JanetKMR

I am looking for dinner and breakfast/brunch recommendations for Old Town Alexandria.

Right now the front runner for dinner is Vermillion as we had a fabulous meal there a couple of years ago and the online menu looks great.

Price is not a factor. Good wine list (for dinner) is a priority. French, Italian, American Continental are all welcomed for dinner. We can enter the world of Mexican for brunch as well but Dh doesn't eat Thai, Vietnamese or Indian.

For Saturday brunch an earlier opening time (9-10) is welcomed as we are morning people.

Also, when we were there previously there was a great cocktail bar/restaurant we had drinks at that specialized in various gins and had that 40's Pack Rat vibe to it. But I cannot remember the name of it to save my life.

We will be staying at The Lorien, so want to walk from there.

yestravel

Restaurant Eve or Vermillion are both really nice. Don't know the Lorien so can't say if they r in walking distance.

emd3

Jackson50 in the Hotel Monaco. We live not too far from Town and love that place. Very good food, very good service, not stuffy. We've had many very good meals there.

Brabo, which is adjacent to the Lorien. Excellent. This is a "special meal" type of place for us. Quiet atmosphere, refined, and everything we have had here is excellent. Make reservations ASAP.

emd3

Brabo has an excellent wine list.

I am sorry, that shoudl read Jackson20, not 50.

Jackson20 has a very good wine list. Not as top shelf as Brabo, but a nice variety and some top shelf included.

emd3

For French you have two options. Either Le Bergerie, which is old style, somewhat stuffy, but has very good food and excellent service and outstanding wine list.

Or a bistro like Le Refuge, which is small (cozy to us, cramped to some others perhaps, like a NYC bistro) but has good solid French food, and is very much like what you get in a good small bistro in France. Fun wine list also. We love this place. Pics on both websites.

Brunch: Chadwicks, down on the water. Brucnh starts at 10 am on Sat. and Sun. Very fun, casual place, good solid brunch spot.

emd3

ONe more we really like. It is not terribly fancy, but it is not just an everyday run of the mill Irish restaurant either. Damiel O'Connell's on King St. Very good food, very fun atmosphere. BUt not great on the wines; it is Irish after all...

emd3

Since you all like wine, check out Grape + Bean wine bar. Very good place to meet locals; you sit at high bar tables next to others, whom you can engage in conversation with or ignore them. 30 mines by the glass, over 200 wines by the bottle, all from small producers, really good choices. Good small plates to go w/the wine. we have spent many Sat. and Sun. afternoons there.

http://www.grapeandbean.com/pages/Old-Town.html