Mussel Bar & Grille Arlington is a fantastic spot for great food, drinks, and atmosphere. The mussels are perfectly cooked and come in several flavorful broths — the white wine and garlic is a standout. The truffle fries are crispy and addictive, and the seafood pasta was rich and perfectly balanced. The bar has a great beer selection (especially Belgian options), and the staff is friendly and attentive without being overbearing. The interior has a lively, upscale vibe that works well for both date nights and group dinners. Overall, an excellent dining experience — I’ll definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Vivian Leslie
Nice service, polite. Happy hour menu and food disappointing. Seems full price. Quiet and dull atmosphere. Good location. Very clean.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 5
Samuel Lum
Ive been here twice and I loved the food, service, and general ambience. The food is great and honestly a half pan is perfect with fries. They also have really good paninis!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Crystina Wyler
Great family brunch! Yummmm food, wonderful service!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
CozIam Happy
Haven’t visited the place in a long time and were hoping for some good food and service. We’re big fans of brasserie beck (now closed), Tasting table (also closed) and the Chef. We were witnesses of his early success in the area.
Patrick provided a good solid service, his colleague, she didn’t want/didn’t have time to serve our table and seemed very annoyed. The place was not full. In any case… the main disappointment was white wine mussels - one foul mussel ruined the whole pan. Sauce was watery, no flavor, portions used to be bigger and served in pots and definitely with more flavor and character.
Another note: table for 4 uncomfortably small to fit two pans (four would not fit), plus drinks and bread. Whoever thought of doing pans to make the portions look bigger didn’t think about customers’ comfort.
Overall very mediocre experience. Off my list of restaurants for now.
Hope the service and food quality remained top at other establishments - will give them a chance.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Sam I Am
Love this place. From the warm, personable greeting by Angel to the great service by Jaime, the people of this restaurant shine. On top of feeling so welcome there, that food was terrific. The oysters on the half shell were fresh (and a great price on Mondays), the French onion soup rich and delicious, and I couldn't stop eating the truffle parmesan fries. Great beer list, too, with some interesting Belgians in bottles and on tap. I'll have to go back to try their mussels...if it's like the food I had today, they won't disappoint!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Drew V
Jaimi B was a fantastic bartender. I sat at the bar less than an hour before closing after a long day of work to have a late dinner. Jaimi was excellent, the food was great, thanks so much!
Dan C
Excellent. Ducked in there to escape the thunderstorms that were rolling through and decided to have dinner early at the bar. That bartender is one cool dude. He called me by name, which few servers I've had have ever done. Man, I wasn't disappointed at all. After a glass of Chardonnay he recommended, I found out they were out of the special soup of the day (shrimp pepperpot). However, I had the best French Onion soup in recent memory instead. He recommended to the linguini bolognese and he sure nailed that, too. Well-cooked, creamy, meat was not too chunky at all. It was delicious. A little bit expensive for one person, but this is Arlington, folks. Nothing is cheap. Will definitely keep my eye on this place when I'm in the area again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
J
The food was really good. We ordered a variety of dishes & everyone loved their dish.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Laura Older
Incredible first time there for drinks! Was immediately taken excellent care of by Patrick and Angel. I felt safe and celebrated by the inclusive and welcoming environment and fun, attentive, and professional staff! My girlfriend got a stunning smoked whiskey drink (with presentation to die for!) and I had the delightfully light seasonal sangria. We will be back 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
The place is nice however the food was subpar. I ordered a breakfast item which was sausage patties, hash browns and eggs which was almost 20 dollars. The eggs were ok but the sausage patties and hashbrowns were absolutely way too salty. When I mentioned this to the server, he responded by saying “that’s just the way it’s made”. Overall disappointing experience. For the price, I expected better taste and service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
Luna Otimas
This place was SO GOOD Had some minor mix-ups with the kitchen(fries mix up type stuff) but nothing big and the waitress was so amazing about it I got a half pot of mushroom and bacon mussels and i think they're the best mussels I've ever had. My friend got a hot chicken sandwich I got some oysters to try and when I said I've never had them 2 waiters came over to give me tip and brought me oyster crackers(which I never realized was for oysters because I've always had them with soup) and Tabasco I think their advice really got me through. Amazing first time trying them, great mussels, great prices, great service, can't wait to be back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
E. L.
The place is overpriced. The lobster half tail was overcooked and chewy, and it is $48 per piece and comes with a small salad and fries. The service was bad. We went at night, 10:00, our waiter was Sean K. who messed up our order and wouldn't even offer water. Places like this get good reviews depending on who is serving you and cooking the food. We got a bad experience with food and service we will not be going for a pricey and overcooked loster tail. 👎🏻
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Chris Parker
Amazing muscles and service! I upgraded to tht sweet potato fries and they were very good with the three dipping sauces they come with.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Erick Alvins
One Star –wish I could give -1
If I could give zero stars, I would. What was supposed to be a special family dinner turned into a complete disaster, courtesy of this restaurant’s spectacular failure on every front.
We were handed an outdated menu at the start, which seemed promising—until I ordered five different items from it and was then told after the fact that the menu was outdated. That’s right—no apology, just a shrug and an “oh, we don’t actually have those.” Why hand it out in the first place?
For a table of eight, we were given one bread basket containing a single sad piece of bread. One. Piece. It felt like a joke—but no one was laughing.
Then, to add confusion to incompetence, dishes started arriving that we never even ordered. Meanwhile, 30 minutes had passed and still no sign of the oysters I specifically ordered. I noticed servers aimlessly wandering the dining room with trays of oysters, so I flagged them down, suspecting they were ours. No explanation was offered—they simply dropped the oysters on our table with zero indication of which type was which, even though I’d ordered three different varieties. Absolutely unacceptable.
Then came the tuna tartare. After one full hour. One hour to bring out a raw appetizer. How does that even happen?
By the time the main course was still nowhere to be seen, I gave up and canceled it entirely. Not a single person apologized or acknowledged how badly they had messed up. When I paid the check, I wasn’t even offered the most basic courtesy of a “sorry” or “thank you.” It was as if our experience didn’t matter at all.
Honestly, I’ve received more attentive, competent service at a McDonald’s drive-thru—and that’s not an exaggeration. At least there, you get what you order, on time, and without attitude.
This place utterly ruined what was supposed to be a meaningful family gathering. I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant to anyone—not even for a casual lunch. Avoid it at all costs unless you enjoy being ignored, misserved, and insulted by indifference. Total disaster.
Mussel Bar & Grille Arlington is a fantastic spot for great food, drinks, and atmosphere. The mussels are perfectly cooked and come in several flavorful broths — the white wine and garlic is a standout. The truffle fries are crispy and addictive, and the seafood pasta was rich and perfectly balanced. The bar has a great beer selection (especially Belgian options), and the staff is friendly and attentive without being overbearing. The interior has a lively, upscale vibe that works well for both date nights and group dinners. Overall, an excellent dining experience — I’ll definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Nice service, polite. Happy hour menu and food disappointing. Seems full price. Quiet and dull atmosphere. Good location. Very clean.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 5
Ive been here twice and I loved the food, service, and general ambience. The food is great and honestly a half pan is perfect with fries. They also have really good paninis!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great family brunch!
Yummmm food, wonderful service!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Haven’t visited the place in a long time and were hoping for some good food and service. We’re big fans of brasserie beck (now closed), Tasting table (also closed) and the Chef. We were witnesses of his early success in the area.
Patrick provided a good solid service, his colleague, she didn’t want/didn’t have time to serve our table and seemed very annoyed. The place was not full. In any case… the main disappointment was white wine mussels - one foul mussel ruined the whole pan. Sauce was watery, no flavor, portions used to be bigger and served in pots and definitely with more flavor and character.
Another note: table for 4 uncomfortably small to fit two pans (four would not fit), plus drinks and bread. Whoever thought of doing pans to make the portions look bigger didn’t think about customers’ comfort.
Overall very mediocre experience. Off my list of restaurants for now.
Hope the service and food quality remained top at other establishments - will give them a chance.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Love this place. From the warm, personable greeting by Angel to the great service by Jaime, the people of this restaurant shine. On top of feeling so welcome there, that food was terrific. The oysters on the half shell were fresh (and a great price on Mondays), the French onion soup rich and delicious, and I couldn't stop eating the truffle parmesan fries. Great beer list, too, with some interesting Belgians in bottles and on tap. I'll have to go back to try their mussels...if it's like the food I had today, they won't disappoint!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jaimi B was a fantastic bartender. I sat at the bar less than an hour before closing after a long day of work to have a late dinner. Jaimi was excellent, the food was great, thanks so much!
Excellent. Ducked in there to escape the thunderstorms that were rolling through and decided to have dinner early at the bar. That bartender is one cool dude. He called me by name, which few servers I've had have ever done. Man, I wasn't disappointed at all. After a glass of Chardonnay he recommended, I found out they were out of the special soup of the day (shrimp pepperpot). However, I had the best French Onion soup in recent memory instead. He recommended to the linguini bolognese and he sure nailed that, too. Well-cooked, creamy, meat was not too chunky at all. It was delicious. A little bit expensive for one person, but this is Arlington, folks. Nothing is cheap. Will definitely keep my eye on this place when I'm in the area again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was really good. We ordered a variety of dishes & everyone loved their dish.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Incredible first time there for drinks! Was immediately taken excellent care of by Patrick and Angel. I felt safe and celebrated by the inclusive and welcoming environment and fun, attentive, and professional staff! My girlfriend got a stunning smoked whiskey drink (with presentation to die for!) and I had the delightfully light seasonal sangria. We will be back 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
The place is nice however the food was subpar. I ordered a breakfast item which was sausage patties, hash browns and eggs which was almost 20 dollars. The eggs were ok but the sausage patties and hashbrowns were absolutely way too salty. When I mentioned this to the server, he responded by saying “that’s just the way it’s made”. Overall disappointing experience. For the price, I expected better taste and service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
This place was SO GOOD
Had some minor mix-ups with the kitchen(fries mix up type stuff) but nothing big and the waitress was so amazing about it
I got a half pot of mushroom and bacon mussels and i think they're the best mussels I've ever had.
My friend got a hot chicken sandwich
I got some oysters to try and when I said I've never had them 2 waiters came over to give me tip and brought me oyster crackers(which I never realized was for oysters because I've always had them with soup) and Tabasco
I think their advice really got me through.
Amazing first time trying them, great mussels, great prices, great service, can't wait to be back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The place is overpriced. The lobster half tail was overcooked and chewy, and it is $48 per piece and comes with a small salad and fries. The service was bad. We went at night, 10:00, our waiter was Sean K. who messed up our order and wouldn't even offer water. Places like this get good reviews depending on who is serving you and cooking the food. We got a bad experience with food and service we will not be going for a pricey and overcooked loster tail. 👎🏻
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Amazing muscles and service! I upgraded to tht sweet potato fries and they were very good with the three dipping sauces they come with.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
One Star –wish I could give -1
If I could give zero stars, I would. What was supposed to be a special family dinner turned into a complete disaster, courtesy of this restaurant’s spectacular failure on every front.
We were handed an outdated menu at the start, which seemed promising—until I ordered five different items from it and was then told after the fact that the menu was outdated. That’s right—no apology, just a shrug and an “oh, we don’t actually have those.” Why hand it out in the first place?
For a table of eight, we were given one bread basket containing a single sad piece of bread. One. Piece. It felt like a joke—but no one was laughing.
Then, to add confusion to incompetence, dishes started arriving that we never even ordered. Meanwhile, 30 minutes had passed and still no sign of the oysters I specifically ordered. I noticed servers aimlessly wandering the dining room with trays of oysters, so I flagged them down, suspecting they were ours. No explanation was offered—they simply dropped the oysters on our table with zero indication of which type was which, even though I’d ordered three different varieties. Absolutely unacceptable.
Then came the tuna tartare. After one full hour. One hour to bring out a raw appetizer. How does that even happen?
By the time the main course was still nowhere to be seen, I gave up and canceled it entirely. Not a single person apologized or acknowledged how badly they had messed up. When I paid the check, I wasn’t even offered the most basic courtesy of a “sorry” or “thank you.” It was as if our experience didn’t matter at all.
Honestly, I’ve received more attentive, competent service at a McDonald’s drive-thru—and that’s not an exaggeration. At least there, you get what you order, on time, and without attitude.
This place utterly ruined what was supposed to be a meaningful family gathering. I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant to anyone—not even for a casual lunch. Avoid it at all costs unless you enjoy being ignored, misserved, and insulted by indifference. Total disaster.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
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