited to try (Wookie Jack!).
Price: Right on point for Old Town.
I hate to trash a business but, food, and serviced were horrible. I ordered veal picatta (i.e. lemon sauce with capers) and got this nasty salty brown burnt sauce .I wanted to tell the waitress that it was not what I had thought from the menus description. At the same time we are looking for the waitress a roach crawled across our table. I trapped it under a glass and asked to see the manager. After 20 min. she come's up and says. I understand a little critter crawled on your table Sorry, the restaurant was exterminated yesterday so they all come up of there hiding places. All she would comp us for was dessert and nothing else, even after saying that my food was pretty awful.
yep. well never step foot in there again.
Ambiance, staff and food are all outstanding. It's a bit pricey, but everything is well made with quality ingredients. Can't remember the last time I had this enjoyable a meal from soup to nuts. Now, onto the specifics!
BEERS - They have a huge menu of draft microbrews. You can get a sample of 2, 3 or 4 small four oz. glasses to try out a bunch of 'em. The Bilbo Baggins, 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale and Jack Black Rye IPA are all excellent.
APPETIZERS / TAPAS - The variety of the menu really shines here. The Onion Soup Gratin is very tasty, and the Duck and Shiitake Spring Rolls and Maui Chicken Fingers are both delicious. Although in terms of portions, the chicken fingers are a better deal if you're going for max. quantity.
DESSERTS - Holy hell, the desserts here are GOOD. The White Chocolate Bread Pudding, the whipped cream of which our server had made himself, is practically life-altering. Although a bit lighter, the Coconut Creme Brûlée (served in an actual halved coconut) is not to be ignored.
COST - Five of us ate for $200, which included several drinks per person, appetizers, entrees AND desserts for everyone. Safe to say you could eat for $30 and still walk out stuffed to the gills.
Owner needs to take a clue. He adds a 20% gratuity to Happy Hour prices. This is an insult to the entire notion of Happy Hour. Only in wretched places like Alexandria VA and Midtown Manhattan would anyone have the gall to do this. That said, they have the best craft beer selection in town.
Review Source:As a bar with an extensive beer selection, Bilbo Baggins is spot on. I love its neighborhood feel and hideaway location away from busy King St. Happy Hour is a definite here. However as a restaurant Bilbo Baggins falls short, and we left a bit disappointed. Their layout is awkwardly broken up and dinner entrees below average for the price. We had the Seafood Platter and Cedar Planked Salmon. The seafood platter was bland, consisting of nothing more than a variety of small grilled seafood pieces, and the cilantro fries were your typical fry with very little to no cilantro flavoring. My salmon entree was better with its ginger mango sauce but the salmon itself was grilled too crispy for my taste.
Additionally there was an extremely loud and boisterous group in the adjacent section who occupied half of the downstairs dining area and prevented us from having a comfortable conversation. The group consistently used profanity and were never asked to quiet down. Giving Bilbo Baggin's the benefit of the doubt, this was during the Army Navy football game so it could have been a one night exception, but during dinner I felt like I was at the game!
When you're as big of a geek as I am, you kinda have to go over to a place named Bilbo Baggins.
The place has a very pubby feel to it, but not so much a Middle Earth inn or a nice cozy hobbit hole - more like a quiet English shop where you'd watch the match and lift a pint. Fortunately, they bring an extensive beer and wine list to go with that feel.
The food, on the other hand, I agree is kind of all over the map. Pizzas and burgers aren't shocking, but artisan salads, asian fusion tapas, mixed pickle plates? Hm.
I personally went for the smoked duck salad, which was really tasty, particularly with the tart raspberry dressing and sliced almonds, but the gruyere cheese "beignet" plate turned out to just be a huge honking slice of fried cheese - pretty disappointing when I was hoping for a few smaller, lighter, pieces. You know, like actual beignets are.
Service was extremely attentive and friendly, and I'd go back again if a friend wanted to stop in for a pint, but it's not standing out as a "Must Return" sort of place.
I've given Bilbo Baggins quite a fair share of "chances", "tries" or even "opportunities to redeem themselves," but I must be honest, the majority of the food is terrible to God awful. Â On the other hand, the beer selection is one of the best in Old Town.
What Bilbo Baggins suffers from the most, is the map,....and the fact that they are all over it when trying to define a cuisine. Â I realize they state that they are a "Global Restaurant," but in order to really do that right, you need to actually have good food of traditional quality from all over the world or else you're just another hapless fusion restaurant.
The Appetizer/Tapas menu, for example, actually does not have a real "Tapas" to be found. Â The Duck and Shiitake Spring Rolls I tried tasted as if the meat in them was at the beginning of the turning process. Â The Thai Peanut Chicken Satay were average at best, but are never served with a lime dipping sauce.
From the main menu, items like the Gnocchi Pasta with either the Alfredo or Bolognaise sauces are equally horrible, so take your pick. Â The lamb on the other hand is actually quite good, which at the number 2 highest priced item on the menu, one would hope so.
Combine these inconsistencies with the fact that bread that comes before the meal is some sort of raisin bread for pairing with everything from Asian food, pasta and seafood dishes and you get the idea of winding and twisting culinary path that we are on.
The only possibility that I can come up with is that Michael Armellino, a presumably Italian influenced chef, met and married a woman from Southeast Asia. Â What is clearer, is that Old Town has enough bad Thai and Italian restaurants that they should do neither or just one very well.
This restaurant is one of those classic examples of a much needed restaurant makeover. Â The decor is lacking and the name and theme really has no bearing on the type of food that is being sold. Â Bilbo Baggins is truly deserving of a single star if it were not for the quality beer selections. Â Go there to enjoy a good ale, dine somewhere else.
I had an amazing dinner here recently. This restaurant and bar is tucked away in Old Town Alexandria but it's worth discovering. In an area replete with tourist traps, this spot is a perfect option off the beaten path.
I started with a Crispin Natural Hard Cider (22 oz). It paired perfectly with the lamb chops, which were medium rare and quite flavorful. The ambiance here is the glue that holds great food and wonderful beer selections together. Plus, the staff is accommodating and quite knowledgeable about the menu and food pairings. This is a hidden treasure that deserves to be honored for its uniqueness and great offerings.
The beer list was fantastic, although it was in such small print that I could barely read it. Â They need to make it a foldy menu and increase their font size to at least 8.
I wish I could remember the names of the beers we had here. Â Three of us split one that cost $12, had a huge alcohol percentage and tasted INCREDIBLE. Â The biggest surprise of the night though was the gluten free beer. Â We have a friend who always gets gluten free and usually the beers she gets taste like garbage. Â But here, they had a gluten free beer available that was actually out-of-this-world delicious. Â The rest of the group was stunned upon taking a sip. Â That was at least a week ago and boyfriend and I still talk about how amazing that beer was. Â VERY rare for something that is gluten free, so if you require gluten free beers I highly recommend coming here.
This is a cute little space with a nice seeming clientele though it gets crowded REALLY fast and it becomes hard to navigate through to get to the bathroom, etc. Â From what I saw of the food options, this is not a place to get food but a great place to try some unique beers and relax.
I've been to this restaurant at least 4 times in the past 4 years and every time has been worst than the previous time. However, my latest visit 4 months ago was the last straw and I will never return to Bilbo Baggins again.
In summary, the food was mediocre but the service was HORRIBLE! The waitress had an attitude from the beginning and did not apologize for making us wait 45 MINUTES for the check because the computer system was down (not sure why it didn't occur to her to manually write up our checks) and to top it off she almost had a mental breakdown when we asked her to split the check!
Don't waste your time or money here!
Last time I was here, it was over a decade ago. I don't remember being as disappointed as I was on this most recent visit, so I can only assume that things have gone downhill here in the Shire.
The one thing I will say is that our server was really accommodating. We had a party of 14, and she offered to split everything into separate checks - all accurate and promptly dealt with at the end of the meal. She kept up with the table, making sure drinks were filled and food was getting to the table at a good pace.
The food, however, was not stellar. My pork loin was overcooked, the garlic mashed potatoes underneath under-seasoned and dry. Mashed, roasted squash was a decent choice to go along with, and probably the best thing on the plate. The baked apples served on the side contained about half a hand of sliced ginger - some in pieces as big as my little finger. Which was not really the taste treat I believe they thought it would be, but just overwhelming, and I *like* ginger.
The missus ordered a seafood salad: steamed mussels, scallops, shrimp, and crab over greens. It was so swimming in liquid that the salad greens were basically a waterlogged and nasty mess.
I think out of the entire table, the most effusive complement I personally heard given to any dish was "It's OK."
Desserts were average to poor - the fruit fritters (made with a yucca flour) that I ordered weren't fully cooked. The filling on two of them was cold and the batter partly raw and doughy.
Alas, the hobbits have decided it's better to fleece the tourist crowd. I won't be running back.
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