In the Neighborhood: European-ish American in Clarendon

I am always excited when a really good local restaurant is successful, and I am particularly excited when their success allows them to expand.  I have been a huge fan of Liberty Tavern in Clarendon since it opened, and when its success allowed the owners to open additional restaurants - Northside Social and Lyon Hall - I was ecstatic.  I have not been to Northside Social yet (it is a cafe and wine bar, and if I lived in the neighborhood I'm sure I would visit it often - but alas, I don't) but I have been delighted by Lyon Hall both times I have been there. 

My second trip was this past weekend, and I think this experience may actually have been better than the first.  I believe my first trip was on a Friday night, and the happy hour crowd was many hours into being happy.  The food was fantastic, but the place was definitely crowded.  This past Saturday they were busy, but not people-jammed-in-around-the-bar busy.  I also made a reservation this time, which I figured would keep us from having to wait for a table.  Unfortunately, the hostess couldn't find our reservation, but she was extremely helpful and we were seated immediately, anyway.  (Here I am going to devolve into a little rant about reservations.  I think Open Table is extremely convenient, but I feel bad that the restaurant is getting charged just because I don't feel like picking up the phone, so I make an effort to actually call restaurants to make reservations.  However, I have never had a reservation get lost when I made it through Open Table.  I realize I'm not really presenting a solution here, so I guess it's more of a plea to restaurant staff to take down reservations correctly!  Rant completed.)

The food was fab, as expected, as was the beer.  The restaurant has a German/Belgian/slightly French slant to it, and the beer list is extensive (as is the wine list, but I've never ordered wine there).  The menu features standards such as chicken, burgers, fish, and steak (standard, but well executed), and also has sections devoted to mussels, sausages, and charcuterie.  On our visit this past weekend, we all definitely focused on seafood, and I thought the scallops were the winner - perfectly cooked, and served with fantastic cream corn.  The rockfish was also delish, and came with unbelievable stewed eggplant that I will be attempting at home in the near future. 

I love that there is flexibility in planning your meal here - you could run in for a quick meal, or you could order a multi-course bonanza.  The restaurant's layout really encourages the full range of dining options as well.  There is a more-formal (but not formal-formal) dining side (we sat there last weekend), and then on the bar side there are high-top tables that are really casual (we sat there last time).  The full menu is available in both places.  Plus, the staff is great - friendly and responsive, but not overbearing.

In short, I could not more highly recommend Lyon Hall as a fantastic neighborhood restaurant.  The food is great but the restaurant isn't stuffy, and the prices are reasonable.  I will definitely be returning!