Virtue Feed & Grain

To start, this spot is very cool. Super trendy restaurant with 2 very large floors of seating along with a relatively large outdoor patio. Our group of 8 was seated on the 2^nd floor in the back by the large open window. We lucked out bc it was a beautiful night.
Food: I thought the food was pretty good but nothing to rave about. Our group ordered an assortment of apps and entrees ranging from mussels, crab bisque, shrimp hush puppies, burgers, lobster rolls, and fish tacos. I personally had the lobster rolls which were relatively good. My favorite dish, along with many others, was the mussels appetizer.
Drinks: I ordered the signature old fashion cocktail. Was not a fan. Barely any alcohol and tasted like fruit punch.
Service: After being seated for 15 minutes without a server coming to our table we decided to ask a wait staff member if we could put in a drink order. She promptly took our order and told us that she was not our waiter but they worked as a team. Our drinks were delivered about 20 minutes after we ordered them. We did have some specialty cocktails so I can understand it taking some time but by no means should it have been 20 mins. Our waiter only stopped by our table maybe 3 times and each time something was needed we had to hail a random server to help us out.

Really cool modern old town feel with an awesome atmosphere.
Eat outside or upstairs in the loft — you’ll have a great time. Their food is delicious. We had the crab cake eggs Benedict and the yogurt/​granola mix appetizer. Both amazingly well prepared and presented. I had a mimosa (which was $ 3 on special!) and it was just okay. It was in a tiny flute so it felt like it was only worth $ 3. Nothing special. Our friend’s Bloody Mary looked legit, though.
I can’t wait to come back. My only hold back from 5 stars was that the waitress was sooooo slow to bring us our checks. I almost thought she forgot about us. We did like the time to talk and catch up, but if we wanted to get a move on we’d have been very annoyed. Service was great otherwise!

I’ve always thought the service was excellent here. This was the first place my husband and I ate at upon moving to Alexandria from Germany. Now in Germany, dogs were allowed in restaurants. We knew that wouldn’t happen here, so we went to many different places in Old town and most with outdoor seating would only let us sit on the porch while the dog stays on the sidewalk (the leash through the gate). Virtue had no problem letting him under our table. They are probably one of the more dog friendly places on old town.
But on top of that, the manager randomly came out as we finished our meal and comped our appetizer because he said it was delayed. I didn’t object obviously even though I thought it came out within an appropriate amount of time. Neither myself or my husband made any complaints so that was a nice surprise.
After that, this became our go-​to spot. The menu changes which is nice. I prefer to sit outside (when the dog is with us) or upstairs.

A wedding reception brought me back here recently, and I was more impressed this time around. The wedding buffet was nice, especially the greens, but the highlight for me is still the bar program. There were a slew of options, and I could always find a beer I enjoyed. My friends were smitten with the cocktails, so you know there will be something everyone likes (even for you, water-​drinker).
One more thing: if you get a chance to sit upstairs, do it. The space is fantastic!

I’ve been here countless times at this point and really enjoy this place. A couple reasons:
1. Nice patio close-​ish to waterfront and friendly to dogs
2. Second floor bar is beautiful and has spacious couches — want to have a casual after work meeting? Not too loud? Upstairs here is pretty perfect. It is a beautiful space and they host weddings up here.
3. Food tastes good. They have a good avocado/​crab dish I like, some salads and basically high quality food. There is some variety to the food list which I like.
4. History. This is situated in an old warehouse, and they do a good job of preserving the integrity of the old building.
In all, they have what I want — history, attractive space, good beer, good food. period. I keep coming back because I always enjoy myself here.

Very cool place to be. We love the farm to table concept and were excited to try this place. The décor, music, lighting and location alone makes this place worth a re-​visit. Our waitress was great too.
The menu was a bit small but I think when they’re working with local ingredients they are at the mercy of weather, seasons and availability.
I tried a couple of their mixed drink specials and they were delicious!
We ordered shrimp fritters and a crab cake for starters. They were wonderful. My boyfriend and I both ordered the skirt steak marinated with chimichurri and served with a corn and tomato salad. We like medium rare and they nailed it. The food was so fresh and flavorful.
The prices are very reasonable and maybe even a bit less than other restaurants in Old Town.
We will be back!

We didn’t know there was a St Patrick’s day parade in town when we went. The place was packed! Our server was very good at first but then became scarce after our orders were placed. The food was very good. We enjoyed everything we ate and the drinks were good too. Looking forward to returning.
Wings– very good! I get wings everywhere and these rate up there.
Barbacoa Taco — good
Fish Taco — very good.
UPDATE: We have finally returned. Food nowhere as good. Probably not going to come back.

I love the vibe of this place. It’s great for date night, or lunch with friends.
I’ve tried the Hummus/​Guacamole dip in the past and that was AMAZING, but when I went today, I did not see it on the menu. Whenever I go, I order the Old Town Crab Dip — it’s a solid choice that, when shared with the table, does not last longer than 3 minutes. The fish tacos are yummy, as well.

I came here with my BF yesterday for an early dinner. Many friends and co-​workers raved about this place, and I was finally able to see what the fuss was all about. The «must-​try» items were the Gouda and Prosciutto Mac and Cheese (U Street Mac and Cheese) and the Point Judith calamari. I was sad to see that both items were no longer on the menu :(.
The day was gorgeous so we sat outside on the patio. The servers were prompt and courteous and I ordered the Virtue Martini which was delish. For the appetizer we had the Crab dip. I am usually hesitant to order items with Old Bay (as it is incredibly salty), however it was perfectly seasoned and tasty. We also ordered the fish tacos (with Mahi Mahi) which were good but nothing special.
As I know the restaurant has a «Farm to Table» concept, the restaurant really needs to reintroduce the first two items and keep them as regulars :).

I have been here twice, and I love it. Eat upstairs if you can, the setting is beautiful and rustic.
I got the blue corn nachos and macaroni and cheese appetizers on both occasions. The nachos were great both times, but the macaroni wasn’t as good as I remembered the second time. I had the lobster roll on my first visit, and the wild mushroom tacos on my second visit, and both were outstanding. I never would have thought to do mushroom tacos, but the mushrooms had a great meaty flavor, and I loved them. My husband got the burger, and he said it was great as well.
The service both times was excellent. I’m looking forward to visiting again!

This place was overall an amazing place, and I highly recommend it.
I went with a group of four, we made reservations for 12:15, and got our table at 12:15. The restaurant is in a great location, we got to the restaurant a little early and walked by the water, which was nice. A decent amount of parking in the area, there’s plenty of garages to park for less than $ 10.
The restaurant itself was beautiful, we enjoyed the décor. Very spacious, it has two floors and seating outside.
The food was great!!! For appetizers we ordered the crab dip and hush puppies. Loved both of those dishes, the sauce that comes with the hush puppies (maybe the chipotle aioli)…I seriously wanted to ask for a bottle of it and take it home, so good! I ordered the steak and eggs for my entrée, which I loved. The steak was cooked nicely, I also enjoyed the biscuit that came with my meal. My boyfriend ordered the crab cake benedict, he enjoyed the dish, but wished his eggs were a bit more runny!
The only thing that kind of set me back from giving the restaurant 5 stars, was the $ 9 brunch cocktails that come in this small skinny glass. I got the passion cocktail, loved it so much, but also finished it in two minutes.
Great place, I’ll definitely be back!

First off, I should tell you that — in spite of the name — Virtue Feed and Grain does not serve feed or grain. I’m sorry to break the news.
If you can move past that fact, this is a pretty good place to eat and/​or drink.
We were there on a Saturday afternoon, my wife, our two tots, and I. We went in to the «wait to be seated» situation; there was what looked like a killer bar, and a clearly great beer selection.
We were seated outside; it was a bit chilly that day, and they didn’t have heaters out, so in spite of the sun shining down, I could have done without the fresh air. Although there were families with children seated inside the restaurant when we arrived, after we were seated outside (on this chilly day), we noticed that the tables seated on the patio around us also had young children. As a lifelong worker in the service industry, I understand the need to seat appropriately, but I don’t like to think that the only reason people were sentenced to the brisk air outside was because they had kids. (This is total speculation on my part.)
Our server greeted us promptly and was friendly and enthusiastic. He went over the specials and took our drink orders right away, and was knowledgeable about the beers they had on hand.
My wife ordered a glass of wine. It didn’t show up with my beer. Our server came back to get our food order, and she asked about the wine. He seemed surprised that it wasn’t there yet and said he’d get it. He took our food order and then went on to another table (a 5-​top) and got their drink orders. This was time he wasn’t spending getting us our glass of wine, which was already late and should have been his first priority at that time.
A few minutes later, he brought out drinks to that table, and when he looked over at us, he got an «oh sh! t» look on his face and went back inside. He came out a few minutes later with a tray full of drinks, which he stopped and dropped off at another table. W’s wine was on that tray, but he didn’t drop it off until after he’d unloaded the drinks for the other table. Forgetting something is human, so okay, but when you’re standing there with the forgotten object in your hand, it doesn’t make sense to *not* drop it off first.
For lunch we got the kids a kids meal with chicken tenders, which were hand breaded and not the usual «came in frozen» kind.
My wife had mahi mahi tacos. The fish tacos apparently rotate, and that was the selection that day. They were lime-​marinated and topped with salsa verde, jalapeño slaw, guacamole, and cilantro. They were quite delicious, but not delicious enough and certainly not substantial enough to justify the price. (Keep in mind, waterfront restaurant = higher prices.) In particular, these tacos just weren’t that *special*; delicious, but if you’ve had fresh fish tacos before, you’ve probably got a good idea about how they are.
I got the umami burger. THAT was worth the $ 15 price tag. Big, juicy, cooked perfectly medium-​rare, and slathered with smoked blue cheese, wild mushrooms, and roasted garlic truffle aioli. It was easily the star of our lunch, and honestly the best burger I’d had in a very long time.
I’d be willing to swing back in here based on that burger and the beer selection, but there are enough compelling menus at other spots downtown to make a second visit anytime soon.

I came to virtue feed and grain a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed our time here! The highlight of the meal definitely had to be the extremely friendly staff that was just so attentive, kind, and went out of their way to make their customers feel great!
For drinks me and my husband shared a bottle of wine that was just so good! It was the William hill Cabernet Sauvignon, I’d highly highly recommend this wine!
We were a group of 4 and ordered the guacamame hummus and it was very tasty! I highly enjoyed it!
As my main meal I had the fish tacos, there were three little tacos (not fried) with a really good cabbagey slaw with a creamy sauce (might have been avocado) and the dish was accompanied by some beans and rice that were a little dry but my main deal was that I thought the tacos were a bit too small, fine for me but definitely not enough for my husband or anyone else. I wish they would have added some other component or side.
I’d definitely come back! The food is great and the staff is wonderful!

Firstly, the atmosphere here is great. The building is an old 18^th century granary and being from the midwest, yes, that shit impresses me. If you’re from this area you probably take the amount of «old stuff» around you for granted, but it’s pretty remarkable living someplace where everything around you has so much history. Where I’m from, a building is «historical» if it’s from 1960. Yawn.
So with that said, I basically made reservations here for our business meeting because it looked cool, which could have ended up going terribly wrong since I didn’t really do much research beforehand. It was super easy to make reservations for a large group on OpenTable (maybe that’s common here, but again, not where I’m from) but when we showed up (only four of us were on time) they did not want to seat us. They said they had a policy of only seating parties once at least 5 of the members are present. This seemed reasonable to me although the other members of our party were annoyed. Eventually they seated us anyway and the rest of our group arrived shortly after.
Our server stumbled a bit in the beginning and mixed up a few of our drink orders, but eventually it was smooth sailing once he seemed to get some assistance in waiting our table. We ordered most of the Happy Hour apps but the star was definitely the calamari. I’m not usually a fan of calamari since most places don’t get the texture right, but they nailed it. The crab dip is pretty good as well, although a little runny. I found the guacamole hummus to be an odd choice, especially since I’m not used to eating hummus with tortilla chips…
All of the entrees looked amazing. Most everyone ordered the skirt steak, which looked incredible and came presented in an almost bento box-​like fashion with three different sauces on the side. My husband’s monk fish was delicious. I was pretty full from all the apps so I ordered a caesar salad as my main. It was a pretty typical caesar salad but the boquerones made it special.
All in all, I would definitely recommend this place for groups.

One of the better places to go with friends in Old Town Alexandria. They have 2 floors (I normally frequent the top one there if I go) also an outside patio if it is nice outside although its not that big so arrive early if you want a spot. I love the décor inside with all the food which gives it an old time rustic feel.
I havent had a sit down dinner here so cant say anything about the wait staff but the bartenders are usually quick and friendly. They have a large selection of beers and homemade cocktails. The crap dip and nachos are usually on point along with the burgers for an entrée choice. If youre around old town and looking for a good place to go for drinks here is a good choice.

I have been here a few times in the last year and each time the food has been better than the last, which doesnt happen often. The first time was for restaurant week and we got to try everything on the menu since I’d come with a couple friends. The seafood here is impeccable! Try the grilled rockfish. But then so is the skirt steak with the variety of aoilis they serve it with. You can tell the ingredients used are fresh and thought goes into the preperation and presentation. Portions are huge but everything is always light and delicious where you don’t feel like keeling over in a food coma. Definitely save room for dessert.

I really enjoy going to Virtue. Its at an excellent location right by the waterfront and has a romantic/​cozy feel to it. The atmosphere is very warm and inviting. My boyfriend and I spend many happy hours here.
Their happy hour is my favorite time to go. The drinks are very affordable and who doesn’t love $ 4 nachos that are absolutely delicious?! Yes, please! I’ve never actually sat down here for a meal, its always been more of a happy hour/​late night drink spot for me. I’ll be looking forward to stopping by for the main event soon!

We decided to go to Old Town Alexandria and before going, chose to give Virtue Feed & Grain a try. Since we didn’t make a reservation, we took our chances and were there shortly after 5 p.m. on a Saturday. Already the place was busy. The hostess told us that we could eat in the bar area and we agreed. She took us to a high top table that could seat 4, so there was plenty of room for us to spread out. All that said, if you decide to go, I would recommend making a reservation.
Our server was prompt getting to us. She was friendly and knew the menu quite well. My husband asked her about the restaurant’s name and she said they serve locally sourced «virtuous food».
For my drink, I chose the «stardust». This consists of: «Tito’s vodka, simple syrup, blackberries, lemon wedges, raspberries». The berries were muddled with the raspberry and lemon being the dominant flavors. I enjoyed this drink, it was on the sweet side without being too sweet. My husband had a Devil’s Backbone beer.
One appetizer caught my husband’s eye — «grilled bratwurst», so that’s what we got. This dish consists of: «locally made Wisconsin style bratwurst, braised cabbage, whole grain mustard». This was a good way to start the meal. My husband really enjoyed it and said he wants to have it again! The brats were grilled and the cabbage was more like a sauerkraut but not as sour and had a touch of sweetness. The mustard complimented the brats very nicely.
For my main course, I ordered the Chesapeake crab cake sandwich, which consists of (from the menu) «cast iron seared, brioche bun, sriracha remoulade». Normally the remoulade is applied directly to the crab cake but I asked for it on the side, which turned out to be a good idea. The crab cake was decent and held together well which made the sandwich easy to eat. The remoulade had a kick to it so I used it very sparingly. The sandwich also had a tomato slice and a piece of lettuce plus it came with fries.
My husband ordered the Virtue burger which consists of: «Creekstone farms beef, choice of Swiss or cheddar, bacon, lettuce, tomato». He chose Swiss cheese and had his burger cooked medium. His side was fries. The burger was properly cooked and was very juicy — maybe too juicy as the bottom half of his roll couldn’t handle it and fell apart. He ended up eating it with a knife and fork. Still, he said it was a good quality burger. He recently had a burger at Earl’s Kitchen and admitted that he liked Earl’s burger better.
We were too fill to even consider dessert. Before the tip, dinner cost $ 68 + change. The restaurant is very loud so it wasn’t easy having a conversation. All in all, service was great — very efficient and friendly. We would consider going again — but will make a reservation!

Loved the atmosphere here! We went at night and sat in the back of the second floor which was separated from the bar type scene that happens up there later. We had a big group and they were very accommodating of all of our questions and indecisiveness… Always a plus for me!
For appetizers, we ordered the hummus which was amazing. Highly recommend that. As far as entrees, I had the salmon. The fish was a little bit over done, so next time I wouldn’t ask for it well done. It was just a bit dry and plain, but I really got the fish flavor and it allowed me to taste the «Mac and cheese» style taste of the quinoa it came with. This was a really interesting way to do quinoa, but I loved it! Others at my table loved the flank steak.
The service was good as well. They did have an issue with one of our orders, so it took much longer than expected. Although this is always slightly frustrating, I appreciated how they tried to compensate by offering appetizers or another round of drinks free. Overall it was a great experience! I recommend getting reservations or getting there slightly earlier than you want to eat. We had a long wait with no reservations!

I’ve had Virtue Feed & Grain on my to-​visit list for quite some time, but never actually got around to eating there until I started searching for spots in Old Town Alexandria where we might be able to host the rehearsal dinner for my January wedding.
First off, the restaurant is really beautiful. It’s got a hip, rustic vibe, with a lot of natural wood and farm-​to-​table-​esque inspiration. The upstairs is BEAUTIFUL, with lots of mixed seating, curtains, a huge private bar, and more. The upstairs space is what we’re looking at for the rehearsal, and the space alone sold me on this place before I even tried the food!
Of course, being, well, the person I am, we couldn’t very well make a decision without actually eating here first. So I came back with my mom and future mother-​in-​law for lunch, and, thankfully, was equally as impressed.
The Old Town Crab Dip is to-​die for, with lots of crab, corn, and a delicious creamy sauce. Even though the menu states there is sriracha in this, it’s not very spicy either.
I got a caesar salad, which was very refreshing and well-​dressed, and the fish of the day. It was a parmesan-​crusted trout served over kimchi spaghetti squash. I was so intrigued by the latter part of the description, that I just had to order it! The trout was awesome, fried deliciously and very moist. The spaghetti squash was really unique, with kimchi, roasted tomatoes, capers, and green onion. I thought it had awesome flavor and paired strangely well with the fish.
My mom got the lobster roll and my future mother-​in-​law got the fish tacos + a cup of the soup of the day, which was a triple lobster bisque. Their entrees were slightly less successful, but still good.
Our waiter Scott was awesome — super informative and very patient in answering my mom’s questions, as she cannot eat anything with any amount of spiciness. He was super accomodating in bringing out samples of the soup and the crab dip for us to try before ordering, and when they forgot my MIL’s soup, he brought it out very quickly and comp’d it on our bill.
I would definitely recommend Virtue Feed & Grain if you’re in the Old Town area. We’ll see if my future in-​laws end up deciding to host the rehearsal dinner here, but I’m crossing my fingers that this will be their choice!
VF&G also validates parking in the garage directly next to them (on the same side of the street) — $ 3 off. But just don’t make the same mistake we did and park in the garage that’s directly across the street!