Lion & Bull: You're added to my rotation - it's a very sollid three stars based on a single visit. Â The four of us entered just after opening on a Saturday and were the only lunch customers besides some barflies. Â A friend's advice led us here - we were definitely not disappointed. Â The menu is robust, the service was friendly and the environment was fine. Â Overall a very welcoming experience. Â We'll be back. Â On to the substance:
The fried dill pickles were crisp, well seasoned and plentiful - all enjoyed. Â One of our younger party members had the hummus and pita. Â The hummus was served generously and the pitas warm, but between warmed and toasted - which resulted in some brittle wedges, but it was good. Â
The jumbalaya over pasta was very well liked - the shrimp fresh, the chicken roasted but not overdone, and the andouille spicy, plentiful, and cooked well. Â The jumbalaya was well liked but not finished - heavy duty. Â Less a jumbalaya - more a creamy pasta when served a ala penne.
The Santa Fe Salad was also very good. Â Served in a tostada that appeared to be fresh, the salad was not large, but by the end very satisfying. Â Spicy and well roasted blackened chicken, bacon, corn, beans, lots of stuff to keep you busy as well as dollops of sour cream and guac (albeit fakey). Â It was VERY good and worth the price of $11.
From a younger reviewer: Â the hummus plate was 4 stars, the fried chicken tenders were a solid 4 as well, the variety of sauces offered was welcomed.
Another younger reviewer found the Cobb Salad outstanding - veggies were crisp and fresh, the chicken plenty, overall for her it was A-OK - 3 stars.
Surely this place is much busier at night, and the complaints from othes about poor service surely applies more to that time - during the day the service was top-notch. Â
We enjoyed it very much, and given another visit like this we'd up a star.
I've been here quite a few times and it's always a different experience, hence the 3 stars. In the summer on a nice night, it's crowded and noisy, on the verge of rowdy. In the summer for lunch, it's dead. But, the food is decent and they have a good range of menu items.
Brunch is okay, too, but nothing special. On one brunch occasion though, the waitress went out of her way to accommodate my very health-conscious friend by modifying her meal (we were her only table, but still nice, even though she was clearly hungover).
Not sure if they still do this, but in the summer they have set up a water pong table outside. Which is cool if you're in your early 20s, I guess.
Anyway, I usually get a sandwich and a beer if I'm going to eat here. I think the prices are decent, the atmosphere is just unpredictable.
We arrived last night a little before 7 prm. I ordered a Sierra Nevada from on tap. The servers name was Lauryn. She was pleasant, Â but not overbearing. Lauryn told me the list of beers they had. When I asked her which Sierra Nevada beer they had, she let me know that it was the flagship Pale Ale.
My wife ordered a hamburger, wrapped in lettuce. She also had sweet potato fries, and like myself requested a kosher dill pickle on the side. I had the Cuban sandwich and the regular fries. My food was good and hot. Both of our meals came relatively quickly. Mine was tasty, but not out of this world. For the price it was a nice meal. That is why we have been back to this spot a few times.
The service was quite good, and I left a 20% tip.
The restaurant seemed to be getting busier during our tenure there. It seems like a popular local hangout. I did note that the "Quiet area" was empty when we were leaving. The place had the feeling of a pub, so this didn't surprise me.
We will eat there again when we're up that way.
Only went for drinks with a friend who lives locally. The band that was playing (used to be Smylin Jack) weren't bad so that was fun but our Patron margarita's were made very poorly. Asked for Grand Marnier in them but she brought shots instead because they couldn't add it in??? Say what? Not sure they have heard of 'top shelf'. We sent them back because you could not taste a hint of tequila and they were ridiculously sweet. So out come others that now had the Grand Marnier in them because now for some reason they could add it. Still to much BAD mixer but we gave up. The charge of $19 each was preposterous for how poorly they made. After the reviews I read and the disappointing, ridiculously priced margarita, I chose not to eat. May have been the band that drew this crowd but it was not an attractive collection of men and women. I'm married but still appreciate attractive people and there was not one, other than the girlfriend I was there with. I will not be going back. For drinks on a Friday night, there are many other places that serve great drinks, decent bar food, and have attractive patrons.
Review Source:Kinda cool neighborhood pub / restaurant / Â bar / night club. The time of the day you are there determines your experience. Â So far, I can only rate the night club portion. Great band played on 19 Nov. Â Plenty of wait and bar service and all real nice. Â Beer was ok but need better/more selections. Â Looking forward to trying it out again during the restaurant / pub / bar times.
Review Source:I've been wanting to check out this place for a while, and I have to say, I was fairly disappointed. We went about 6 pm and were seated in the quiet area. The bar section was hopping and it was clear that the attention and interest was on that side of the restaurant.
Our waitress was very sweet and helpful, but the food disappointed. The hummus came out with some pitas that were undercooked, some as brittle as a tortilla chip, and others fresh and just right.
I ordered a steak salad, meat cooked medium rare. When the salad came out, it was an unappetizing mess, with half the cucumbers gelatinous and mostly liquid. The greens were similarly old and unappetizing and the plate had pinkish/purplish liquid all over it. And the steak? Coked well done and so tough I could barely cut it. It took fifteen or more minutes to get the waitress back, by which point I was annoyed, and my companions were finished with their dinners.
I asked for the salad, which I hadn't even taken a bite of, to be removed from the bill. The waitress asked if there was anything else she could get me, but I declined.
The manager came out and chit chatted with the only other occupied table in the quiet section for another fifteen minutes, while we waited for our check to be brought. He didn't so much as glance at us, even as we tried to flag him down to explain the situation. This occupied table? the very next one over.
I've never had an instance where the manager has not come by to see what the problem was. As our waitress processed our check, I could hear her talking to another official-looking man in a white button down, and pointing us out, but nobody came over.
As we left, both managerial sorts were over at the bar side. It seems it didn't matter that I left hungry. A simple 1 minute conversation might have convinced me to come back, but after this experience, I'll pass.
Caveat: We were here later in the evening, on a rainy Sunday night, so this may change with a different visit.
Our server was fairly clueless as to what beers were on tap, and they had run out of a lot of food, although this was due, they said, to having had a really packed place earlier in the evening. Service was fairly attentive otherwise, although the kitchen had a hard time coordinating getting the entire table (only 3 of us, mind you) served at the same time.
Highlights of the meal included the crab cakes, which were delicious and very crabby, and the sweet potato fries. Lowlights were the fact that the French Onion sandwich was served missing the horseradish sauce (which was promptly delivered after requested,) and some of the food was extremely salty.
I would definitely give it a second try, but just be careful trying to get a complete meal after there's been a big sports event, you may not get the best service.
Unfortunately I was not "Yelp"-friendly when L&B first opened, because my experiences in the last few months have been utterly disappointing compared to when L&B opened. Â We'd been hoping they were flukes - apparently not.
The experienced waiter who greeted/seated us last night was great - unfortunately, he was quickly replaced by a girl I can only hope was brand new because if not, I suspect she won't last long. Â When asked questions about items on the menu, she looked almost annoyed by the questions and replied, "I don't know". Â I'd expect a response more along the lines of, "I'm not sure but let me find out for you". Â We both ordered an entree with the accompanying side salad, yet she only asked one of us if we wanted the salad prior to or with the meal. Â My date answered, "Before the meal" yet both salads came out at EXACTLY THE SAME TIME as the entree, additionally annoying because there was barely enough table space to fit all the plates. Â But wait, there's more... my salad came without dressing. Â Not just light dressing, but none at all. Â At this point, our glasses of iced tea had also been empty for at least 5 minutes so I figured I'd just wait until someone came back. Â Except... no one came back. Â We couldn't even get the waitress to make eye contact. Â There were only four tables seated at the time so I'm not sure what was keeping her so busy. Â
Exasperated but hungry, we began eating and realized two things: Â He ordered the fish and chips, but received the fish sandwich... and I had ordered quite possibly the most bland and expensive bowl of Jambalaya on the face of the earth. Â Considering it's one of the most expensive items on their menu, I expected something more than 4 thin slices of sausage, 4 shrimp and 4 pieces of chicken about the size of a nickel on top of what was probably 20 pieces of penne. Â OUCH.
We continued to try to get the waitress' attention as we ate, and finally gave up and went out to ask the bartender for help. Â We know the bartender is top notch from previous experience - unfortunately, even she can not save this review. Â Soon, my salad dressing arrived, and the waitress asked as if surprised, "Oh! Â Did you want refills on the iced tea too?" Â ARGH!
I doubt I'd ever go back unless I read reviews indicating that the place has adjusted their menu/prices and upgraded their wait staff. Â The owner is friendly and helpful when he's there, but he can't be around all the time and I fear the dining experience suffers greatly as a result.
Delightful. We arrived for an early dinner around 3:30pm on a weekday. We expected it to be a noisy pub with pub food and were prepared to leave after we looked at the menu.  ( note to owners, post a menu outside in the window for dinner diners) Not only did they have some pub food, they  also had a full dinner menu that was available at that early hour.
Dining was in a seperate area from the pub ( although you could sit in the pub if you prefered) and it was pleasant and quiet, with no noisy drunks to deal. We were delighted.
Best service we have had in northern virginia! Prompt, attentive and not intusive and throughly delightful. Ask your server to explain where the name comes from!
Dinner was also a pleasant surprize...well cooked, above average meals. I had risotto & monk fish ( the days special), my husband had a salmon dish. Both were ample, but not grossly large. My husband even commented that at first glance he felt the portion was small but by the time he was finished he said it was the perfect size. They came with some wonderful fresh hot rolls that were in 3 flavors, an interesting change from the boring plain ones you get most places. They were, if I remember correctly...pumperknickel, plain and rosemary maybe...not sure on the last one. They were promptly refilled upon request and delicious. Salads were fresh and in choices of Ceasar or standard.
Dessert was fabulous! Large enough to share, if you can still do that after you have taken your first bite.
Prices were within reason for a interesting dinner, not over priced as one reviewer mentioned. I don't know where he had been eating but $50 for 2 adults, no alcohol is resonable, IMHO. Â If you want a cheap dinner that tastes like every other cheap dinner, then go to Applebees, Ruby Tuesdays, Chili's...you name it, there are lots of them! For something more interesting, you pay a little more.
Memorable dinner, will visit again and again!
Visited the Lion & Bull this past weekend - this is the first time I've returned since the debacle of opening night - outlined in my previous review.
It was the evening of the great Snowstorm of January 2010 - I arrived around 7:00 pm and grabbed a seat at the bar. Was greeted by a very nice young lady tending bar. I snagged a menu and then ordered their Nachos Amigos - with chili and guacamole, plus a glass of water and a glass of Shock Top Belgian White.
The Nachos were somewhat disappointing - I can't quite put my finger on it - but the chili had an overly strong flavor - like too much cumin, or something. The guacamole tasted like some sort of processed product - not a fresh made guac. The Salsa was also not very good.
The Shock Top is somewhat similar to Blue Moon IMHO. but not quite as good. I was disappointed to find out that it is an Anheuser Busch product. After that, I had two pints of Smithwick's - which was better. Beer selection overall appears to be the run-of-the-mill beers - nothing cool or unusual.
L&B get 3 stars this time - but only due to the efforts of my bartender - she was a personable, fun, interesting person to chat with.
1 star for the Nachos
5 stars for the bartender
It's nice to have a pub in the neighbor hood, so that right there gets it 3-stars. A good selection of beers too, and very reasonable happy hours.
I would go there more often, but find the food way over priced. If I go to a pub, I expect good, hearty food...but not at DC restaurant prices. I'd heartily recommend more sandwiches and other comfort foods. Leave the esoteric to more traditional restaurants.
Still...it's nice to have a pub in the neighborhood:)
Made a return visit to Lion and Bull monday evening. Â It appears that the dining area to the left as you enter has been changed to a party hall, it was dark and unavailable this evening. Â We took a place at one of the four top tables near the bar. Â Our server was very nice and attentive. Â We each ordered a sandwich, I had the fried rockfish sandwich. Â It was a bit meager; the bread almost hid the fish, it was only fish and bread, but it was tasty.
My grade this evening stem from how the servers and bartenders dealt with a potentially ugly situation at the bar. Â There was a man sitting at the bar who was intoxicated; shocking I know. Â Well, none of us realized it till he fell off his stool; had trouble keeping his balance; and needed help back into his seat. Â I'm not going to speculate if he was over served, but I was glad to see the bar staff take the man's keys and put them behind the bar. Â I was even more impressed that the bar staff appeared to have gotten another patron to offer the man a ride home. Â I wasnt exactly in the middle of the conversation but this is how it seemed. Â
As others have stated the happy hour no longer runs till 9:00, a change I was looking forward to from my previous review. Â I'll try a Friday next time, to see if the change in happy hour times has affected the rowdiness I saw on my first visit.
Stopped by here for a couple beers and met a few friends. Atmosphere is slightly sterile, maybe just the newness and lack of old decor the former tenant had, but overall very nice evening.
One of our friends had the chicken satay and said it was spicy and good. He was a bit disappointed that they didn't serve a full menu past 11p but understood.
The band playing from 9p - 12p was a good cover band, not too loud but talking inside was a bit challenging. Something I'd expect with a band playing and overall I was happy to enjoy the live music and encourage them to continue booking venues especially on weekends.
We'll be back soon and look forward to trying them out for dinner one evening.
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