vermilion restaurant & bar

always great. pork loin or lamb shank are hits in my book.

vermilion can be found on king street in alexandria which is essentially a murderer's row of really good food. from hank's oyster bar to the majestic, there isn't a shortage of places to find an enjoyable meal. vermilion (for some reason i just like typing that out) has a lunch special called the ceo where you can get a starter and a main course for a discounted price and if you add a dessert, they take a bit off of that also. um...sold! i've noticed that most of the nrg's restaurants offer similar specials and while they're not fast food joints (i think the proper term may be casual fine dining though i would hope any place i eat is fine dining...), i think i "combo" meal is a great idea for any restaurant since it gives more leeway to try bits of their menu.

i chose the intern option for $13 featuring half mixed greens salad, a cup of potato chowder made with creme fraiche, celery, bacon and potato, and half of the goat herder sandwich with whipped goat cheese, honey roasted beets, red peppers, and garlic confit. the portion was perfect, and i loved that it all came out together. a perfect option for those taking a quick lunch break from work. the beets were generous and the french bread wonderfully crispy and chewy. the soup had great flavor too, and was lighter than the typical chowder.

steak tartare. very very delicious!

my boyfriend and i come here all the time. it's one of our favorite places in old town. we've done brunch twice, happy hour countless times and dinner at least once. they do really great seasonal cocktails. the staff is friendly and very accommodating. we've never left disappointed and that rarely happens to us. our favorite appetizers are the hot pockets, hands-down. followed quickly by the old bay fries.

valentine's day choice of the obamas. the food is great and i love the atmosphere! been here many times for lunch, happy hour, and dinner. the lunch menu is very reasonably priced. dinner is expensive.

my daughter and i had lunch here.. very beautiful and very good food! we travel to dc often and we plan in going back soon!

we ordered pimento dip,cornmeal crusted oysters, nashville hot fried chicken sandwich and penne pasta (lamb bolognese). the pimento dip was really good and was served with pita like soft bread. the oysters were ok but the fennel salad that came with the oysters was very good. i didn't enjoy the entree as much. the penne pasta was just average nothing to write about and the nashville hot fried chicken was a disappointment. i love nashville chicken and was excited to know that they have it on their menu. i was not expecting it to be as spicy as the real deal but this had no spiciness at all. also the chicken didn't seem to be marinated so it was just bland. the breading on the chicken was falling off and it was way too oily. the real nashville chicken is also topped with spiced oil but it doesn't feel oily but this chicken felt like it had been dowsed in raw oil which i didn't enjoy. they should not have named it nashville chicken because it was nothing close to the real nashville style chicken. overall the food was good but not exceptional.

it has been a year since i was in there.  wouldn't go back.  if you are a republican you really aren't welcome.  it was sad - but, places change - soooo for a democrat that votes berny in voice but, behind the curtain you really vote hillary - you will be at home

outstanding. one of the best meals i have had in a long time! it's pricy but i have paid more for less. service team is appropriately attentive without disrupting. great for business dinner or romantic evening out!

the steak tartare was paired with some of the best goat cheese i have ever tasted

excellent service, good food. the service staff didn't bat an eyelash asking for heavy cream in the coffee, knew the menu to a t, and were attentive without being intrusive.

the sirloin bavette was great--i had asked for "mooing" and received it with just a millimeter of sear, which was wonderful! the shrimp and grits was solid, and the desserts were hard to choose from. if you order the fritters, definitely get coffee with it, as it just works.

the house drinks are a little odd (this month's theme is the red hot chili peppers, so next month may be different) but my californication was fine. preferred the wine.

would definitely recommend, and if you have the chance to come during restaurant week, do.

i give it a b+. it was slightly bland and undersized portions, but overall good. dish options were diverse and creative. staff was excellent! very attentive.

for special occasions. back at vermilion for dinner, this place is slowly becoming expensive but remains very good. the service is excellent, and the dinner room upstairs looks very elegant.
i recommend the $60 four course tasting menu, as we ordered 3 courses and ended up paying the same amount. the crab salad starter ($15) was delicate and tasty, my main of rabbit sampler – rabbit done 3 ways, $33 – was very original and enjoyable, and the desserts ($10) completed perfectly the meal. we chose from the excellent wine list a 2009 burgundy pinot noir @ $48, good but maybe not worth the expense.

amazing family event. this is the restaurant you want to go to if you want amazing food and to be treated like you're their most important customer. i coordinate a lot of dinners and gatherings for friends/family and have done so at many restaurants in the dc area. my experience at vermilion was the best i have ever had planning something like this.

i contacted vermilion to see if they could accommodate our party of 6 celebrating my parents 40th wedding anniversary on a saturday night. the general manager, dave, worked with me the week of our dinner to prep a selected menu based on the current weeks options, which they printed and had waiting at our table when we arrived to make the evening extra special. our waiter was extremely knowledgeable and explained in detail each item on the menu. he knew we were celebrating a special occasion and made sure to space our courses out perfectly to give us time to talk in between. we stayed for 3 hours and never once felt pressure to hurry up and leave as you do in so many other establishments.

the food was out of this world. my husband and i have been to vermilion before and have always been impressed by the food, but you do get a little worried when you are taking people out who have never been there before and are celebrating a special event. everyone is still talking about how delicious the meal was from the appetizers to the desserts. chef chittum is a magician with food.

it was a wonderful night that my parents will forever remember. whenever i have planned a special dinner out for a group in the past, i've spent days calling around to restaurants only to be told that i have to work with an outside company to reserve for a large group and sign a contract for minimums to be met (which are usually extremely high for a weekend). none of that was the case at vermilion. i simply picked up the phone to see if they would be able to accommodate a party of 6 for a special event and everything flowed perfectly from there. no additional fees or forms to fill out. just great customer service and food that we'll surely go back for many times over.

i wish there were more establishments out there like vermilion. it's now at the top of our list of restaurants in the dc area.