St. Arnold’s Mussel Bar

I swung in here with a few friends after we hit Zoolights, so I found it interesting all of us had a yearning for mussels at the same time. Do I regret that craving now? Absolutely not! St. Arnold’s provides a long list of mussel options (I kept it old school with the scampi style), and leaves you with a full tummy after it’s all said and done. Great food for the value, hopefully your group of friends will have an interesting yearning for mussels as well!

My boyfriend and I came here for dinner on a Friday night. I made reservations on OpenTable and had no problem getting a seat. I’ve been to the downtown location and walk past this place all the time, but this was our first time inside Cleveland Park.
At the entrance it was a bit confusing which floor we should go to – we ended up going down the stairs to the basement bar (is this the Abbey?), where the waitress told us it would be fine to sit for dinner – it had a casual, but cozy vibe and was only half full, which was fine with us. They have big booths and large tables that are great for groups!
We split the French Onion Soup and a pot of the St Arnold Mussels. The soup was good, but had two bay leaves still in it, one of which was a bit broken into very sharp pieces. These definitely should have been strained out since they are not meant to be eaten – I’ve never had a restaurant make this oversight before.
The St Arnold mussels were amazing! The pot was very full and all of our shells were opened. The sauce they come in is extremely rich from the cream, duck fat and beer. We loved dipping the bread and fries into it! Towards the end of our meal, a waitress asked us if we wanted more bread, but didn’t mention that there would be a $ 0.50 charge for it.
For drinks, we had pours of the Delirium Tremmens and Chimay Red – at ~$ 10 each it was pretty heftily priced. The Chimay was much flatter than expected and my boyfriend suspects that it wasn’t poured very well, with too much foam that was later scraped off. Pretty disappointing from a beer bar.
Service here was very subpar – I’m not one who usually minds poor service, but this was disrupting to our meal as a whole. You had to ask for everything – plates, utensils, water, etc. etc. – if you were lucky enough to flag down a server. The guy who brought our food out made some seriously weird faces at us (?) and had us take the food from his hands instead of placing them on the table (?) – just really weird overall.
I love the food here, but I think I will stick to the Jefferson’s location, even though this one is right by my house and way more convenient – the complete lack of service and hit-​or-​miss quality to the food and drinks this time around was not what I expected from a $ 60 meal.

So, we stopped at this place for brunch today, and it was a very «meh» experience. When we came in, the place was pretty much empty, maybe two or three tables taken. Yet it took about 15 minutes for the waiters to acknowledge our existence and take the drinks order. After that, it took another 10 minutes to get the coffee (+5 more to get the cream). My coffee was served in a dirty mug which was clearly not washed after the previous customer and had a huge smack of pink lipstick on it. The food was also unimpressive. The eggs were overcooked, the bread and potatoes were just OK. Nothing to write home about.

This is a good neighborhood restaurant, but prices are a bit steep. Large beer selection, only one cider, and cheap wine. The fries are fried in duck fat, so vegetarians beware. Typical bar menu and good happy hour deals on mussels.
The inside is very small, but they have expanded to a space next to Atomic Billiards. Unfortunately, it still smells like a locker room, so if you go, make sure you go to the upstairs location.
Customer service was amazing and the manager was super friendly.

Can’t comment on the food. Wasn’t there long enough. Saw their beer list, and it looked like the usual overpriced suspects — Ommegang, Hofbrau, Palm, Chimay, Weihenstephaner, etc.
Walked in on a Sunday night. Was seated at a table for two in front of the bar, which was fine because we wanted to watch the game. The tables are tightly packed, but nothing unbearable. 20 seconds after being seated, the man behind me popped me in the back, shifted his stool out, reseated himself, and then yelled in my ear: «Hey, don’t worry about sucking in your f*cking gut. I’ll just move.» At over 6’1″/210, I’m not exactly svelte, but I’m not really fat either. This guest of St. Arnold’s had clearly been overserved, as he was slurring his words and swaying, even while bracing himself on the table.
I responded in an overly polite tone (especially for me): «Sir, I understand that the tables are cramped, but if you talk like that in front of my wife again, I think we’re going to have a problem.»
I got the hundred yard stare for about 5 seconds before he apologized, said «Merry Christmas,» and shook my hand. At that point (after the situation had clearly dissipated), the waiter approached and told my wife and I that WE would have to move seats. I told him that the man had apologized and that there was no issue. The waiter explained that WE needed to move seats anyway. I replied that we wouldn’t be able to watch the game from that particular table, to which he replied that we would have to leave, because he wasn’t going to allow «this» in the restaurant.
I let him know that we were the sober ones who had been cursed at. He stared blankly as though English was now a language he didn’t quite grasp. At that point, frankly, the entire situation, which I had tried to defuse, seemed overly hostile, between the drunk diner and the waiter, so we left.
Sad that the waiter wasn’t able to take 30 seconds to grasp the situation and attempt to rectify it in order to keep us interested. Instead, I’m sure he went back to bringing that patron more alcohol, and went on with his night.
It really takes an incredibly bad experience or a truly wonderful experience to get me on Unilocal to write a review. And I doubt they’ll miss my business, but I’d sooner take a road trip with an over-​caffeinated Donald Trump than go back to St. Arnold’s.

Dropped in here doing come recon for an event we were holding and I figured I couldn’t pass up a Mussel Bar that features great beers.
I ordered the Mussels St Arnolds — house beer sauce, caramelized shallot, garlic, thyme and duck fat. Seemed like the house brand and the one to try. They were good. Honestly not the best I’ve ever had but I think I could just be used to a more traditional preparation and that could be my benchmark.
I’ll give it another shot when I’m able.
One thing to note is we asked for more bread to sop up the delicious juice at the bottom of the pot (if you waste this you’re a monster) The bread came quickly and we finished up and when I got the bill I noticed a .50 cents charge for the bread.
I chuckled and said to my wife, «Smooth move $ 0.50 is pretty much the limit to me not questioning a charge on a receipt.» Not a big deal but something to note, you’ll need the bread. I don’t recall seeing it on the menu but it could have been noted.
Another thing, this place is on the cozy side, so if you have a big group you may be out of luck. But for 2 to 4 people you should be good if you get there early.

Came here for Brunch, and it was really nice! They have a great beer selection and prompt friendly service. I had the Drug Opera, and it was delicious. It was a flaky bread with Ham and lots of gruyère cheese all topped with Bechamel sauce. Very tasty, but also quite rich. I had it with a nice Dunkel on tap. Be warned their plates are large, so come hungry! I couldn’t finish my plate because it was so much food. Two of our group had the Waffel burger and I was seriously envious. The waffel was fluffy, and the burger perfectly cooked. Again a lot of food! I would highly recommend this place for Brunch!

After reading countless postings about this place, I decided to check it out for happy hour today (Friday)…Picked up a female friend of mine and off we went… Note: Arrived at the restaurant about 5pm and parking can be a problem… Ended up parking at the shopping center right across the street from the restaurant, which is $ 4per hour and we ended up staying close to 2 hours… well worth it after driving around for a bit in all that traffic…
We entered and sat at the section that has the garage type doors, rather than even look at seating inside… We had a good choice of seats and chose the small tables to the right as you enter and we sat about 3 tables from the entrance… NOTE”…With cold weather on the horizon I suggest sitting closer to the bar to avoid any draft as people enter the restaurant, which will be a constant reminder of the cold on a busy evening or night…
We both ordered the St. Arnold’s mussels and split an order of fries… Our beverages were, for her, a German beer, Radeburger, and I ordered Palm, a Belgian one… we sampled each others and came to the conclusion the Palm was the preferred one though the Radeburger tasted good…
The mussels came out piping hot accompanied by some wonderful bread… Sopping my bread in that broth rocketed me to instant heaven… the fries were great also, seasoned nicely and arriving hot… We had been sipping on our beers before the entrees arrived, but once eating, our beers were totally forgotten… We added an extra order of bread to enjoy more of that broth… Afterwards, we split one order of buffalo wings which were delicious… Meaty, perfectly cooked with a nice crust and not too spicy… A great finale to an outstanding meal, all at happy hour prices…
My only disappointment was the size of the mussels, something I’m assuming the restaurant has no control over… Other than that I’m good… My companion requested a container to take home the rest of the broth from both of our meals for later consumption…
$ 11mussels…$ 5beers…extra bread… fries and the ambience… priceless…
Soon, we will sample mussels at the other facility on Jefferson Pl. NW just for comparison…
Would love to sample a few of the other mussels on the menu but the thought of not getting any of that duckfat mixture on the St. Arnolds will probably prevent me from straying… Why pass up a proven good thing???
Last but not least I have to mention the wait person was outstanding… don’t know her name but she was helpful describing the beers available as we were not familiar with any of them on the menu… along with our orders coming out promptly and she being available whenever we needed to order something else, she was more than happy to oblige… It made rewarding her generously a no-​brainer…
RUN…RUN…RUN THERE AS SOON AS YOU CAN!!!

This was our second visit and it was much better than the first. Their new location upstairs on the street in a covered bar area is much nicer than the dungeon we visited before. The high tables are great for groups. The staff was friendly, patient, and helpful. I ordered the spicy mussels and enjoyed the flavor however the mussels were tiny. For $ 20 I was a little disappointed. The fries that accompanied them were good but not the best I have had. We also ordered the salmon which was moist and delicious. Overall a good experience on a beautiful Sunday evening.

St. Arnold’s is the tinder date capital of the Van Ness/​Cleveland Park area. You will see at least one to two dates going down on any given night. Aka, good people watching. :)
Anyways, St. Arnold’s has quite a selection of craft beers on draft which is awesome. They are known for their mussels and frites. My friend got the Thai curry mussels and liked them. I ordered a spinach and goat cheese salad. It was a little overdressed although the dressing was a creamy mushroom sauce so it wasn’t a traditional dressing. I think it would be better if they had the mushroom cream elsewhere on the dish and more chunky, and used a light vinegarette on the salad. I did eat every last leaf though so maybe I am just being a little over critical. The flavors were good otherwise.
The servers have always been really nice in my experience. I do like it here but it’s kind of expensive for a casual outing since mussels are pricey in and of themselves. Still, it has nice semi-​outdoor seating and is convenient.

Good mussels and good beer! Came in for a birthday dinner and I’m a fan.
Ordered some wings to start and they were pretty solid. Also tried the meat and cheese plate and it was also a good spread.
For dinner is ordered the Eastern Shore Mussels. Excellent! The thing I hate about ordering mussels out is sometimes you just get a bowl of empty shells. Not here!
The beer selection was good and I like the atmosphere. Big wood tables and garage door windows. I ate in the upstairs area but the downstairs had more of a sports bar feel.
In the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger… I’ll be back.

(2.5 stars) Trivia here was a lot of fun, but that was pretty much it. Aside from mussels, they really didn’t have any specials for beer or food during trivia, which was a bummer.
The beer was solid but definitely not cheap, and the St. Arnold’s Over-​Stuffed Burger was very underwhelming. The fries were good, especially with the garlic dip that came with them. However, the burger was pretty bad. The meat tasted super low-​quality and it showed through in every bite. I guess that’s why they «over-​stuff» it with mushrooms, peppers, onions, cheese and bacon… so you can’t taste the meat.

The first time I discovered St. Arnold’s it was a Friday night. I came back on Sunday that same weekend for brunch. The next day, Monday, I came back for the happy hour. This place is a gem I swear!
The Cleveland Park location is much better than the Dupont one. A little divey but that’s part of the ambiance which I have grown to love!
Mussels: I have tried the Mussels St. Arnold’s and the Mussels Paella. Both great choices. The Paella is a little heavier because they throw rice in there but I think I like it more than the St. Arnold’s. The Mussels St. Arnold’s is cooked with duck fat which tasted great but the broth was a little thick for my liking. My boyfriend got the Pesto the first time and the Carbonara the second time. Both excellent choices. You can’t really go wrong with any of the mussels on the menu. I personally am trying to get through all of them one by one!
Brunch: Boyfriend got the waffle burger and I got the Wafflezooi — Both very heavy items (you’ll see in the pictures). You will probably have a hard time standing after you’re done here.
Happy Hour on Mondays: $ 11 mussel pots all night and ½ off selected beers. Normally the pots are $ 19. I was very pleased when we went.
The ONLY reason why I am not giving this place five stars is because the service could be better. Our server the first two times was very snarky and it’s one thing if he’s good at his job but it’s another if he messes up our appetizer orders aka forgets to even put them in. He wasn’t that helpful when it was our first time there — just very sarcastic. The second time we went he was just average. The next day we had another server but the service was not all that great either. Maybe they are understaffed but she seemed frazzled the whole time and we had to grab her attention several times on her own instead of her occasionally coming over to check and see if we were doing alright.
Open space (stark contrast with the Dupont location) and in a great neighborhood. Go!

It’s a Belgian-​themed dive that offers mussels. Our waiter was also funny and friendly. I’d come back just to shoot the ish with him.
This place specializes in mussels. Lots of options with those mussels, all $ 19. I got the house-​named mussels (St. Arnolds) and I found them to be ok. Honestly, I’ve had better. The broth was good but for the price and fanfare I did expect just a little more. Someone else in my group swore she’d drink the broth if she could, so my opinion is just mine and yours may differ. The fries were tasty. Someone else got meatloaf in my group after the waiter recommended it and when I come back here — and I will probably comeback — I’ll have the meatloaf. It’s $ 13 and to me, better than the mussels. Finally, the waffles were incredibly disappointing. They took a while, were overly soft, and were certainly not liege waffles. Maybe I’m a little hard, but if you’re going to advertise as this super Belgian place, you’ve got to nail the waffles.
The beer selection has a few choice Belgians on tap — pricey, but with different pour sizes — though they seem to push their more boring offerings like hoegaarden and stella. If you’re coming to a Belgian place to have one of those, rather than one of their good and available Belgians, like Duvel, Kasteel, Chimay, etc. we just can’t be friends. Or maybe we can, but we’ll eat at separate tables.
(I was really torn about 3 stars or 4. I’ve decided to share my thoughts *but also* theirs because I think the group consensus would have been four stars, and I want to be fair.)

Oh what a good time was had!
A little pricey but strolled in here for a late lunch and were not disappointed! Great mussels, amazing fries, not too amazing chicken sandwich (chicken breast, dry?), cold great bavik (sp?) beer.
Friendly service, generous portions, high tables, flip flop attire.
What’s not there to like?

Always a great time at a St. Arnold’s happy hour. Came here with a girlfriend last Wednesday to catch up – we were definitely those annoying people that wouldn’t leave throughout dinner. Luckily it was an essentially dead evening so no one needed our table.
I always get the Mussels St Arnolds and they were yum as usual but there were a lotttt of closed mussels. Growing up in avid seafood eating fam, I was always taught to not eat those and that very well may be an old wives’ tales but I don’t take any chances with my sensitive stomach. Plus I just didn’t feel like prying them open because that’s a pain in the ass and I didn’t feel like flicking garlic and beer juice into our faces. The frites were hot and crispy and we shared a nutella waffle that was doughy and delicious.
Can’t wait to get back, hopefully those damn mollusks will be less shy next time :-)

Looking forward to anything on Monday night? St. Arnold’s host a mussel happy hour special that’ll take you back around $ 20 total for a pot of delicious fresh mussels, batch of well seasoned fries and tip. Add on some New Belgian beers into the mix and you’re looking around 30 bucks for dinner. Beyond saying that the food is delicious and unique here at St. Arnold’s, the atmosphere is different as well. The deck area is basically open space so you get the feeling that you’re sitting outside but still have a roof over your head. You get some fresh air that adds an layer to your foodie experience here. Also it’s a semi-​loud atmosphere so feel free to decompress after a long Monday since there isn’t anything else to do on a Monday afternoon after-​work.
Aside from the mussels, St. Arnold’s also serve chicken wings. The buffalo wings are plump, so you can wiggle your way out of happy hour if your excuse was having a seafood allergy.
The restaurant is only a block from the metro so even if you had too many of those New Belgian beers you can stumble your way back onto the red line. The staff there is extremely friendly and will answer any question you have. Definitely worth a trip on the red line to check this place out when the weather is nice. Unfortunately, it does get crowded when the weather is nice out since everyone has the same idea.

Fantastic selection of mussles. One of the best spots in DC. also a whole mess of fresh beverages to choose from. This place is also great for happy hour. Check out their daily specials.
Happy hour is when you’ll find the best deals on drinks and mussels.

Tasty Mussels and a Cozy Atmosphere!
St. Arnold’s has an incredible variety of mussels, with a pot of mussels being $ 19 on their dinner menu. All mussels are served with fries. My favorite is their house specialty — Mussels St. Arnold’s — the sauce was so delicious and flavorful — I could eat it all day. The meal was complimented with bread — perfect for dipping (as were the fries) and I was stuffed by the end of the night. The portion of mussels was indeed filling.
It’s a pub — casual, lively atmosphere with long wooden tables. It can get hectic and noisy around dinner time, but you’re so busy eating the delicious mussels with your hands that it doesn’t really matter. The restaurant is also conveniently located by the Cleveland Park Metro Stop — very accessible.

Went here for their Monday night mussel special. The tables are pretty small here, so be careful where you place your menu. I accidentally was holding it over the candle and melted the plastic. Oops. They were very gracious about it and apparently it happens all the time!
Our server was very nice and recommended a great beer for me to try. I’m not much of a beer drinker, but I described the one beer I like and he found me another one I enjoyed, so now my repertoire had doubled! We got the house mussels and the Alsacian (sp?) and both were delicious. There was a generous portion of each and we were struggle to finish them by the end. The house style was the definite winner but we would get both again.
Can’t wait to come back and try some more mussels!