Saturday 8th of September 2012 08:04:12 AM

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For over 25 years, Bilbo Baggins Restaurant has graced historic old town Alexandria, just a couple blocks from scenic Founders Park on the Potomac River. There is free 2-hour street parking. The wood exterior is painted yellow, with black stairs to the entrance. The interior is divided into three sections. On the left is the compact "Green Dragon" pub, and on the right is "Bilbo Baggins" restaurant proper, divided into two dining rooms with plenty of wooden tables. The construction is brick and wood, with a decor palette of earthy brown and green colors. Craft beer paraphernalia adorn the walls, and of course there are plenty of artifacts from Tolkien's fantasy world. The pub area has a few small tables, a fireplace, a couple overhead televisions, and an L-shaped 12 chair bar. Behind the bar is an arched mirror and collection of tap handles. The bar offers 11 carefully selected craft beers on tap, from which you're bound to find something rare. A wonderful option is to create your own sampler flight from amongst their excellent selection. They also have over 100 bottles of global craft beers, with heavy emphasis on Belgian beers. The food menu is expansive and eclectic, featuring several exotic ingredients. This is a very interesting place. It may have a quirky and fanciful theme, but they are serious and masterful about presenting craft brewing excellence.

Monday 4th of October 2010 02:55:13 PM

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This is a pleasant restaurant off the beaten path in Alexandria. They have about 10 taps representing nice microbrews and the food and service are pretty good. I would definitely return to this restaurant, but with Rustico only 5 minutes away, I might decide it's a better spot if beer is what you're seeking. The DC area is becoming a very beer friendly town and 10 taps just isn't the draw it used to be. Still if you're in Old Town, this place is worth checking out.

Wednesday 28th of April 2010 07:15:03 AM

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Found this place online while in town on business and gave it a try. Sat at the bar and was immediately greeted by a knowledgeable and friendly bar tender. I preceded to have a slew of great beers (although I don't remember them due to their quantity!) and a couple of great appetizers. They have about 10 taps all craft and micro-brew as well as a really impressive bottle list. The bar was home to a good number of very knowledgeable beer geeks which made for some great conversation and trading of beer-related war stories.
The food was excellent too - I had a duck and shitake egg roll with honey mustard sauce and a small hand-made pizza with prosciutto and fresh herb.
Definitely go back to this little gem!
I don't give "5"s btw so the score is very good