Birch Kitchen & Bar

I’ve been wanting to check this spot out for months. We were finally about to drop in for a late lunch. We were seated and greeted by our waiter Arthur. He was very welcoming and friendly. The décor of the restaurant was very nice and classy. However, we came very close to walking out once we were told that multiple items, such as bread and chicken weren’t available because the local distributer delivery wasn’t received yet. My daughters comment was but the waiter is so nice we can’t leave, so we decided to stay. The kitchen did have enough bread for us to order a spinach and artichoke dip with some bread for dipping. It was quite delicious and fresh. My Mom and I ordered the burgers, great quality beef and the garlic aioli dip that it was served with was outstanding. The fresh cut fries were also delicious and they were the perfect amount, not too many. I am anxious to go back to try brunch and dinner. Arthur brought us both menus to the table to check out, so we could see what else was available at other times of the day. This could have been a totally different experience if it weren’t for the friendly staff, that experience adds 1 to 2 more stars. I’m happy we stayed and gave it a chance.

Went in to order Brunch for take out. Stopped and had a drink with my husband and the bartender was super friendly! We even got to try out two different beers as a sampler to see what we would like. We had the eggs, biscuit, hash browns, and bacon very crisp the way we like, and an order of the banana foster French toast. Both delicious and still good to eat as a take out! Would recommend this place for that good comfort food and fresh food experience. Only hope is for that parking lot to get bigger and spacer — but we know it’s not their issue. Must try place!!!

The food is amazing! That is The one thing that will keep me coming back. Its a nice atmosphere, but it’s in an odd location and an easy place to miss. I sought it out because there is virtually no other farm to table restaurants in prince william. The staff is friendly, but not very knowledgeable about the menu– especially the bar menu. Its still new, though, so that will probably change. It was just surprising. For a place that has itself identified as a bar, the drink menu wasn’t anything special. Again– AMAZING food, but I seriously don’t know if it’s worth the cost. Sure you pay for better ingredients, but it’s high even by that standard. The cost makes this place an occasional treat and not somewhere that is a «go to» spot on the weekends.

Great dinner experience! Big fan of farm to table, so we had high expectations that were pleasantly met.
For starters, the atmosphere and décor are really cool and in line with the farm to table concept. Shane was our server, and he did great!
The complimentary toast with cracked pepper & sea salt with herb butter was sooo good! We crushed it! Had fun trying to guess the herbs in the butter too.
For dinner, we ordered the filet with the cabernet reduction, twice baked potato & broccolini, as well as the bison ribs, horseradish mashed potato & broccolini. The flavors were outstanding, and we loved it all. Next time we will probably both ask for lighter on the sauces on our meat, and maybe the extra on the side, just because it got a little overwhelming as you got to the end. But that may just be a personal preference. Fact is, flavors were on point! Broccolini cooked perfectly. Mashed was great consistency. Twice baked was good as well.
We were too full to have dessert, but it sounded good. Nice beer selection as well. Price point is definitely a little higher, but we ordered from the top of the menu, and I expected as much for food sourced directly from local farms. There are lower priced options as well. This is a good place for a date night.
We will definitely be returning. We believe in supporting local business and keeping our money in the community. It’s worth a visit!

Went Saturday evening for dinner with reservations. We had a really excellent time, the service was pleasant and snappy, but I could have done with a little spiel about their story and how they operate, maybe next time. We were comfortably seated in the front of the restaurant. We ordered our drinks and a charcuterie plate for a starter. Their draft beer selection is eclectic with some locals and some I was not so familiar with. I settled on an amber ale to go with my meal. My folks really liked the red sangria.
I order the bison short ribs which came with garlic mash, massive asparagus, and was finished with a soy based sauce. Delicious, the ribs were fork tender and I left nothing on the plate but the stripped bones. Others in the group got the crab-​cakes, half chicken, and the eggplant parm. My daughter had the child’s pig in a blanket, and almost finished it. The only comment from my fellow diners worth mentioning is that the eggplant was very clean, not as much fat or oil as they were accustomed to and not smothered in melted cheese. And my only true knock on the whole experience is that lousy parking lot, i hope it gets better once the construction is gone.

Got the chilli for carryout because it said it came with cornbread. I go home, open up the box and there is no cornbread, instead there is a piece of hard bread that looked stale. I go back and they said they no longer have cornbread on the menu. It would have been nice to tell me before I ordered it. The chilli also was not good. Sorry, this place is not my cup of tea but I’ll bump up the rating because they gave me something else instead.

My family and I went to Birch about a month ago and had an amazing experience! Very hospitable and I love the quaint atmosphere. First course we had an amazing creamy tomato bisque, you could taste the pancetta and onions that had been cooked down, sooo yummy! The bread was served with some sort of garlic butter made in house, we obviously couldn’t get enough! All together we ordered pretty much all of the menu. I personally got the lamb and have to say it was done perfectly. My sister got the eggplant parm that I got to try and I loved that it was done differently and not served with a traditional bowl of pasta. On our table we also had the grilled salmon salad, the burger, the ribeye, and the fish tacos. No complaints all around! Service was superb as well. Can’t wait to come back!

We met family here for brunch on a Sunday in April, so we had a somewhat large party (8 adults, 1 child). I really wanted to like this place, but sadly they don’t seem to have their stuff together.
The good: My mimosa was tasty and the décor is great. I love the look of this place.
The bad: It took a bit to get our order taken, and our waitress didn’t write anything down (which is fine if you can do that, but with 9 orders I was skeptical). About 15 minutes after ordering our food our waitress came out to ask questions about some of the orders (because she’d forgotten what people ordered). Then she came out again 5 minutes later to ask more questions. About 30 minutes after we’d placed our orders she came out to let us know they were out of some items, one of them being bacon. An hour after we ordered the food came out; most of the orders were wrong and they’d run out of biscuits and didn’t even bother to tell us until the food came out. I wasn’t offered an alternative, so I only received 2 out of 3 items (I wasn’t the only one), but we were charged for all of it.
Unfortunately the food was very salty and cold, and I just didn’t understand how they could be out of so many things when it wasn’t all that busy. It’s a nice concept and I think it could be good if they work out their supply and menu kinks. I wish them luck.

Overall brunch was good. Everyone enjoyed their brunch items. The only issue was were waffles a bit overdone on some edges. Service needs a little work. Since it was Mother’s Day, I can excuse the close to 1 hr wait for food. Our waitress must have been new, since we had to ask for everything, and she wasn’t attentive. The food was good enough to try for dinner, so hopefully the service and wait times will improve.

Good concept very poor implementation.
1. Nice décor.
2. Extremely long waits. Granted it was Mother’s day, however, 2 hrs waiting is ridiculous.
3. Food prices are appropriate for the whole farm to table concept.
4. Food quality; bland. The NY strip was charred on the outside.
We did receive a substantial discount after complaining to the manager (owner?). Would not return unless they drastically change.

Wanted to try sweet potato custard and give this place 2^nd chance as first time they were out of it. Called to place order today and surprise, they are out of this dessert again, lady told me their menu is all changed but not updated on website since February. I don’t think I will give this place a 3^rd chance.

We were interested to try this new neighborhood restaurant… local sourced produce, fresh ingredients, yada yada yada… When we arrived there were two teenagers in chef’s jackets loitering outside smoking. Never for me a good sign.
Although I’d booked a table on-​line and asked for a booth, the hostess tried to put us way at the back of the half empty restaurant on a tiny table for two. When I pointed out I’d asked for a booth when booking, she reluctantly let us have one. I don’t know who she was saving it for, because no-​one came in after us. Then when we tried to order, everything was «off». Apparently they are bringing out a new menu next Monday and until then we had to forage for what was left in the pantry. I tried to order rib-​eye steak. Off. I tried for the braised beef. Off. My husband tentatively asked for the pork chops. You guessed it, Off. We finished up asking the waitress to tell us what was still ON the menu, and I had chicken, which was bland and my husband had the «bratwurst», which essentially was two under-​cooked sausages served with a bit of spinach. By the time we got to the pudding, we’d given up hope. Basically it was pumpkin pie or Boston crème pie, which we ordered and which was mediocre. Add to this a couple of toddlers running around and occasionally screaming at the top of their lungs, and our dining experience was complete.
The motto at the restaurant is «local goodness mixed with neighborhood cheer». I detected little of either.

8:06 on a Friday night-​place empty and sign on door says closed despite hours stating open til 10pm. Phone number doesn’t work. What a disappointment. Was so happy to have farm to table close by.

An amazing farm to table restaurant in Virginia with a fresh, rotating seasonal menu! its far from DC but worth the drive, and if you live in the area, this should quickly become your go-​to spot for fine dining without breaking the bank :)
The atmosphere is warm and cozy, i especially love the bar area with its copper brass table tops and reclaimed barn wood. The drinks are reasonably priced and they have a long list of local craft beers for $ 4!
The standouts:
— Wagyu Ribeye Beef (so fresh!)
— Farm Raised Trout (served with beautiful ribbons of carrots)
— Braised beef (melt in your mouth goodness)
— i am also obsessed with their Twice Baked potato (a creamy party in your mouth)
— Black Rice mini cakes (i have never seen this on a menu and its so unique and tasty!)
— stuffed peppers
— harvest salad
— vegetarian lasagna (made with a béchamel sauce and not tomato sauce, its incredible!)
desserts
— chocolate custard pot (not too sweet, very refined)
— bread pudding (not heavy, flavorful and delicate)
Its a great little place with wonderful service, i can’t wait for the weather to warm up so i can enjoy the outdoor patio area!

My friend and I arrived with the evening rush, but only a minute or two wait to be seated. That was likely the only good experience, while there. Our waiter was more concerned with catching up with friends he was waiting on than even acknowledging our presence. We both ordered iced teas, which also took a detour while Mr. Chatty Cathy stopped off for another gab session, holding our drinks, talking away.
Wait, I lied, we did have one really good thing — appetizer, steamed spiced shrimp. Cooked to perfection with tangy sauce. We would have used more than one lemon wedge, but the freshness and perfect cooking made up for that issue.
We both ordered the crab cakes. This was a return trip for both of us, neither ever having a bad experience, we figured they wouldn’t have them if they weren’t good. Well, this was our 1^st bad experience. I had a side salad with the most watered down Bleu cheese dressing. The crab cakes should be taken off the menu — period. They had a hint of crab flavor, but it should have been called crab cake filler cake. They were just a tad over cooked, not blackened, just slightly burned. Since the cocktail sauce was excellent, I did not send them back. I had skipped lunch in anticipation of going out, so I was hungry.
The green beans were fresh, steamed and slightly cold. See, the waiter stopped back at the table to chat. So, the fact they were flavorless compounded the issue and no amount of seasonings were coming to the rescue. If they would have only tossed in a couple drops of olive oil and lightly seasoned, they would have been delish.
My friend had coleslaw and steak fries. Her opinion of the lack of crab was the same. The coleslaw, she said was good, but it looked like soup as she took the first few bites, allowing her to enjoy only ¹⁄₃ to ½ of that side. And the same cook probably cooked her fries. Yep, a bit over cooked, but the best part of her meal. (The bread was my best part of the meal). Let’s put it this way, the two crab cakes you can frozen, Philip’s for $ 7.99 at Safeway ran circles around these.
This experience was so very different from prior visits, so I will come back and give it a 2^nd chance. But if we have a repeat, it’s see ya!

Stopped at restaurant to order sweet potato custard. Received by owner and server who went in kitchen to find out availability and they had everything on menu but that. Anyways I wanted to try something else I ordered chocolate custard pot and bread pudding. Also ordered cheese peppers appetizer. Only thing that was good was appetizer and reason I think is that was freshly prepared. 8 or 7 dollars for chocolate pudding and I am posting picture so you can see portion size. Bread pudding right out of freezer cold and tastes like weeks old. Very disappointed with this experience. Not returning. No one wants to eat frozen weeks old food.

We’re excited to finally find a great restaurant near us!
Birch has local beer on tap and a small but thoughtful wine list. The ambiance is modern but warm and cozy with wood-​look tile flooring and natural finishes.
Everything was delicious. We had the stuffed mushrooms to start. I had the brats, and my husband had the burger. To finish, we tried the bread pudding.
We’ll be back next week.

I have really enjoyed the food I have had at birch. Love the new birch burger, has a fresh herb mayo and a made in house bun. They recently got a happy hour menu, with cheap drinks and apps, really want to try them .
Cecilia behind the bar is very friendly and informative.

We came in for dinner one Friday evening — a group of 5 of us. I arrived first and waited at the bar for the others and had a pint of Dale’s Pale Ale.
Once we were seated, I ordered a side salad, dressed with a lemon dill dressing, mushrooms stuffed with sausage and cheese, and for my entrée — a bowl of Venison Chili. And more pints of Dale’s Pale Ale.
The salad was rather bland, despite the raving by our server Arthur that the Lemon-​Dill dressing was amazing. Not a fan. The mushrooms were rather ordinary as well.
What earned them 4 stars was the Venison Chili, the selection of some good beers and ales, and the service was good.
I’ll definitely be back for more of the Venison Chili and to try some other menu items.

I really wanted to love this restaurant. Recent experiences at Clarity and Bazin’s on Church in Vienna had me lamenting that we didn’t have this kind of restaurant in the chain mecca of Gainesville. So when I saw the signs for Birch go up during construction, I was excited. I even emailed the GM to find out when they would be opening. Finally got a chance to go on Friday evening, and the bottom line is it was such a disappointment.
We were quickly seated and our waiter took a drink order. I had a club soda (which no one offered to refill) and my wife had an IPA. We looked at the specials and the regular menu and nothing really stood out as showcasing locally sourced meats and produce. I had the cabbage and potato soup and my wife ordered an Autumn salad. My soup was a fairly oily and salty broth with bits of cabbage and potato in the bottom. My wife’s «Autumn» salad was anything but. We expected something like fall greens with some sort of nut and fall fruits. What she got was a comical house salad including pale tomatoes, cucumbers, and a couple of odd half-​chewed looking bits of butternut squash. The only good part to the salad was the balsamic dressing.
For entrees, I had the turkey fricassee off of the specials menu and my wife had the burger. The burger, for $ 15, was absurdly priced and the construction was ridiculous. First, it’s a round burger on a narrow baguette. I love a rustic and chewy baguette, but it’s not even possible to eat a burger on one. My wife ended up deconstructing it and eating her «meat slab» as she referred to it. She ordered medium, and the center of the burger was raw. Now, I know people don’t always know what medium and medium rare mean, but this was actually raw in the center.
The best way to describe the turkey fricassee is that really bad third day after Thanksgiving leftover casserole. I have no reason to believe that the vegetables weren’t local, but they were cooked beyond overdone. The sauce was gloppy and again, super salty. The turkey itself was stringy and had a very leftover taste to it. The cornbread it was served on was devoid of taste and dry as the Sahara.
We left over ²⁄₃ of our meal on our plates and when the waiter asked, we said it was a very disappointing meal. He then said «oh, I’m sorry about that» and brought us the check. My wife asked to talk to the manager and the waiter said he did and that’s why they knocked $ 11 off the check. She again requested the manager and I politely told him about the meal. He offered to give us something else off the menu, but honestly, if you can’t do a burger and a salad right, what were we really going to gain by getting something else.
So, for $ 47 we had a half a burger, a soup, a salad, 4 bites of essentially a bad casserole, and 1 beer — and this was after the $ 11 off.
This place could be so much more if they actually hire a chef or at least someone who appears to know how to develop dishes. With all the farms and livestock in the area, you could have innovative takes on classic dishes — how about taking a turkey breast, stuffing it with fall vegetables, roasting it and serving it along side polenta and gravy and making it the fricassee dish? You don’t have to be conservative with this restaurant. There are plenty of people who will choose this over the ubiquitous TGIMcFunsters that are over in Gateway. They are certainly charging prices that should be demanding better quality dishes.
Reviews will have to dramatically improve and remain consistent before I consider going back.

A new place in Bristow, and it kinda shows. The décor is nicely done… maybe the lights could be a little less bright for a better atmosphere, but that is just a quibble.
We had the charcuterie and it was lovely, with local honey, cheese etc. We finished the meal with a tasty fruit cobbler and ice cream.
Unfortunately the entrée was not nearly as impressive. The potato pancakes were bland, and burnt on one side, and my pork tenderloin was slightly dry and overdone. It also tasted as though they had used too much soy sauce.
The service was good, but for the price of the dinner (over $ 90 including tip) it felt a little overpriced. I would rather have gone to Malones in Old Town Manassas, for better food and been happier paying that amount.
Still, we like to support local businesses, so we will give them some months to sort out the problems, and in the new year give them another try.