I've been to Olney Ale House quite a few times in the past since I live only about 10 minutes away. Â I agree with other reviewers who've already stated that the food here has sadly gone way down over the past 5-10 years. Â It used to be that Olney Ale House was quite popular with vegetarians. Â They had several interesting sandwiches including my favorite, a vegan version of a club sandwich. Â All of that is pretty much gone now for years when they overhauled, much for the worse, their menu. Â Just about the only thing left is a veggie burger which isn't terribly inspired. Â
Once I brought my sister and her two kids here. Â Someone's order had very large, clumsily cut vegetables....they should have been much smaller and more carefully cut. Â Just not good presentation of food at all. Â And OAH used to have some really good and interesting desserts like a caramel breading pudding. Â Also long gone.
The decor also seems tired and run down. Â Again, it's just sad to see a once-nice place go so far downhill.
I will not be back. Â It wasn't horrible, but certainly no reason to go back. Â It has the makings of a cool bar and grill, but old and dirty. Â There was food splattered all over the large framed painting behind us on the wall. Â Just seems like one of those places that Robert Irvine would need to come in to clean up. Â
As for the food, it was bland and not very exciting. Â I had a burger, that was just ok, my wife had a steak salad and the steak was not done how she asked. Â I see that people seemed to like their salad dressing online, but I would stay away. Â It was gritty and nasty looking, with the oil sitting on top in a manner that made me think the oil may have been afraid to touch whatever was under it! Â It actually looked just plain wrong! Â We did taste it; not great.
Oh! and the most  interesting thing that is telling of a restaurant's style.... on the regular menu was a fried oyster appetizer for $10.95, but on the specials insert was the same oyster appetizer as a special for $11.00.  I asked if they were the same and the waitress said yes and chuckled to herself....the best part is when she came back and said that she will not be able to charge the regular $10.95 fee and would have to charge me the more expensive "special" fee and added it is just the way the place is.  I didn't complain and we ate the special and paid the extra $.05... Â
On a positive note, they did have hard cider on tap, which I love!
There are so many great places to eat around here, so there is no need to subject myself or my family to a place.
Fish and Chips, which I've had here before and was pretty decent, was pretty terrible tonight. There was entirely too much breading and it wasn't cooked through all the way through. It came out super fast, which is convenient, but not a great indication of the care taken in the food. I would have gladly waited a little longer for fish that was cooked properly. Most of the fish in the mountain of breading was much and the breading was doughy in the middle. We ordered the oysters, and it was apparent that they had sat around after being shucked. They were drying out on the top and the liquor had been dumped out or dried out before  being served. My wife ordered a salad, but it wasn't anything to come back for. Next time, I'll be smart and order one of the burgers, which is never a disappointment. I can't knock them for the price of the beer. We're in the United Socialist Republic of Montgomery. They control the price of the beer and they have to charge as much as they do to turn any sort of profit.
Review Source:I have been dining here for 40 years and this place has gone down from great bread,home made soup, fried chicken and stew to food that tastes like it came out of the frozen food case at your local grocery and probably does.  Tonight was super salad night.  I ordered the grilled chicken salad.  It was put together like it was dumped into the bowl  The chicken was dry stale tasting pieces of chicken strips in a bag also found at the grocery store.  I expected fresh grilled chicken.  The barley soup had huge hunks of slimy overcooked beef.  The Reuben sandwich was on wet and soggy bread.  About the only good thing here are the hamburgers and the beer.  Forget the rest of the food.  They need major help with their food and their menu.  Chef Ramsey needs to visit this place.
Review Source:I haven't been here in quite a while, and I stopped in to eat prior to going to the theater. Â The best thing: they have a good selection of beer. Â The appetizer (steak quesadillas) was pretty good, but that was it. Â My date had the special - fish and chips. Â The fish was soggy and a bit fishy. Â Not very good. Â I had the ribs which were burned, fatty, and full of gristle. Â I seem to remember that the burgers there were okay, so if you do try the Olney Ale House, it's probably best to stick to burgers and beer. Â Overall, I don't recommend this place though.
Review Source:2.5 stars
I stopped in to the Olney Ale House with my boyfriend and a few other family members for a quick bite to eat while we were in the neighborhood. Â It sounded like a cute, classic pub and with beer-lovers in the group, I figured it was worth a shot. It was fun enough and worth a visit, but generally this is not a place I would go back to again and again.
We originally decided to come here because everyone was excited to sit back with a pint  and some good, hearty food, but when we got the beer menu, we were shocked to see how expensive all of the drinks were.  We all did end up ordering something, but the selection of beer (and cider) on tap was limited and didn't have a lot of variety, especially considering that this is supposed to be an ale house. For a town like Olney, these prices were inappropriately high--I would have better believed them had we been in the heart of DC.
The food was also decent but not amazing. Â My family felt that the burgers were tasty but nothing special, and people agreed that the fish and chips were pretty far below their hopes and expectations. The portions were really big, but that's the least I would expect for the prices that they were charging. Â On my end, they did have a few options for vegetarians, which was a plus, and the veggie wrap was pretty tasty, but as with everything it was fairly uninspired. Â
Overall, while the place was cute and seemed to be hopping by the time we left, we left a bit disappointed. For the prices, they really should be doing a whole lot better. Â I am not sure that this is a place I would ever really revisit.
Went here on a double date for a quick bite to eat.
The menu had tons of choices but since the Ale House is known for the burgers I decided to go for it. Two of us ordered a hamburger and the other two ordered sandwiches. I ordered the gourmet burger and it was cooked perfectly to order. It was juicy but lacked a bit of flavor. It was still tasty! The husband ordered some type of chicken sandwich. He wanted to replace the cheese with cheddar but the waitress must have missed it. -a star for the cheese. The husband didn't enjoy his sandwich as much. Our double daters, had a hamburger and the Ruben. The Ruben looked delicious and stacked with corned beef. Both said they're meals were delicious.
I thought the prices were a bit high for nothing super fancy. Will visit again.
Used to be a quaint pub to enjoy during the evening. Â I moved away 15 years back and was in the area so a lunch break there seemed like a good idea.
Eleven dollars for an overcooked burger, indifferent and sluggish service, no stews for a wintery day (save for $14 chili!), and the  charged for food not ordered all adds up to fond memories of what once was and is a distant memory.
My advice...wave as you drive by. Â There are plenty of other places where you can do much better!
I come here once in awhile on Saturdays for their full rack pork rib platter special for $16 nowadays. Â I like a good value, but these ribs are some of the best ever. Â The fries that come with are really good too. Â (I don't eat fries that often.) Â My wife ordered the The Govinda salad, which was outstanding. Â Our server, Dee at the bar, is a solid professional. Â Fantastic beer selection, but they are on the pricey side. Â (I noticed they backed down on the house special ale from $7 a pint to $5.50.) Â This place can be very busy during dinner time.
Review Source:The Olney Ale House is a great little place to grab a bit to eat and a draft. We popped in this afternoon around 5pm to have burgers. Overall the burgers were good with the blue cheese making mine a slight bit on the dry side. They came with a side of fries which were really good.
The atmosphere is relaxing and quaint. I would say that the only real improvement I would suggest is the our server's ability to provide quality service. Everything started well but when the burgers came we needed a refill on ice tea that did not return until the burger was halfway done. After that my Cider had run empty and our server Tigist did not return to us until she saw that the meals were finished. So, we were each thirsty through half our meals. :(
Overall we will return but probably ensure we sit at the bar.
Met some friends up in Olney for a Sunday lunch this past weekend here at their recommendation. Â After reading some of the reviews I was a bit dubious, as the general trend seemed to be that the place had gone downhill in the past four or five years.
Thankfully though, things didn't pan out that way, and my admittedly somewhat depreciated expectations were exceeded. Â The place has a unique, off the beaten path vibe that's kind of charming in a way; the decor is tasteful and classy with a definite Maryland vibe. Â The place was fairly crowded for the lunch hour, but not overly so, and we were able to be seated promptly. Â For lunch I decided to go with a burger at the recommendation of other posters here and had the Chipotle burger. Â The kitchen gets a star for actually cooking it as I requested (on the medium-rare side of medium, as many times when you order a Medium burger, by the time it comes to your table, it's finished cooking and is medium well to well.), and when it came out it was deliciously still slightly pink and quite juicy and tender. Â The bacon they put on this burger was definitely a highlight as well, as it was thick cut and meaty, and not cooked to a crisp. Â The burger came with fries, which in my case were plenty crispy enough and didn't have the stale, bland taste of fast food fries.
Overall, I quite enjoyed lunch here, and will try to make plans to come back for dinner in the next couple of months to sample some of their heartier entrees and brews.
Stopped here for a burger after a long, hot day on the links.  We weren't looking for anythng special, and this is the place.  I recall eating here many years ago with fond memories.  I had the black and bleu burger, which was better than okay.  My companions both enjoyed  bbq burgers.  Drank two pints of Guinness (I told you I was hot).  Several people around us ordered the fish and chips, and I noticed there were lots of leftovers, and nobody asked for a box to take them home.  Glad I didn't order that!
Not much to say, except the beer and burgers were good, and the service was just fine. Â Not a dinner destination for us, though.
We stopped by for a couple beers. Â Great Beer Tap selection and neighborhood bar feel (see my pictures). Â The place was hoppin' on a Tuesday night due to "Half Price Burger Night." Â We planned to go to Mannequin Pis after for the food since many of the other Yelpers were disappointed with the food at Olney Ale House. Â However, the burgers on the grill smelled divine, and I was caught staring at the other patrons' burgers - soft bun and meat perfectly paired with each big juicy bite... sorry, I didn't mean to stare... Â I've had two beers, one of which is the Flying Dog Imperial IPA on tap with an ABV of 10.1%. Â I will be sure to try the food next time and Yelp it. Â They have an outdoor patio that looked inviting on a nice night. Â Don't go on Mondays - you'll be disappointed because your only interaction will be with their "Closed" sign.
Review Source:Wow - grew up in Olney and I am just now finding out about this place? Who ever thought that Olney would have a little gem like this place?? They have great beers and the service is friendly. There is an outdoor patio that is probably very nice in the summer. Try the salads when you go - I couldn't believe how good the mango Thai salad was. I still have yet to find anything like that anywhere else! This is a go to place for me when I am visiting my parents and am looking for an easily accessible place to hang out with some old friends in Olney. This is a way better option than most of the commercialized places you find in Olney and I am happy to see that they are always busy! Beware they are closed on Mondays...
Review Source:The Onley Ale House is one of those local places that everybody has to visit. Not too great, but certainly not bad. Good, home cooking to be sure. My wife and I are regulars here, about once or twice a month.
Their beer selection is good, not as excellent as it is in other places but then since I don't drink beer I'm not bothered. Their burgers are fantastic, and they have a great selection of excellent food. I prefer ordering the chips than the fries - this is an area of weakness for them with soggy, rather than crispy, fries.
If you come here during dinner time, be prepared for a bit of trouble parking in their rather small lot. We have parked in the yoga studio lot next door with little problem, and I recommend you do the same. Also, since they don't take reservations, coming with a group means trying to come before or after the busy times.
If you love beer and are looking for a place with a great beer selection, this is a good place to go. Â If you also like good food you should reconsider, because other than that it is an ale house with food that you can swallow and digest without the immediate urge to spit it out. Â (I only tried the fish and chips and thought it (fish) was pretty bland and oily.)
The ambiance? Â Seems like a local hang but it didn't resonate with me. Â Staff seemed pretty nice and friendly though. Â The price? Â Drinks are fine but food is definitely not worth what they are asking for.
I have no plans to go back but wish them all the best--they could be so much more.
Been coming here since I was a wee little girl. It's always been an interesting & eclectic crowd -- from bikers to grannies to tree-huggers. Great ambiance & historic location. Very cool place. The food has gone through many transitions with the various owners over the years. It'll never be like it was (beef stew is good but not the delicious bowl of hearty stew that it used to be). The bread is amazing (although you have to ask for honey now), the lemon tahini salad dressing is to die for (makes you actually wished you'd ordered two salads!). Overall the food is either delicious or good. Their desserts are fairly mediocre (sine the old lady they used to have make them stopped). But, with the rest of the food so good, who has room for dessert?
7/2012 Â It breaks my heart to do this, but I have to update my previous review. Â I had originally given it 4 stars but because I feel like giving it 2 now I"m going to compromise to 3. Â Food has just gone down hill. Â They had a sign out that said drink specials during certain times. Â We had only about 5 minutes to make the special so we told the host that we had to hurry up and get our happy hour special drink order in! Â He seated us quickly and when we tried to order, waitress told us we had to be seated in bar area to get the specials. Â Not cool - the host shouldn't have seated us there if we couldn't get the specials. Â And upon appealing to the manager, we were still denied. Â Ugh!
There were more issues and the waitress was super nice, and the manager ultimately gave us $15 gift card to come back but frankly, I just don't know if I'll ever use it. Â Breaks my heart. Â The Ale House has been a part of our world since I was a wee little girl and it's been great up until the most recent owner where it's gone downhill. Â Sniff, sniff. Â Did I say yet how sad this is? Â Come back to us, Olney Ale House, we'll be waiting!!!
I second Jennifer K.'s thoughts. This place has lost its appeal. The fish and chips are disgusting. Their burgers are ok, but probably because I paid half price for it on special.
I do enjoy their beer selection, but it's a disappointment when  you've seen their food quality degrade and you want the good old days back.
I thought about joining Yelp years ago just so I could post my thoughts about the Olney Ale House. Now that I have, prepare for about 7 years of pent up dismay:
Let me begin by saying that in the late 80's/early 90's this was my absolute favorite restaurant  -- I'd spent many an afternoon & evening there noshing on their gorgeous salads, savory stews & chilis, and freshly baked bread. Their Oatmeal Molasses Bread was always on the menu, but they also had a fresh daily bread, too - some warm and yummy herb bread or country white or something like that.  Back then, it seemed to be run by a clutch of the grooviest, hippest family of bakers and chefs. The atmosphere was warm & inviting (maybe even a little too "granola crunchy" for some)-- I remember bringing a book to read if I dined solo.  It felt like home.  And everything was homemade - from the special stews or the soups of the day to the fish & chips. Â
The place changed hands a few times since the mid 90's and the various, well-intentioned new owners tried to hold on to the essence of the place. For a time I thought I could sense the old earthy baker and the hippie mama stirring her simmering stews -- like friendly ghosts of good meals past. But, then, in 2004/5 the new guard swept in and cleansed the Ale House of it's soul. Â They replaced the bread boards and the pottery plates with white cheap china & I'm willing to bet that nothing there is made from scratch anymore. They've done away with the daily bread and honey butters. Â The fish & chips tastes like a resentful line cook threw it in the deep fry and on to your plate. Â & Every time I drive by and see a Sysco Truck (frozen food purveyors) outside I want to break down and cry. Â When I cautiously ventured into the Ale House last March, I swore it would be my last visit to this broken down, busted, corrupted version of the original true-blue beauty. Â BUT: If **you** want over-priced, conveyor belt food, you've come to the right place.
Came here after visiting my grandma at Montgomery General so eating here was mostly because we were just hungry and not because we had purposely decided to come here. With that being said, it wasn't bad.
My mom used to pick up their loaves of bread pretty often but this was the first time I've actually eaten anything else or been inside. It's a cute restaurant, both inside and out. We got a large loaf of bread before dinner so my dad could take some home after dinner. It was actually probably the best part of the meal. I had the catfish and chips, and while it was fine, it wasn't particularly memorable.
Service was good but super slow. I'm pretty sure my dad ended up tipping way more than necessary just so we could actually leave and not hold onto the bill for another 20 minutes.
As everyone else said, cute upon walking into ( minus no air conditioning) Â but once seated this was one of the worst eating out experiences i have had in a while.
The beer selection was nice but WAY overpriced, at $4.50 for a bud light draft, are you kidding me? Â Next came our apps, yingling bay scallops, YUCK! They were soaked in so much oil and burnt to a crisp, talk about tasteless, i should have left then, but alas i continued through. We ordered a loaf of bread to take the taste of the scallops out of our mouths and sure enough this "famous oatmeal molasses bread" was as gross as the beginning of the meal. The bread was probably a week old, and only tasted good with a huge slab of butter to accompany it.
Again i moved on to my last course, the FAMOUS Fish n Chips. Can anyone say greasy and tasteless. Because of this, Â I asked politely to talk to a manager only to be greeted by a woman reeking of cigarettes who told me that the fish n chips is "fried so that it is going to be greasy"! I was appalled by the food and treatment i received at this iconic restaurant. Â I can't believe this place ever got a good review.
If i were traveling through Olney or am a local I would skip this disaster, i'd rather go to the Greene Turtle, and that's saying a lot!
Here comes another negative review! I'm almost embarrassed to be reviewing another terrible place since people probably think I have the worst taste in food ever. I promise I'll write about some amazing places I've been to. It's just that the really amazing places already have enough positive reviews. Plus, hating is just so much fun, isn't it?
But I digress. My mom works near this place, and one of her clients suggested it. Just taking a brief glance at the menu, I knew it was going to be bad news bears. If I were wiser, I would've told my mom we were leaving right there and then. Of course my brain was half turned off due to a massive weekend long hangover and I felt bad, already having been seated. We decided to go for the fish and chips and a half pound of steamed shrimp, since my mom was feeling like seafood. Ughhh. The shrimp weren't steamed, they were pan-fried, but they were edible at least. That's more than I can say for the fish and chips. The cod was completely tasteless and the fries seemed to be overfried in oil that needed to be changed a year ago. NEVER AGAIN.
Go for the beer selection, not the food.
This place kinda makes me sad because it has such potential. It could be such a great neighborhood pub with it's standalone location and homey feel. If only the ownership didn't turn over so much and they invested in a quality chef.
Sometimes we go there if we're craving a warm fireplace-and-beer atmosphere, but we're always brought back to earth with a thunk when we order food and it's uninspired as ever. Case in point: $8 nachos that come with cheese, guac, salsa and sour cream. Both the guac and salsa taste like they came from a jar - and not a great one.
Not worth traveling to if your not in the area, but for Olney this place is the best around, they have two house brews on tap, pretty good beer selection and the food is not bad.
The place also looks and feels really cool on the inside that is, the only real issue with them that i have is there closing early hours, they should be open a lot later than they are.
I am guilty of loving my own places for sentimental reasons, like many of the people who seem to like the Olney Ale House, so I'm not dissing people for liking a place for being familiar and cozy and holding memories, but as someone with zero history with this place, my opinion is that it is not good. This is a mildly beer-oriented restaurant, the kind you might find in a tourist town, with vinyl tablecloths, plastic glasses, very mediocre food, and teenagers doing a crappy job of running the place.
Ate here for a Saturday dinner recently and I have to agree with most of the bad things I've read:
1) Service was bad. It took way too long to get drinks out; they tried taking our order ten minutes after we sat down, but hadn't given us menus in the meantime; appetizer came out after our dinners. They appeared to be trying but generally seemed inexperienced and confused. I didn't see the bill, but it would be robbery to charge 20% gratuity for the crap-ass service we received.
2) Food was OK. Worst ribs I've ever had at a restaurant, with a lot of toughness, fat, and gristle, spare smokiness, and unmemorable sauce. They also serve them on a plate that is way too small, and provide no bowl  or plate for the bones, so I eventually gave up the chore of trying to eat something I didn't really want to eat anyways. Other things at the table looked OK. Fries are the detestable coated kind. Their famous bread is fine but as I ate it I was thinking "OK, am I missing something?". The slaw was really good, so much better than everything else that I actually wondered if they bought it pre-made.
3) Ambiance was nice. I like places with a mix of people and with families, and this place had both. I don't like swatting flies off the rim of my glass, but it is summer, and the door was standing wide open.
What's weird is that if I got dragged here again I'd probably look forward to it. Even though it sucks, I kind of liked it, so I'm with you, sentimentalists.
Got blindsided by the unexpected 20 percent gratuity for 6 or more.
It's a disincentive for waitstaff since tip is guaranteed. Our service was bad.
The 20% guaranteed gratuity was not mentioned anywhere on menu: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.olneyalehouse.com%2Fmenu%2F&s=0acb3914381e40d67b9180dccc1613d4b1ef0cf007006466168577e12b3271b3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.olneyalehouse…</a>
Lots of competition in the area. Wait 'til Greene Turtle opens up the street. Times will change.
I don't really get here that often because I don't live close enough to make it a regular treat. Â As far as I'm concerned this place is absolutely fantastic. Â Granted, it's not upper crust, snootyville (even though it's in a hoity toity part of Montgomery County). It's just real comfortable with a nice menu and great homemade bread. Â
Of course, it is an ALE House so there are plenty of brews to choose from as well as stuff that's a tad stronger. Â It has a nice outdoor eating area which is nothing fancy but nice to use on a nice day.
The portions are generous, the food is good, the prices are reasonable and the waitress my friend and I had at a recent lunch was fantastic.
The Olney Center for the Arts is right across the street which makes the Olney Ale House a great place for a quick bite before the theater.
Two Thumbs Up!
This is one of my favorite 'local spots' because it is cozy (especially if you sit near the fire place), and typically makes great food. Â I have been there many times and have always gotten the same thing-the govinda salad with grilled chicken (sad I know). Â I make a mean salad and often have a hard time finding a salad that stands up to one o my own and this definitely does. Â One of the best things about it is the lemon tahini dressing which I am bound to recreate myself.
The unfortunate thing about this place is that it is rather inconsistant. Â We have had awesome service, we have had awul service. Â My boyfriend has had a great burger on burger night and he has also had to send his burger back or a re-cook on a different night.
Although the Olney Ale House has a special place in my heart, I would have to agree with the mixed reviews.
Important to note:
Closed Mondays
Tuesday is burger night-half off burgers, busy spot
Order a small loaf of oatmeal molassas bread-its amazing
The Olney Ale House is a pleasant old place - it's got that quasi-colonial charm that you don't always find in the greater DC area. The food is decent, but not superb. The sandwiches are generous and come with fries that are dangerously addictive. My wife swears by their salads, but I've found them to be just average. They have a great beer selection, albeit on the pricey side. Probably the best time to come is in the fall or spring, when the temperatures outside are moderate. Since it's such an old building, it's got poor ventilation, so expect to be hot in the summer and cold in the winter. But if the weather is truly nice, try to sit outside on their deck.
Anyway, don't come here for exceptional food. It's decent pub grub. But if you want to kick back with a beer and get a sandwich, you could do a lot worse than the Ale House.
When I first reviewed this place back in 2006, i did like it and it was a local place to drink but since then has gone significantly down hill. Â The once famous beef stew and chili, now look more like leftovers from last week. Â It also lacks any sort of flavor. Â They also have raised the prices in the last few years and have not provided anything more for the new price. Â Also, new management came in and they are not as friendly as they once were.
The beer selection is still excellent. Â the owners and bar tenders (especially Stephen) really make an effort at bring in good different beer while still having some old stand-bys in case you can't decide. If not for the beer they would have received a lower rating. Â
But don't take my word for it, see for yourself. Â The reviews are mixed for this place. Â You go eat there and tell us what you think.
We tried the Olney Ale House this past Saturday. We were looking to try something new and are always on the lookout for something local and unique. From the reviews I was excited to try the Tap house. The previous descriptions of the decor are spot on, a homey feel, lots of wood and beer but the failed to mention that your dining guests would include lots and lots of flies, ick.
They have a very large selection of beer which was impressive. The menu is not extensive, very few choices that I would say are "bar food items", which was disappointing. We ordered steaks and they were awful, tough, over cooked, and almost inedible.
The bread that people were raving about, nasty there is better bread at Outback.
Our server seemed very overwhelmed and in a constant state of rush which made him a poor server.
I'm sad to report that this exercise in "trying something new" was a desperate failure. We won't be going back to the Ale house. Maybe if you don't eat out Downtown much or live on a farm you may like it, there were plenty of "Cougars" on the prowl in their flannel and sequins. So if that's what you are looking for you found the right spot! Others...stay away.
Ah, sweet memories. Â I've heard the Ale House has gone down a bit in quality since I was last there, but this was the best bar in the Silver Spring area when I was a D.C. resident. Â Quaint old home like feel, wooden plank floors, country like setting. Â Ten years ago the Olney Ale House was sequestered back in the woods, but not that far from strips malls and busy intersections. Â When I go back this summer I'm sure to find it surrounded by suburbia, an unfortunate victim of urban sprawl. Â
 Now the food.  My favorite food was always the soft shelled crab sandwich that the OAH did to perfection.  The fried oyster sandwich was also incredibly tasty.  With a variety of beers on tap the ale house lived up to it's name.  The dining area was large with plenty of room to move around unfettered, the bar was cool and antique, a throwback to the 1800's when establishments like the ale house were overnight stops for travelers on horseback. Â
 It's too bad places like the Olney Ale House are being pushed out.  For my money, they should declare the OAH an historic landmark.
The Olney Ale House is my family's fall back choice when we're eating out and don't know where to go. Â We love OAH because everyone can find something on the menu, the prices are reasonable, and it offers a convenient location with a cool, casual vibe. Â Others are right that the service can be spotty, and you're best sticking with basic fare. Â Waits can also be lengthy, but we enjoy saddling up to the bar and sampling some brews in the meantime.
*Warning: Because of its proximity to both the theatre and the "new" Good Counsel high school, plan your visits around big sporting events / shows to avoid the crowds.
It used to be great, but it just keeps going downhill. Â The Olney Ale House (really closer to Sandy Spring) has been an institution since I moved to the area 30 years ago. Â Back then, it was a pre- and post- theater gathering spot for the Olney Theater across the street, and also very popular locally with a wide variety of micro-brew beers. Â Homemade bread and hearty beef stew were the main items on a limted food menu. Â The old house had a big fireplace and rustic interior that made it warm and inviting. Â But half the patrons preferred to stay outside on the big patio, even in cold weather.
But then it changed hands. Â The new owners redecorated and focused on a vegetarian menu. Â They kept the beer and the bread.
It changed ownership again. Â And again. Â Each time with more renovations, and a more mundane menu. Â The food is now mediocre at best, Â and all the charm is gone. Â Â Its just an old house with painted walls and new siding. Â They even sealed the fireplace. Â Â The locals now run to a place on the other side of Olney, and the Olney Ale House survives on its reputation and spillover from the theater.
I'm sad to have witnessed its slow but steady decline.
Three stars plus an extra because this place is so special and holds so many memories for me.
I moved to Silver Spring my first year out of college and had the most wonderful year ever. Â The Olney Ale House played a prominent role in that year, and a few subsequent ones, and although I haven't been there lately, I really miss it. Â This was when Olney was really off the beaten path, and Clarksville was simply too far away to even consider. Â It was like a local treasure, kind of in the woods, and by a cool old theater. Â I am sure the area is overrun with townhouses and hideous mcmansions by now, but the Ale House has a charm that bad city planning can't keep down.
It's that kind of place.
The bread, the rustic vibe, the crunchy people, the outdoor tables...I miss this place!
The Ale House is a local institution. It used to be better, with a more casual menu and vibe, but I think the ownership changed. The food is stil pretty good, though, and beer selection is awesome. Lots of Belgians if you're into that.
Food basics are the chili, the homemade bread, lemon tahini dressing, and the Jose Sandwich (turkey, sprouts, pickles, blue cheese dressing) The Jose is part of some of my oldest "eating out" memories since my parents have lived in Olney since I was ten. I don't think it's as good as it used to be, and I don't think that's just the dimming of my memory over time.
The restaurant and bar are closed on Monday, so don't come out then...but try another night, like "Steak Night" - I think it's a Wednesday. My mom and I stopped in, and I went for it, although I always get the sandwich. It was a really good steak!
Gotta love the Ale House. You can't really help it.
Unfortunately it's located a bit away from DC for me to visit anymore, it's a great place for locals to hang out. Â Lots of great beers on draft, a nice outdoor seeting area, and the inside has a warm comfy feel to it. Â Definitely a place to bring a group for happy hour after work.
Food is good, typical bar menu, you're really here for the "ale." Â ;^)
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