At the peak of the evening rush, I lucked into a spot at the bar and got immediate service. Â It's a pleasure to talk with people who enjoy their jobs. Â My bartender knew her business and got my order to the kitchen straight off. Â She knew exactly the right beer to pair it with, which turned out to be the IPA with the Firecracker Shrimp, a dish by the way, that people from Guam have raved about when they visited the Tavern. Â They ask about returning to Sweetwater for that dish whenever they come to Arlington.
I've been to Sweetwater many times and have never been disappointed. Â The quick and genuinely friendly service and the consistently fine quality of brew and fare keep me coming back. My latest visit ranks as one of the best evenings I can remember.
Terrible customer service and beware prices are more expensive for same items at other American Cafes.  Ran out of first Pinot Noir on wine list @ $7 a glass.  No other option offered by manager.  Instead told if I wanted a glass of Pinot Noir could fork out $9.50 for a glass. Manager Chris  then told me my wine preference was on
back order and they couldn't get it.  So we sat for 25 minutes waiting for appetizer, no wine in hand and finally left.....still no food or wine. Drove down the street to Artie's, owned by same company... they had plenty of  the wine I wanted (amazing no back order issue there!) and served our appetizer in 10 minutes. And surprise ....same wine was 50 cents a glass cheaper.  Service was great as was food.  Will not go back to Sweetwater again and suggest they work on customer service,possibly look at replacing the manager and sinc up their prices as charging customer more for same item is a rip off.
I would rate this restaurant 4.5 stars, if possible, but only due to a few minor imperfections. My girlfriend and I have been going here for several years and almost always have a perfect experience. We wholeheartedly recommend this place.
The waitstaff is always pleasant, attentive, and helpful. The ambience is generally lively, but not annoying loud. The food is, in our humble opinions, perfectly cooked every time.
My girlfriend is a huge steak person and generally gets the 7 ounce filet mignon, but occasionally will get the crabcake. As for myself, I live for the chicken fajitas or the Southwest Chicken Salad. We both agree, the salad dressing, even in the house salad, is excellent. As noted in other reviews, the homemade bread and butter are sweet and tasty.
A few of the menu items weren't to my liking, but it's been so long since I tried them, I honestly can't recall exactly which ones they were. I do remember feeling as though one or two of them was just a bit heavy with butter. (A chicken sandwich, I believe.)
I've tried most of the beers there and usually go for the Great American Pale Ale. It's not the best I've ever had, but absolutely acceptable and goes down well with the aforementioned food.
Probably our only gripe is the layout at the greeting desk. This place is almost always busy. with good reason. and walking in through the revolving doors, we occasionally find ourselves in one of those situations like when you get to the top of an escalator and a group is blocking your ability to get off. It gets awkward quickly as you try to find a place inside where you can wait to put in your name without accidentally cutting the line. Really, though, this is not a big deal and shouldn't deter you from trying this place.
Over all, Sweetwater Tavern is one of the few go-to restaurants in the area where we feel as though we will receive consistently great food and service.
I had the filet and crab cake dinner tonight. The crab cake is quite possibly the best I have EVER eaten!! The filet was prepared just as I asked and was excellent. The service was great as well, very attentive and all smiles! I wish there was a Sweet Water Tavern in Chicago land......Thanks for a great meal!!
Review Source:Love love their appetizers - the buns, artichoke dip, and wings are to die for. They have quite a good selection of meat, seafood, and sandwiches. If I'm not mistaken, they have their own brewery on site, which is pretty cool. The staff was friendly and didn't say anything when my friends and I semi-loitered around near closing time. A word of advice: definitely reserve seats! Most evenings are very crowded no matter what day.
Review Source:Stopped by Sweetwater tonight for some yummy Naked River beer. Â This beer is clear, sparkling, very light yellow with no head or lacing. Â roma of corn soup (not the spicy variety). Taste light hops, corn and grain. Light, watery body and medium/high carbonation. Â I then dripped the hot cheese from the Smoked Chicken Con Queso dip with tortilla chips on my sweater and shirt! Â I'll try the Sweetwater in Sterling next! Â We don't have one in Herndon.
Review Source:Big fan but not quite as good as the others in the GAR chain that I have five stars. This is more of a personal preference because this place is missing done of my favorites (shrimp and grits, two noodle shrimp salad, white chocolate bread pudding) and is always outrageously packed (call ahead and it won't be an issue though).
Now after the negatives this place is still great. The Aussie roll bread with whipped butter, impeccable service, great apps, and all around good food is hard to match. Plus the beer selection at this place is great. I recommend the sampler where the flutes are all the draft beer with pretty sizable glasses where it ends up being about two beers. Can't go wrong there.
This is definitely a 'go-to' place for a quick appetizer and a good beer for a decent price. Â We stopped in for a drink and a couple of appetizers! Â We love sitting at the bar, the servers are so friendly and quick to serve. Â Their firecracker shrimp beats Bone Fish any day! Â And, their beer prices are not as outrageous as Dog Fish Alehouse.
Review Source:I came down for the inauguration and i am a yelp review reader and i saw that this place had four stars..Well the reviews
were right on point. I really enjoyed my Monterey Salad With Spiced Pecans
it was really delicious. The bread that they bring out is heaven!!!! I wish this place was back home!!!
Went here with my family who lives in VA and really enjoyed it! It's definitely a big, loud establishment, and still fun for families. The servers were friendly and the food was really good!
AS ANOTHER REVIEW STATED: They do NOT take reservations. (which stinks because the wait can be long sometimes) but DO offer 'Call Ahead' service, which means you call about 45 minutes before your arrival and they will add you to the seating list.
Also I agree with that reviewer that they do not ofter have the beers they advertise BUT the beer's that I've ended up trying were still delicious!
Food Recommendation: "Short Smoked Salmon Filet" (marinated and smoked, then hickory grilled on basil redskin mashed potatoes & dijon cream) - DELICIOUS!
It's not sexy, trendy or hip but Sweetwater has and still is a Northern Virginia staple. They have several locations (Sterling, Centreville and Merrifield) but no matter where you can go you can expect consistency.
When you dine here you can always expect:
- A greeting with a smile: It is a requirement for hostesses to have a great, big, beaming style. I guess this helps out with their long wait times.
- Friendly and efficient customer service: Servers work as a team, not individually which helps improve the overall flow of the meal.
- A delicious basket of fresh basked assorted bread including their heart stopping, addicting ozzie rolls which are basically like mini doughnuts. It is so good with their whipped honey butter.
- Great beer, brewed in house. Right now I'm totally digging their Christmas Ale.
- Great food execution: My favorites being their drunken rib-eye steak (I barely eat steak but I crave this on the regular), their brown butter chicken pasta, and their famous flourless chocolate waffle (angels sing when you put this in your mouth).
I have no complaints when I dine here and I've been a patronizing this restaurant since I was ordering off the kids' menu. I do feel a little bit sorry for the hostesses however, their braided Apache style vests are atrocious!
We come here for the Black Angus Prime Rib, which is definitely large enough for 2 to share.
The dessert is terrific too - our favorites are the warm flourless chocolate waffle and the bread pudding.
It has a great atmosphere and the service is terrific. One time we went, our food got delivered to the wrong table and our server was very apologetic and sent us free dessert after we did get our meal (about 5 minutes after).
Pretty good for a chain restaurant.
Like a middle class TGIFridays - a little more refined, better service, better food. Â I was LOST as to why, on a Sunday morning, the entire place would be dressed in ball gowns and suit and tie... then I realized people on the East Coast are still religious. Not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy.
There is an open bar area in the brewpub that has sports on. Â People act like idiots when they watch sports, so, of course, yeah.... there's sports on, and that can impact your experience.
The service is astonishingly professional, friendly, and on top of it. Â We went, without rez, when it looked like church had just gotten out, and there must have been dozens of tickets in front of us, and there was very short waits for any service / food. Â The portions are huge. Â The prices are very fair. Â The food is great.
If I end up on the East Coast, in that area, again, no doubt I will end up back there. In a sea of terrible chain restaurants with slop for food, this place has great ingredients, great prep, a great menu.... it's solid for what it is.
Consistent good quality and great service. Â I've been many times and the food is always terrific. Â They have a good range of american entrees and good selection of beer and wine.
I can personally recommend all of the following...Salmon, crab cakes, salads, pasta and steaks. Â For steak lovers this is the place to go, the steak is up there with they really expensive steakhouses but at a reasonable price. Â
Good size portions on their  side dishes.  The mashed potatoes are perfect comfort food or the if you want to be healthy they make great asparagus, or  mushrooms.  Last their bread and aussie rolls are warm and yummy.
Only downside is sometimes there a long wait.
I've been eating here for years and love this place. Â The bar is good, the staff is friendly, the crowd is classy, the prices are reasonable, food is great ... what's there not to love? Â Oh and they brew their own beer which is unique and should be commended. Â The atmosphere caters to all sorts of people and can range from being very casual to somewhat casual making it a great spot to go for almost any occasion or for an average outing with friends.
Key items from the menu:
Calamari
Warm Goat Cheese and Pecan Salad
Firecracker Shrimp
Jambalaya Pasta
Warm Flour-less Chocolate Waffle
It's ridiculous how often I've eaten here. It fits the bill on so many different levels. Date night/parents in town/friends in town/graduation dinner/prom night/drinks after work/sacked from your job....it really is a place for all occasions. I'll keep it short and sweet.
Crab Cakes.
Beer.
Period.
We have some family in northern Virginia and during most visits, we have lunch at Sweetwater grill. Good menu, consistent food, and friendly service.
We had tex meg egg rolls to start. I liked them but they were a little mushy and were mainly a delivery system for the mayo based dipping sauce. Â i don't mean this as a bad thing. Â
Next up was a cheddar burger. Well prepared, good not great. Fries are shoestrings which are not my favorite.
Servers are fanatical about refilling drinks. I wasn't a quarter way trough my iced tea when the next one showed up. I wound up having four in about 30 minutes which left me wired and looking for the mens room. But I appreciate the effort.
This place is a local mini chain but it doesn't have many of the negative telltale signs of major chains. Â The staff is young and paid by the hour but they are generally high performing. Â The food isn't made from scratch but it also is not frozen in Iowa and trucked in monthly. Â It's a few important steps above Friday's, Chili's, etc. and has a much more local feel. Â Solid lunch choice if you're in the area.
4.5 stars
Dangerously delicious drinks and consistently scrumptious solid food with fantastic service. Â I have been here for dinner and just for drinks and everything that I have ordered off the menu has been phenomenal.
My faves:
- Fajitas - seriously surprisingly some of the best and very generous portions
- Warm White Chocolate Bread Pudding - probably one of the best desserts ever. Â I would never think to order bread pudding off the menu, but it is warm and gooey and delicious. Â It reminds me of a chocolate lava molten cake except the white chocolate version. Â The thing with chocolate lava molten cakes is that the dark chocolate is just too decadent and rich--I can only handle one or two bites and then I'm done. Â But, put a Sweetwater Tavern white chocolate bread pudding in front of me and I would have no trouble eating up the whole thing. Â In fact, you probably would have to fight me to get a piece at all!
Service has always been great here. Â Very friendly and prompt. Â No complaints here! But, they can get very crowded and they don't take reservations or even call aheads. So, be prepared to wait if you want to come during a busy hour.
I love Sweetwater Tavern. The service is top notch and so is the food here. The ambiance is fun and welcoming. My absolute favorite entree on the menu is there drunken ribeye. (And if you love there ribeye, you should try the ribeye from Jackson's Mighty Fine Food, their sister restaurant.)
The bread is pretty good. And I usually order the house salad which is probably the best house salad a restaurant could offer.
The flour-less waffle is usually the dessert of choice. It's a great finish to the night.
There is no denying the quality and flavor of the food at this establishment. Â It is as good as it gets for a price that is reasonable even for those on a budget. Â The Sweetwater Tavern is a very popular lunch spot. Â It can be extremely busy and customers often have to wait a few minutes to be seated. Â I took two of my colleagues to lunch on 18 Dec 2012 and it was extremely busy. Â We were told that the wait would be between 20-25 minutes. Â Because we were so happy with the food, we were willing to wait. Â As the time we were waiting was drawing near, a lady with another party, who arrived 10 minutes after us approached the Hostess and said they were leaving because they were tired of waiting. Â Another server overheard the conversation stepped in and stated they could be seated immediately because space just opened up. Â After watching them being escorted to their seat, I approached the Hostess and asked her what had happened. Â She explained as I suspected, they had been seated out of order. Â Over the course of an extremely delicious meal, I received apologies from the server who caused my irritation and every level of Management up to the Regional Manager. Â Customer service is always a challenge and I admit my felling were hurt when a party was seated ahead of us. Â Having said that, this wonderful staff more than made up for the error and I made reservations for a party of 7 later this week. Â The food is wonderful, the staff is exceptional as a team and in each of their individual roles. Â When a mistake is made, they go out of their way to make it right. Â I highly recommend the Sweet Water Tavern as one of the best eating establishments in Northern Virginia. Â Thanks to Hanane, Wendy, Chris, and all those I left off. Â Thank you!
TJ
My review is simple.  It's not really a review, it's a challenge.  I challenge anyone to go to a different restaurant  (of varying price ranges) and order something, then go to Sweetwater Tavern and order the same or similar dish.  I'm willing to bet it tastes better (much better) at Sweetwater Tavern.
Review Source:My boyfriend and I decided to try this place for our anniversary and I am so thankful we did! Everything was exceptional. The service was the best we've had in years the food was delicious. He got the Ribeye and raved about it all night. I got the chicken havarti sandwich and it delicious.
We went on a Friday and it was really busy but we did call ahead seating and got a table in 15 min. We ended up declining it because we found spots at the bar and the bartender was phenomenal. Â He learned our names, bought us an appetizer because it was our first visit, make great recommendations and was extremely knowledgable.
This place has it down. A go-to place for any occasion. Do yourself a favor and go as soon as you can.
Had lunch here and ordered the corn and crab chowder and the side ceasar salad. The soup was so incredibly salty it was a struggle to eat and I couldn't get through the whole bowl. And I love salt, but it was so bad, the inside of my mouth is still coated in saltiness 2 hours later. Â
The ceasar salad was not appealing at all. I always get dressing on the side whenever I order salad, otherwise the lettuce is covered in dressing and becomes soggy. Â The salad had croutons in it, parmesean cheese and the romaine. Pretty standard, right? Well...they dumped crouton dust all over the top which made the salad incredibly dry, and the parmesean wasn't salty at all. It just had the parmesean funk taste, but not the salty taste. Or maybe my tastebuds were numb from the salty corn cowder.
Either way, this was one of those meals that was just a waste of so many hopes of what could have been a good lunch.
The date was 10/21 when I stopped for dinner. I sat at the bar which was about 1/3 full with three staff working behind the bar.
The food was good, actually very good but the service was horrible at first. I had to raise my voice to get the attention of the staff who were chatting with friends/regulars?? sitting at the bar. As the bar filled up the service actually improved so overall a good experience.
A Bariatric Patient's dream restaurant. Â
8 months and 137 pounds lighter after gastric sleeve surgery I went to sweetwater tavern for the first time since having the surgery. Â I try and order off the kid's menu because I just cannot eat that much and the child's portions are huge in most retaurants. Â I am used to arguing with waiters and managers who insist that they cannot serve an adult. Â I even show them my bariatric card and scar and they still say no. Â
Today was different and worth noting. Â The place was packed and loud, but the staff was so nice and friendly it was worth the 15 minute wait. Â we were seated and our server was great until I asked about the kid's menu. Â He launched into a BS speech about them not having enough food for the kids if they served the adults. Â Really? Â a huge restaurant like that will run out of a small portion of an adult size plate? Â Well, he even looked embarassed and said "it is managment" Â I said fine and ordered off the adult menu and said: Â " I YELP and will note it" Â A few minutes later he came back and said he spoke to his manager and they said it was fine and apologized for any confusion. Â I was so happy and when the meal arrived I did end up giving most of it to my lunch companion, but it was delicous. Â
I commend Sweetwater for recognizing that many people struggle with weight issues and have spent a ton of money and time to change their lives for the better. Â Honoring that choice is not only the right thing to do, but a great business decision. Â I will come back here often and bring my office. Â I really appreciate the second look at my situation and guve you 4 stars.
Beer is of course the mainstay of the establishment. However the three times I have been there and what they advertise on the board is not what they have available. The one thing I keep getting is "oh sorry we are out of that one". Had it happened once I would have been OK with it but ALL THREE TIMES. That is where my rant ends - you want the truth so there it is.
The food was great, I had the lamb chops and I was quite happy. The beer was good as well, even if I could not get what I wanted each time I visited. The selections they did have was always good!
It's very loud, and the wait can get a bit long at times, my suggestion is use the CALL AHEAD service they have since they do NOT take reservations. How do I know that, because I JUST called them to make a reservation for tonight and they explained "call ahead seating" to me. Translation we are going for 7:30 PM and it's now 3:45 PM, my call was to early. The girl said that "call ahead" is about 45 mins to an hour then they put you on the seating list.
So, yes we are going back tonight and we will see if they have every beer they advertise up front available for ME TO TRY!! - I will update accordingly if they do!
Until next time, Peace!
Hubby and I really enjoyed this place. From the hostesses, to the waiters and servers, the staff here are both friendly and knowledgable. Â I had the drunken ribeye, which was cooked to a perfect medium. Hubby had the BBQ ribs that were fall off the bone good. The bread basket was interesting. We were given a small variety, which included what tasted like a freshly fried donut hole without the sugar. Ordered bread pudding to go, and that was delicious as well. Nice restaurant with a casual atmosphere.
I don't know how I forgot t mention this, but if you like salad, definitely try the Caesar salad here. I can't put my finger on what makes Sweetwater Tavern's so good, but for sure THE BEST Caesar salad I've ever had. Really fresh and flavorful!
I was really hoping to be blown away. Alas, it was not so.
Sweetwater was pretty good - not great. Â We started out really excited and the longer we were there the more disappointed we became. Â Their menu (food and beer) looks amazing at first glance. Â Right away we all just about wanted to cry: they only have 5 beers on tap. At all. Ever. Â So the 20 some beers on their menu are not always available - you have to actually look at the chalkboard to select one or (as we did) go with the sampler. Â While the sampler was great, none of us got the beer we were each so excited to get. Â Oh well.
After reading other Yelp reviews, I was very excited about the drunken ribeye. And yet, it was not available. Sadness.. the Prime Rib was pretty good, but nothing special. Â Those of our party that had the Goat Cheese Salad were enthralled - everyone enjoyed the firecracker shrimp & calamari (except me, cuz ya know - ew).
The best part of the meal was dessert. Â I was so happy that I forgot to take a photo, but the flourless chocolate waffle was delicious!! Â (it is only 1/4 waffle, so no worries about not being able to finish). Â Oh so good.... Â Fortunately, the atmosphere was great . Â Our waitress was great and the other waitstaff and busers did a fantastic job of keeping us full of bread and water and keeping out table cleared.
Maybe we'll give them another try sometime
This is one of my favorite restaurants near me. Â I almost always get the Roasted Half Young Chicken which is delicious! Sometimes I get the cheeseburger which also taste great. Â My favorite are those round, sweet breads they put on your table, it's soo yummy!
The hostess/waiters/waitress are always great and so nice:)
Always a great restaurant to go with family, friends.
I was so lucky to meet with their special appetizer, Smoked Salmon Mousse.
The BEST smoked salmon I ever had. Very intense smoke flavor, fresh salmon and it doesn't taste as rare at all.
Calamari with lobster and ginger sauce was also fantastic as usual! Â Great appetizers and big portion.
And we always order their Jambalaya and Crab cake.
No need to describe, very tasty, fresh dishes.
Also I might be the only one person, that dislike their basket of assorted breads....
I thought it was kinda odd, the bread was quite sweet... and doesn't match well with butter.
When you dine in at this place, you can get bad, decent, awesome service. It can be random, to be honest.. lol  But I really don't mind bad service, mainly because bad service = less tip.
But I don't really take bad service as bad restaurant. :) Â I love Sweet Water to death.. lol
Good food, good beer, good service. Im not much of a salad person, but i hoovered their chop house salad. I also love the guilty pleasure chicken fingers and shoestring fries, the steak, and my husband loooooved his smoked salmon. Service is best around 9pm on a monday night, its a calmer, less crowded atmosphere.
Ps- the chocolate waffle, omg.
3.5 stars. Sweetwater is a great place for some solid food and beers. The service is good, the quality of food is always up to par with the other craftbrew chains in the area, and there is plenty of space to be seated. You will have to wait during busier hours, but that just shows how popular a good chain can be.
One drawback was that they don't allow dogs in the patio area, only outside the fence. This wasn't great news for my friend who had her dog along, so we decided to move on. Not the restaurant's fault (supposedly it's county food and safety code), and I guess they were just going by the book.
3 Jun 12, 3.5 stars for Sweetwater Tavern
I was craving a piece of prime rib and a light beer so I went to Sweetwater Tavern.
I ordered the Naked Light Beer on tap which has a great flavor for a light beer. Â The waiter was very attentive and asked if I wanted bread. Â I asked what kind of bread and he rattled off the different types of breads. Â I choose the cheddar bread. Â It was very good and savory.
I order a 12 oz prime rib - traditional style medium done with homemade horseradish, french fries with a caesar salad. Â
The caesar salad was done with a good amount of parmesan cheese and the croutons were nice and crunchy. Â There is a pepper mill on the table. Â Having fresh ground black pepper available to put on the salad was great.
The prime rib was cooked to a perfect medium done. Â The homemade horseradish was very good. Â
The french fries are my weakness it is the shoestring type of fries, cooked crispy are so addictive. Â It is served with ketchup and is light seasoned with salt. Â Perfection with the naked light beer.
BOTTOM LINE: Â If you want a great delicious piece of prime rib and a great beer on tap- Sweetwater Tavern is the place to go. Â The atmosphere is great and the service is good.
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