I decided to give this place a try cause why not? Bad move, the food here was terrible, overpriced, and the waiter was annoying/rude. Ordered tea, cheese fries, beef kabob, and cheesecake. The cheese tasted rubbery, kabob was overcooked & bland, and the cheesecake was ok at best. The best part of my meal was the tea. If you're looking for good food/dining experience this isn't the place, but if you're a hipster who likes to listen to bands no gives a shit about and need a place to hang this is the perfect place for you.
Review Source:A group of us went over this weekend at night. Â The place was practically empty except for another couple. Â There was a sign at the door for a cover charge, but there was no band there or playing. Â First, our drinks were served in dirty glasses, food stuck to the glasses. Â Â The kabob- I ordered the beef but asked if I could have half chicken but would pay the higher cost for all beef. Â They said ok, but charged me $6 extra for the chicken and would not adjust off the bill. The waitress said that they have to charge extra for substitutions. Â They have to inform you of this upon ordering! The beef was very tender but no flavor. Â The chicken was dry and nothing to speak of. Â The GYRO pizza lacked meat, it was mostly cheese. Â The waitress also brought it to us without a serving spatula to cut and pick up the slices. Â We also got tired of waiting for our bill, our waitress with the long dark hair was on what appeared to be a personal call so we had to go to the counter to get it. Â No apology for being served on dirty dishes either.
Review Source:Went here with my friends.  Place looks like a hole in the wall thrown together with odd furniture, some of it looks like it came from home.  They count on the community supplying the art and entertainment -for free.  I think they should at least provide meals to the entertainers!!!!  I was looking forward to trying the persian tea, but it arrived with dry food stuck to the  tea glasses!!!!  Our waitress also took forever to wait on us.  Looks like they need some restaurant management  training, a culinary chef and food safety lessons !
Review Source:I can't believe it took almost two years of living 5 mintues away to discover this place! My girlfriend and I were looking for something new that had live music and she stumbled upon Epicure Cafe. It's off in the corner of a stip mall, and at first we were skeptical. It has a very hippie, laid back vibe. We were there for Thursday night Open Mic night. Some of the people were great, some were not go great, but they were all entertaining. They have an open mic comedy night that we plan to check out as well.
The food... WOW. Hands down the best pizza I've found in NoVA. Unreal. We had the Ring of Fire pizza. I'm drooling now just thinking about it. Amazing is the only way to describe it. I had a greek salad that was really good too. We will be going back for sure!
I have owned several successful restaurants and worked for many more so i think i know what im talking about. Â Stayed hime and decided to order delivery
Good:
1. pleasant girl took order. Â Took a while but at least was thorough!
2. Food arrived promptly and warm
3. Cheeseburger was cooked right and was above average. Â Fries were
  Hot but generic.  Came with ketchup without having to ask so a plus.
Average:
1. Price was acceptable but a bit high for what you get.
2. The fries
3. Mozzarella sticks were typical Sysco brand or bought from outside.
  a bit salty and bland.  Recommend buying a better quality pre made Â
  Sysco Imperial or Anchor product.  Marinara was warm and decent.
Bad:
1. Ketchup was a watered down restaurant Depot brand called Fancy
  Chef.  This is a generic brand Delia's buy from Restaurant Depot and
  to me is an indication of cheapness.  What owner doesn't realize is
  although its cheaper per packet, you have to use 3x as much.  This
  Is a huge pet peeve of mine.  Spring a few extra cents for Hunts or
  Heinz.
Awful:
1. I'm a big wing person and have tried them all and everywhere. Â These
  were easily the WORST EVER.  These should not be offered for
  human consumption.  They came looking pale, barely any buffalo
  sauce(which was some generic brand as well) and worst part tasted
  like ass.  Bad smelling and stinky rotten smelling.
There you have it. Â I only commented on what I experienced but not a good overall indication. Â My advice to the owner is make the upgrades in the quality you are buying in and take the wings off of the menu ASAP.
Try them if you think I'm exaggerating!!
I have to give major props to the ownership of this place for caring for their customers, and also caring for the way the Yelp community perceives them. After my earlier review, I was contacted by the ownership. They wanted nothing more than to make my poor experience right, and apologized for the errors with my previous delivery order. People make mistakes, and owning up to them is great to see in modern business/restaurant culture.
I am so happy to see a business actually care about each and EVERY one of their patrons; I will continue to patronize epicure cafe solely because I know they care about making sure my time and money are well-spent..
I have been wanting to visit this place for awhile but never got around to it.
Its a really cute place.
And they have live bands playing after 8 pm.
My friend and I tried the summer trio with three different white wines and the chicken kabob.
Everything was really good and the summer trio was just right.
If you check in with Yelp you get 20% off your bill when it's $50 and over.
Had an unexpectedly great Saturday evening at Epicure Cafe. Â When I came in at 9pm, the place was fairly quiet -- a little live music, maybe 10-15 patrons. Â I sat down and ordered a flight of wine and Haleem Bademjan, a dish of "mashed beef, with fried eggplants, mashed with onions, garlic, mint, and lentils, toped[sic] with and seasoned with sauteed onions. Includes a side of buttered pita." Â Service was good and friendly.
My dinner was pretty good, though I would have liked slightly more onions and garlic to balance; the "mash" was underseasoned, but the roasted veggies offset that.
The wines were pretty good too.
As I started to eat, about 40 people entered the restaurant holding a giant cake and singing Happy Birthday! Â Gus, the owner, was working on his birthday and a huge crew of people came to celebrate at Epicure. Â It was pretty cool to witness some of his family and a lot of regulars come through and have a little celebration.
That really livened up the place. Â More people started rotating in and out playing music, and though none of them would have made them past Simon Cowell, the music selections were for the most part well considered and entertaining. Â
After eating I went just outside and had a Vanilla Hookah. Â I haven't smoked shisha since I was in Ras-Al-Khaimah in the UAE, and it was really nice with another glass of wine. Â I mostly got some work done on my laptop, but chatted up a few people there as well -- a very friendly, though geeky/nerdy, crowd. (I fit right in.)
With three glasses of wine, hookah, food and a beer for one of the musicians, my bill before tip came out to $60. Â Though seemingly pricey, I found that to be pretty reasonable for the 3 and a half hours I spent there. Â Plus I got a slice of cake... :-)
Overall a really nice night, plus the weather was unexpectedly cool and calm for July in DC, which added to the great experience. Â I'll be back -- Happy Birthday Gus!
Review for Tuesday night comedy @ 8 only: I really wanted to love this place as a go-to for entertainment because I do love most open mic. It has a lot of potential and good qualities: convenient local location, nonpretentious, low-key, artsy atmosphere, and a robust menu with lots of appealing options and drinks, very sweet owners and good service, and its even a surprisingly very lively, busy, well frequented place both times I've come here. Â
Unfortunately, I found the comedians pretty sub-par both times. Though stated as PG-13, its most definitely not. Best way to describe the experience is... awkward and bad.
I understand its amateur stand up but when 98% of every single skit is about dirty, potty humor (crude butt, poop and anatomy) jokes it can get old quick. I embarrassed myself royally by making the mistake of bringing my older aunt here and she was really uncomfortable. Best suited for an immature, high school or young college-age crowd. One comic called his drug dealer on the phone while another made an obscene "joke" just as a 11 year old girl walked into the cafe. No one was laughing in the room. Just people looking down at the ground awkwardly through many of them. We're not uptight and I appreciate them for getting out there and trying but a majority of the stand up here is just painfully uncomfortable, both for them and for the audience and makes it hard to want to come back for entertainment.
I have been here once a week with friends in the past few months, as a newbie to the Fairfax area. Â Last night, I went there with a couple of friends and we ordered hookah and some food. Â I ordered the Chicken Souvlaki Wrap with fries, which I thought was ok. Â Everyone else just ordered the tzatziki sauce dip with pita bread and fries. Â Later that night, I started to feel queasy and started throwing up in the middle of the night into the morning and then the next day as well. Â My hypothesis is that the chicken had to be contaminated with some food-borne contaminant and so I got food poisoning!
All in all, I do like the intimate atmosphere of this place, that they offer hookah, and the fact that local musicians and other artists have a platform to express themselves. Â However, I will never eat here again. Â
I feel that perhaps this is a rare case, but in any case, Epicure Cafe needs to revisit their sanitary guidelines with their staff to ensure a more safe food offering to their customers.
******************************************
Epicure has responded to me with great concern with the following message and even offered a voucher for the future. Â I can understand that the food poisoning was a one-time fluke and they do take great care to use careful sanitation guidelines in the kitchen. Â Thanks for the acknowledgement Epicure! Â It shows that you really care about your customers!
Epicure's message to me below:
"We are very sorry to hear that you've had a negative experience at our restaurant.
We really appreciate you informing us about this issue. Â Since your review, we have taken several measures in investigating our food safety measures and what may have gone wrong. Â And since the review, we have taken further precautions in focusing more and more on sanitation in our kitchen.
As per our investigation, on April 30th, which we believe is the day of your visit, we sold 17 Chicken Souvlaki sandwiches, as well as many more dishes otherwise containing chicken. Â We have not, however, received any other customer reports regarding food poisoning from that day or any other day up until now. Â Had you ever had our Chicken Souvlaki before? Â Since no other cases have been reported to us, it is a possibility, perhaps, that your reaction could have been an allergy to our seasonings on the chicken or to an ingredient in our tzaziki sauce - vomiting is also a symptom to some food allergies.
Again, we are very sorry about your experience, and would like to provide you with a $50 gift certificate to our establishment as a token of our apology. Â Simply provide us with your email or phone number or walk in to claim it. Â We hope to hear from you at your convenience. "
Sincerely,
Epicure Cafe Management
<a href="mailto:cafe.epicure@gmail.com">cafe.epicure@gmail.com</a>
703 352 9193
I give this venue 3 stars because it has a modest balance of quality, variety, price, service, and friendly (family) owners. I also like how they offer delivery. The main drawback of this place is the fact that they have a very open policy about who is able to sign up for their nightly open mic events, whether it be comedians, musicians, karaoke, etc. This means that on any given night, you could walk in on some very untalented folks; an unfunny group of comedians (in my experience), and forcibly have this be part of your dining/hangout experience. There is really no guarantee here. The only possible solution to this would be for the owners to have the customers regularly review the entertainers' performances to try and maintain some level of quality. If you are OK with this, and are perhaps very open minded, then this may not bother you at all. Otherwise, try and call in and get an idea of what is happening that night in advance.
Review Source:I've been here a few times with my coworkers, and everyone is a fan. I should mention that I had to sweet-talk this crowd out of Buffalo Wing University and over to Epicure one night, and I think the collective first reaction was, "What is this hippie [nonsense]? What kind of music is this? Where are the flatscreens... how am I supposed to watch the game?"
Well, it's been a few pizzas since then... and now these guys won't go anywhere else! It's always, "Hey, let's go to Epicure!" Also, Mojdeh has clearly gone out of her way to learn our favorite dishes and drinks. That's worth a lot of points for someone like me.
Overall, I'm really glad to have found the place! What a sweet spot to unwind and catch some live music after work... I just can't wait until it warms up a bit more for hookah :-)
Yea, this place is worth going to. It's pretty intimate, so make sure you expect that, otherwise it might throw off your whole night.
It's easy to make friends with everyone there, the atmosphere is pretty social. It definitely helps that have hookah outside too.
They have a brand new menu, which is pretty cool. It's hand written on an album, like slices of pizza, and all have clever names.
As a venue, they have a good sound system set up. I played an open mic, and I had zero trouble getting mic'd and amped. There are also some regulars looking to jump in and be 'a part of it all' - so you might even get a sound guy to do it for you.
Audience has been really open to every level of player - with almost no stress. Come get your first time performance experience. Seriously though, and meet some people who want to jam.
I've been to Epicure several times now and I have to say it's a unique place to hang out during the late night evenings. But let me share with you my first experience or my attempt to have an experience there... I found Epicure using Yelp and the listed hours said mon-fri 11am-2am. So this one Tuesday night my brother and I decided to meet up with some friends at Epicure. Come to find out the restaurant did not live up to it's opening hours. We arrived there around 9ishpm/10ish pm and Epicure was closed... I'm not sure why they were closed around 10 when they say they are open  til 2am but incident did not prevent me from trying to visit them again. Also just a warning: CALL Before actually going there. Haha make sure that they are open!
OK, so after that tiny fiasco I've been going to Epicure and so far I am REALLY liking it. NOVA needs more places like this. It's nice,chill, laid-back place to meet up with friends, have some coffee, dessert, listen to free live music and hookah.
Look and Design:
Epicure was hard to spot when I was trying to find it but it's located at the very end of a strip mall. Ambiance was relaxed and I felt like I was in one of those "hipster" coffee places. Epicure had art hanging on the walls which were made by local artists and I truly appreciated that. I can totally see that Epicure involved the local community because it featured local art and local music artists. As far as the size and layout of the restaurant: small but tables were carefully laid out. Â Easy flow. There is outdoor seating where the hookah happens.
Hookah:
Epicure was the first place where I tried hookah and I had a great experience. Although I haven't tried other hookah places, Epicure made a good impression. Prices are affordable and they had a variety of flavors.
Service:
The Staff was very friendly and very laid back. I caught the waitress chatting with other customers but she was always attentive and checked up on our table.
Food:
I can only comment on the coffee and desserts because my experiences there happened during late evenings and after dinner. Baklava was really good, not extraordinary but very tasty. The chocolate cake with the ice cream was VERY Good. I totally re comment that, especially to chocolate lovers. Then another dessert that I tried was a cold rice pudding. It was very different but tasted something I never had before which was nice. It was unique! Coffee was also very good. I have to say that their coffee is better than some "chain" coffee places LOL. It was smooth and not very acidic.
Entertainment:
My friends and I really enjoyed the live music. Although it wasn't the type of music that we normally listen to, it was still pleasant and we love live entertainment... it adds to the ambiance of the cafe.
OVERALL, Epicure is my go-to hang out place for late night coffee dates and desserts. Also it's not a bad place for hookah either, especially with it's affordable prices. I look forward in trying out the rest fo the menu!
If 3.5 stars was an option, I'd give Epicure 3.5 stars but just because I support this place and want to see its following (and menu/events, etc.) grow, I'll give it 4.
We came here because we were looking for a good local coffee shop/cafe place that had a good atmosphere and good lighting and working, reliable Wifi (ESSENTIAL). And wasn't too far away. Jamie's General Bean has been closed in my area for a while and while I love Vienna's Soundry, but it's a bit of a distance for me.
When I first walked in, my first thought was: "WHY AREN"T THERE MORE PEOPLE HERE?!" i.e. this place is so cute! so charming! so welcoming! I spent a good minute or two just taking in the decor and overall vibe of the place.
They've got a friendly sense of humor (on the artwork: "Don't touch us! We bite.") just in the way they present themselves. The windows are painted into a faux-housefront? and there are art pieces on the walls. Musical instruments and sound gear are situated around the front area of the cafe and the chalkboards invite you to join in on their open mics or live music (I would LOVE to come back to check out these live events).
We came during the middle of the day, and there was only one other pair of people in the cafe. The service was very prompt and friendly (although it took me a sec to realize this wasn't a Caribou/Panera/Potbelly type of joint where you order the food and get it at the counter; there is table service) and they didn't seem to mind us doing work on our laptops (although--I hope they address this if it's an ongoing problem--the internet went out after about an hour. Otherwise I would have stayed for tea and baklava!!!).
We got the kookoo sabzi sandwich/sub which was DELICIOUS (to my surprise--I don't usually expect much from subs). Although the menu was limited, I did appreciate the few vegetarian options. What I would really want to see for this cafe is a little more offerings for the vegetarian/healthy crowd and more drinks!!! The only drinks that I remember seeing on the menu was one type of coffee and Persian tea. It's not a coffee shop, yes, but every good meal should come with a good (not necessarily alcoholic) drink, yes?
Overall I love the international, artsy, community atmosphere and will definitely be back to crank out some papers or job apps :O)
I came in for lunch on a Saturday afternoon just after 1PM. I ate in and ordered a chicken souvlaki platter and a glass of water. Â It came with a salad, which was served first. The salad was OK. The plate itself, which was served later, consisted of slices of pita bread, chicken souvlaki, and fries with a little cup of yogurt sauce and another little cup of some kind of cheese. Â The food itself was well made but about what I would expect for a $12 item. Â The service was very good (I was also the only one in the restaurant at the time, so this may not be indicative). Â As I left I ordered a baklava to go. Â I'm very much a fan of good baklava so I had to try it. Â I went home and ate it there. Â It was quite good though not as great as I'm used to getting from another restaurant I frequent. Â Overall, I think it's worthy of 3.5 stars. Â It was good food, but I'm not sure it's worth the price. Â I do think I'll come back here again some other time to try something else, though.
Review Source:I have been coming to Epicure for several months now and I have to say it never disappoints. They offer the best pizza in the area and the reasons you must go and check it out don't stop there.
Drinks:
Epicure offers several good beers on tap in addition to a lovely wine menu. The best part is that on Sunday afternoons they offer terribly underadvertised  unlimited mimosas for $10! For those wishing to pass on the alcohol, they also offer wonderful Persian tea as well as coffee.
Food:
I hear their sandwiches are  to die for, but as a vegetarian I have found many other delicious options including roasted vegetables, a vegetarian sandwich, and delicious Greek pizza (but I have them hold the gyro meat). They are eager to accommodate and alterations to menu items they offer. In addition to delicious sandwiches and pizza, they offer a number of traditional Persian dishes including Kookoo Sabzi (delicious!) and yummy baklava.
Smoking:
They offer delicious hookah on the patio, where many people congregate in the evenings for cigarettes and shisha.
Atmosphere:
Fun, friendly, and classy. Many evenings there is live music (no, not just weekends, either), open mics, and stand-up comedy. Basically, whenever you choose to go there's likely to be something going on. They get some fantastic indie and folk singers. The people there are mixed, but all friendly. I've never had a bad experience. Although they offer hookah, the hipster highschoolers seem to steer clear, which is a definite plus. They also have art exhibits going on all the time, which are always changing and fun to check out.
Bottom line: Epicure is an absolute must. Fun atmosphere, friendly service, and fantastic food. What's not to love?
I'm sure some fans of this place will feel that my extremely negative feelings about this place don't belong on a review site, but if I feel negatively, it is because of how I was treated there and by the owner himself. Â What happened to me could happen to anyone else, and indeed probably has.
I have been running a social club that meets in a different restaurant each week. Â The restaurants I choose to use are meticulously selected and I keep records of any and all negative experiences among my 150 members. Â
Most of the restaurants I've chosen to file YELP reports on have represented the very best my club has to offer, but that's not the case for this restaurant. Â This report is going up because of the behavior of the owner.
The very last time my club met there, we did as we had been doing for months, meeting there for drinks and dessert after dining at the Bombay Cafe a few doors over. Â When we first began doing this, the owner was happy to have us as he had little to no business. Â He had neglected to tell us that with business picking up, he no longer appreciated having us only order drinks and desserts.
He knew I was in charge of my group because he and I had spoken on previous occasions, but the night that he pissed me off, he chose to speak to one of the youngest members of my club, a polite and shy 22 year old. Â He asked the 22 year old to take the matter up with me. Â I should not have to tell anyone reading this that this was not the smartest thing he could have done. Â He could have asked him to ask me to leave the table to talk to him. Â That would have been okay. Â By making the 22 year old uncomfortable, he ensured that the 22 year old instead never once returned to our table, and that is the sort of interference I don't take kindly to.
When checking out at the end of the evening, the owner spoke to me in a hostile manner and told me that I am not to return unless I am ordering actual food. Â He went on to tell me that I am not to eat at the Bombay before coming to his restaurant. Â
The last straw for me, was when the owner of the Epicure Cafe added "I hate that place!" and went on to say that the Bombay Cafe serves "leftovers", which I do not believe. Â It is a libelous comment and it really turned me off to ever returning to the Epicure Cafe. Â To be fair though I did share this with the members of my club and asked if they wished to give the Epicure a chance. Â Though some considered it, the majority felt that the owner's hostility and libelous comments regarding one of our favorite venues was reason enough to never return. Â
We now instead use "Fat Tuesdays" at University Mall. Â They also offer food, and I've ordered food there late at night and enjoyed it. Â Mostly we go there for drinks though. Â (Be sure to see my favorable review of Fat Tuesdays)
Update June 10, 2011: Â The owner's daughter has issued a comment that we only ordered tap water. Â At least a couple of us ordered Baklava, and most of us ordered coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Â They also claim that we occupied a table for fourteen, which is absurd because we've *never* even had a group of 14 at the Bombay Cafe. Â I can prove this because I keep meticulous records of turnouts.
I have just checked my meticulous records and discovered that this incident actually took place on March 24, 2011. Â A total of 8 people attended the Bombay meeting, and a still smaller number joined us at the Epicure. Â As for "Soliciting", I did discuss the nature of my weekly dinner club with one of the performers. Â She's joined the club, friended me on Facebook, and I dare say she will also vouch for me that she was present when I *paid* at the register. Â
Yes! I *paid* for the foods and drinks that I'm falsely accused of not having ordered. Â I did not even pay for the entire table, my end alone came to $28.93 according to my Visa credit card statement. Â Since the Epicure is claiming I didn't do so, I suppose they won't mind if I contest the charge on my credit card? Â Oh, wait! Â I can't do that! Â I'M HONEST! ;-)
Please see this screenshot of my CC statement:
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftinyurl.com%2FEpicureLies&s=bab9c94af56508947e098b1b52420bec91961d68ecda5b527bb263a7e26bf845" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://tinyurl.com/Epicu…</a>
This pathetic attempt to justify her father's actions will be rewarded by further witnessing against her father's establishment by other members of my club who ordered food there that evening. Â I'm posting a copy of this to the community page. I'm sure that at least a few people will be upset to be labeled as loiterers. Â
It would have been better to own up and apologize than to make still more libelous claims. Â I'd not yet told the owner of the Bombay what the owner of the Epicure said about the quality of the food he serves, but now I probably will.
I feel the owner's actions were unprofessional. Â Who wants to be told they did not eat enough and that they are unwelcome to return? Â Honestly, if this is their policy, then they need to post a sign on their door!
I cannot see how their provably false statements are going to improve the reputation of the Epicure.
BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER. The chick who was working that night was acting as a server to everyone in the entire restaurant last Friday night. She looked pretty frazzled at some points, as it was pretty packed but she was still really polite and upbeat. It was really the best service I feel like I have ever gotten. In my entire life. The hookah was good, the food was good, and the live music was good. If you live in the area, this would be a great place to chill in the summer, especially since you have to smoke hookah outside and it started to get chilly at night. Haha. I LOVE THIS PLACE. Wish I didn't live so far away. :[
Also, the place is pretty small so it's better for smaller groups of people--and it fills up fast!
I really enjoyed Epicure Cafe. Â I came here on a Tuesday night with my wife. Â We were hungry and were looking for some good food. Â In reading the other reviews, I expected this place to be filled with people. Â There were three other patrons in addition to us. Â The restaurant was eerily quiet, but I think that is because people were studying more than anything else.
I ordered the Epicure Pizza while the wife ordered the Gyro platter. Â My pizza was delicious! Â The crust was just perfect and the flavors of all the toppings was just right. Â When the Gyro platter came out, I was pleasantly surprise to not see a gyro in its usual form. Â Instead the gyro meat was cut up and on top of pita strips. Â The gyro sauce was on the side. Â Even in this form, it was mighty delicious.
One thing to mention is that I used a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2FRestaurant.com&s=0aab4cbd731f3d3b0d1453050d3abc56a8c80bd214e25469c7555b750dca8a51" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://Restaurant.com</a> certificate. Â They were great about it, but I did not like that the tip was included in our bill. Â I hate when restaurants do that and would have preferred if they let me decide how much I want to tip. Â Either way, I would have tipped them properly on the cost of the food before the certificate.
I told my wife that we definitely will be coming back to this place, maybe on a Saturday, as they have live music on Saturday night.
Epicure Café is a dream-come-true tucked into the corner of a stripmall. WIth it's late hours (until 3AM every night but Sunday!), tasty and reasonably priced food and drink, cute café atmosphere, and friendly employees, I could come here almost every night of the week. The pizza and the baklava are standout items on the menu thus far, but I'm sure I'll quickly discover new favorites. No need to go to IHOP or Denny's ALL the time -- Epicure is the best place to come for a late-night snack (and beer!) with your friends.
Review Source:I got the chicken souvlaki and it was awesome (especially the pita)! Everyone's food looked amazing, and everyone seemed happy with their choices. The atmosphere is charming and comfortable... the staff is helpful and very friendly. They're also open late, have plenty of outlets, and a student discount. Can't beat it! Will definitely be back. :D
Review Source:Sometimes, it takes a series of random events mixed with pure luck to find a random, good restaurant. Well, this was as random night as any. After a variety of motor vehicle issues had me pushing a scooter 3 quarters of a mile (don't ask), it was late in the night on a random weeknight and The Other Half and Iwere tired and hungry. We hopped in the car with no particular plan, and off we went to ... well, find something that's open.
A couple of turns led us to a shopping plaza off of Route 29 and being in an adventurous mood we parked right in front of a storefront that read "Epicure" and whose neon "Open" sign was still lit. In we went, not even knowing what they served.
To our delight, we realized we had stumbled upon a 1 month old eatery run by a very nice Persian man. The menu ranged from an assortment of sandwiches to pastas to coffees/teas to tap beer to desserts like baklava. I ordered a meatball parm, The Other Half went with a chicken parm, and to round out the meal we got a large order of baklava and 2 sodas.
The meals clearly were custom made, as we were the only patrons, and everything was surprisingly fresh. While I would have settled for anything even warm and tasty at this time of night, my meatball parm featured homemade, moist meatballs on a soft bread, while the chicken parm had big, moist pieces of grilled chicken breast. That's right, not processed, breaded and deep fried "chicken," but big juicy pieces of good ole chicken. Our meals came with fries, also, which was a nice touch. And at $6 per order, it was even a great deal.
A couple of other things take this place from just OK to awesome. First, they're open late (until 3AM). Nice. Second, they offer beer on tap -- unusual for a mom and pop hoagie shop in this part of town. Third, they serve as a venue for free live music, Â something that's been glaringly missing in eateries west of Vienna, VA.
It's no secret, then, that I say: if you're up late and are up for some hoagies and beer in the whereabouts of Lee Highway and Route 50, then head on over to Epicure and grab yourself a bite. The baklava ain't bad, either!
I returned to Epicure this past Saturday and had a great and very relaxing night. I came around 10 PM, which is a hit or miss in terms of crowds. That particular night, we missed the crowd which was quite alright since of the 6 of us there, including the performing artist, 3 of us knew each other and ended up becoming friends with the other 3 by 2 AM. Oh yeah! Epicure has extended their hours to 3 AM! Sweet! Is there even another place like this in Fairfax? I think not.
With free wi-fi, free acoustic music, and pleasant, sociable people around, I would totally swing by here to hang out at night. After talking to our new friends, I think the general consensus is that Epicure could use some comfy seating. I think if they had more coffee/tea and desert options, that would make my night perfect.
p.s. Like others have said, the pizza is good.
Apparently, they have live music here every Saturday. Â And no cover! Â Just went yesterday and had a really fun time. Â I've been looking for a local place that I can drink and relax without having to go to DC or Arlington. Â I didn't eat since I came here after dinner, but there were a lot of people eating and it looked pretty good.
Also, the prices were pretty awesome. Â Beers for around $3 and wine for around $5. Â Also, since this place is primarily a Cafe/Deli type place during the day, the food prices are really cheap compared to what you'd normally have to spend at a regular bar.
Oh, another plus - they support local musicians and artists/photographers. Â It's cool to walk around the cafe and see all the pictures.
Minus 1 star because they don't have liquor. Â But chilling with a glass of wine ain't too bad. Â Might be my new go to spot on Saturday nights when I'm too lazy to go to DC.
What a little gem! Â The atmosphere is cozy and intimate, with wonderful work from local artists on display. Â The food was excellent- I highly recommend the pizzas and greek salad with gyro meat. Â It's nice to find a local cafe that serves beer and wine along with cafe fare and acoustic music.
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