Mussel Bar & Grille

The service was excellent at the bar. Yaroslav and Rachel were really fun and gave great service prior to our party arriving. Once our party of 5 came, Allison was our server and she was absolutely FANTASTIC. I have never had such great service and all of my friends had a blast. We will definitely be back for Oyster Fest! Cheers!

Slow Slow Sloooow Service. I mean unbelievably bad. The muscles were excellent, and décor cool… but that’s where it ends.
We sat 25 minutes before asking the host to chase down our waiter who hadn’t even greeted us yet. With that amount of time we were obviously ready to order, which we did, and that was the last time we saw our waiter. Ever. Seriously not once more for the entire meal, to get the check, or on the way out.
I flagged down a manager begging for the glass of wine I ordered. Food runners brought the food. And we had to get a bus-​girl to bring the check!
This place needs a lot of help, starting with a Manager who knows how to get things in order, if it’s going to survive.

I had dinner in here by myself the other night and I have to say it was one of the best restaurant experiences I have had in a long time. I sat at the bar and was greeted by my bartender almost emediatly with a menu and a water. He then described to me what the restaurant week special was and won me over with their 35 dollar deal. After having my beer and first course the manager on duty, I believe her name was Katie, stopped by to see if everything was going well and if I had any questions. Over all I would say that Mussel bar is a step above the rest when it comes to customer service, and I would highly recommend it for anyone who wants good beer good foot and a great time.

Very very good food. Price matches the food. The food is expensive but I think they spend your money correctly with having quality ingredients and delicious sauces. Had a veal burger cooked exactly medium which is very different since most places can’t cook a medium burger correctly. My fries were delicious and tasted just like boardwalk fries. The fries came with three very different sauces but all were in their own way so good. I will be back, the people that work there were really funny and engaging too.

Happy hour (3 – 7) is great, there’s a nice selection of beers to choose from. Also loved the hot wings and the truffle fries from the bar menu.
Beet salad was delicious, very healthy but with a little extra flavor from the pickled onions and crunch from the hazlenuts.
White Wine mussels were good. We got a half order and it was very plentiful.
The wings and fries were our favorites though.

Good place to catch up for drinks and appetizers. Excellent drink menu — lots of beers and decent wine. And solid appetizer menu. Definite recommend for an hour or two after work.

Five kinds of mussels cooked in different sauces, 2 kinds of fries and 3 kinds of beer paired with — good service too. Will love to come back to try their other seafood items. I’m just too full tonight!

Went here to meet some distinguished colleagues on the Arlington side… funny thing was that I was the only one who came here and ate Mussels. First off. they do have a fantastic beer list but I opted for wine. Sadly they had happy hour but they were being the happy hour Nazi and wouldn’t allow for anybody to cash in on their deals at tables. only at the bar. Now why do you do that? That takes away a star for you…
Food was decent. but I wouldn’t say healthy. Fries were crisp and served with the mussels. too much. I got the Thai curry mussels (the first time I have seen it since my days in Sydney’s mussel house). it was okay. not very curry like more milky. Also asked for brussel sprouts which were good but served with too much pork fat.
It’s not too crowded at dinner but the bar is. and it is huge!

Ended up here after 9 pm with my boyfriend. We were driving home from an event when we realized that we were hungry. As we drove past, my boyfriend noticed the sign that said, «MUSSEL.» Instantly, we agreed to stop there to eat! HA!
As mussel aficionados, we walked in with high expectations, and they were met. We sat at the bar (you know, because we’re classy), and proceeded to peruse the menu. Because there were so many options, we asked for recommendations. I got the Provencal mussels, which had Roasted Tomatoes, Parmesan, Capers, Basil, and Cream, and my boyfriend ordered White Wine mussels, which have Roasted Garlic, Lemon, Parsley, and Cream. We also ordered the fries too. YUMMO!
We appreciated that the food came out to us quickly, and while we were waiting, they kept bringing us bread! Yes times INFINITY!!!
We had two young ladies who were our servers at the bar that night, and they were great. They engaged us in conversation, were speedy with their service, and didn’t rush us even though we were there almost until the restaurant’s closing time in the middle of the week.
NOTE: I live in Maryland, and I loved my experience at the Arlington location of this restaurants so much that I had to try it out in Bethesda. It was just as amazing. I’m a fan!

The Good
— the overall feel of the place was great. The décor and the huge windows provided for a good atmosphere.
— The beer selection was impressive, not to mention they have their own special brew.
— the service was quick and our waiter was very nice
— One of my friends ordered the Thai mussels which were very good, and the portion was huge!
— The fries that come with the mussels are amazing. A must try.
The Bad
— Price wise I was a bit disappointed. As I said above, the lunch sized mussel potion was huge. It enough for at least two people. However, priced at $ 20 was a little much.
–I had the tuna tar-​tar. The amount of tuna was perfect, but the plate itself was a bit disappointing. The tuna was on top of some garnishes instead of a salad, the chips that came with the tuna were covered in oil making them less than appetizing. The tuna was great, but the additional components could definitely be improved.
Overall, good food and good atmosphere. I will definitely be going back!
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I sat outside around 9pm with my friend and dog (they are pet friendly)! It was half off bottles on Monday night so we got a bottle to split with a pizza (six pieces) and devil eggs and poms (fries). The pizza was great it was the BBQ one and so were the poms (double fried for crispy). The bread they have is addictingly yummy as well! I would go for the bread an drinks anytime!
I personally did not think the sauces being served with the poms were well placed. With a fry that good, there should have been a special sauce like a pesto horseradish or something other that ketchup, bad Chipotle mayo and honey mustard. I love devil eggs normally and it was bold to put procutto on them. But doing so added way too much salt to these and after one bite my friend and I both stopped eatting them. The pup had to eat them for us.

I’m a pretty big fan of the Mussel Bar in Bethesda but this one is actually closer to my new place now AND it’s a short walk from the Ballston metro.
One thing I will say about this Mussel Bar versus the other one is that I have NOT had any issues with grit in my mussels here (yet). I’ve been having that issue with the Bethesda location my last few visits but I haven’t had it here so yay!
My last visit was on a Tuesday, and they had $ 1 oysters and $ 5 sparkling wine. We were in a really good mood so we were all about that, plus our usual mussel order: Wild Mushroom. (whatever mushroom+bacon/pancetta mussel that have, we order; I feel like they switch it up sometimes) with sweet potato fries. And plenty of bread to dip in the delicious creamy sauce. We also got a side of green bean almondine because we need to keep our veggie intake up but weren’t feeling any of the salads that day.
I like the setup of this location as well. It seems more open (Bethesda is better for that more intimate mood, I think) and relaxed. It is across the street from a car dealership, which is kind of strange but I suppose handy for giving folks directions?
If you want to meet me in Ballston, there’s a good chance I’m going to ask that we meet at Mussel Bar. It’s one of my go-​to places for a nice meal with my boyfriend and we’ll be going to the Ballston location more, I believe.
(I don’t partake in the drink much, but they do have a really nice selection of beers, if you’re a beer aficionado!)

This place was a bit overhyped for me — as an avid fan of mussels, I was pretty disappointed in my experience here. We came in right after they opened for lunch, so there obviously weren’t that many people. The ambiance was pretty nice to be honest — it sells itself as a nice sit down restaurant, but the bar aspect of it gives it a more relaxing, chilled vibe that’s actually pretty pleasant when its not that crowded but could be problematic if you’re looking for a nice dinner during peak hours. However, even with barely any people for the servers to handle, I felt like our waiter was a bit inexperienced and inattentive.
We started off by ordering an appetizer. However, after my friend asked about the special of the day, the waiter explained it in detail (oyster po-​boy), took down our entrée order, and forgot all about our appetizer. We got our appetizer after our entrees, which was a bit annoying since we were sitting around wondering how long it would take our entrees to arrive when it took so long just to get our appetizer.
I got the mushroom mussels — they were alright, but not the best I’ve tasted. Although they cook in mushrooms, sauces, and bacon if I recall correctly, I feel like the flavor didn’t really seep into the mussels too well, and they tasted a bit bland. Being a mussel place, I definitely wasn’t wow-​ed by their mussels. I also got a side of sweet potato fries with a sample of sauces. Those were pretty good, but at the same time they tasted bland, and they gave a lot of fries, so it got pretty hard trying to finish the whole side order.
My friend got the oyster po-​boy. He said that was actually really good, but I can’t really comment on that.
After finishing our entrée, we got our appetizer — the calamari. It was definitely not what I expected and I really didn’t like them. First of all, their calamari is not fried (and although I know that not all calamari is fried, I was looking for some calamari finger food, which I feel serves better as appetizer anyways). They also try to be a bit too creative with their dish — they add a lot of different meats (pork belly, I think there was octopus) and they mix and matched some sauces whose flavors really clashed with each other. The appetizer itself was actually really chewy, and it was very hard to chew through. Overall, the texture, the flavor, and the feeling of eating the appetizer almost made me sick — a very disappointing end to our meal.
Overall, if you’re looking for a place to get good mussels, this place is fine — but there are better. Don’t expect the best food or the best service.

I popped in here on a Thursday night with a couple of friends after work. The bar for Happy Hour was packed and lively. We got seated at a corner table with big windows to look outside– the perfect setting for a rainy day.
We were craving the the oysters and proved it by ordering a dozen raw oysters. The waitress gave us a selection of oysters to choose from and we picked oysters from Maine. Happy to say that it was a good choice– the were huge and simply delightful, had me craving for more.
We also ordered the Kennett Square Mushroom Mussels which came in a huge cooking pot. The sauce was creamy and flavorful but not too heavy– a good dipping sauce for the bread we got. The mussel entry came with a choice of classic fries or sweet potato, we choose to go with the sweet potato fries which were no point!
Last but not least we had the Spicy Blue Crab Dip which was simply divine. I’m not a big spicy eater and was glad to discover that the dip wasn’t all that spicy.
Overall we had a great experience at The Mussel Bar & Grille. Would love to come back just for Happy Hour next time around.

Mediocre at best. Their mussel are no where near the quality of brasserie beck, their sister restaurant. Service is horrendous.
They recently added Joah Crab Claw to their menu, however they are not. They are selling snow crab claws and marketing then as Jonah Crab Claws.
Also for brunch they don’t use fresh orange juice, they use orange juice from a gallon jug and say it’s fresh.
Bottom line, there are better restaurants in the area.

Ugh, well, I knew what I was getting into checking out Mussel Bar (likely disappointing based on my trusty peers’ reviews) but I did want to find out for myself. Came here with my bf on a Sunday evening. At least 3 of the items we wanted to order were not available. Service was a bit spotty.
Onto the food. The poached shrimp raw bar app was just ok. The crab claws. just ok. The oysters were decent. but again, just ok. the calamari app was acceptable but covered in a smorgasboard of sauces — i mean pick one! ca’ mon.
Picked the mediterranean mussels. the mussels themselves were not appealing to me. i ate one and after that just fished out the sausage morsels in the broth which was literally the best thing i ate all night.
the lamb meatballs were weird. they just fell apart. rob weidmeier needs to put some serious work into this place. if he gives a shi*t

Kind of disappointed in Mussel Bar. I had high expectations, as I’ve heard great things about Robert Wiedmaier restaurants.
This is more of a sports bar than restaurant. There are large plasma screen TV’s so the bro’s can keep up with their sports, and plenty of beer options.
Kale Caesar Salad was very good. However, the mussels were just ok. We had two types — the Mediterranean and the mushroom/​bacon/​cream variety. Both were mediocre. The fries and dipping sauces were the best part of our dinner.
Service was pretty horrendous.

No reservations on a Thursday night and was sat within minutes. The place wasn’t packed but pretty filled for a freezing cold, super windy week night.
Crispy Berkshire pork belly– delicious, seasoned perfectly, smoky, sweet and salty with a fresh bite of the arugula and apple salad. Didn’t come out the way we’d expect from the menu description but we enjoyed it. Def not crispy. More like braised in the smoky chili that it comes in.
Mussels with mushroom, bacon, cream and thyme. Delicious, big mussels in a savory broth. Got the classic frites for an extra $ 1 which were also good.
Smoked center cut pork ribs– slightly over smokey. My bf enjoyed them. Huge portion, he only ate half and boxed the rest. The sweet frites were good and so was the mac n cheese.
Shrimp and grits– flavors and seasoning were all there but the shrimp was so over cooked they became tough. Didn’t bother to tell the server because I was in a good mood and only had 2 shrimps anyway because the apps stuffed me up.
Old fashioned cocktails and Belgian IPAs were also delicious.
Service was decent. Atmosphere was nice, casual and relaxed. Cool, rustic but modern décor. Loved that the kitchen was right in the dining room.
Will def be back for the mussels and maybe some other items on the menu.

Fancy dinner with a friend, Mussel has a reasonable wine list and quite a good beer list for a restaurant that doesn’t specialize in beer. Service on this mid-​week night was pretty good considering that we were the last people to enter and one of the last groups to leave!
We started off with the lamb meatball to share. Very tasty in a good size for sharing between two, i.e., we got one each and a good scoop of hummus. It went very well with the bread.
For mains, I decided to go with the mussels and had a mix that included cream and bacon. Extremely tasty, a very large portion of perfectly split mussels and once I put a few of them away, I was able to scoop up the sauce and find lots of those bits of onions and bacon. Yummy!
Mussel Bar is an upscale restaurant. You’ll do fine if you’re looking for something nice on a date night!

Great mussels. Great service. Great Beers.
I really love this place. It’s a great spot to hang out with friends and enjoy some delicious mussels. There are a number of different flavored pots offered and each are $ 24. It’s $ 1 or $ 2 if you want to add fries or sweet potato fries.
I usually go for the thai flavored mussels because I love the broth. Everything comes with bread to dip the sauce into which is amazing.
Also, the service was spot on as well.
Overall, it’s a great option to get 2 mussels, 2 fries and an appetizer to share among 4 people. It’s not too pricey given the modern atmosphere and décor.
Parking is primarily street parking or within walking distance from Ballston metro.