219 Restaurant

I ordered the Shrimp and Grits entree, but the dish was too oily for my taste. However, the cream of crab soup was very good. I had previously patronized the establishment but only enjoyed the cigar lounge. The night I dined in there was a live band performing, which i enjoyed listening from a distance. I probably would only return for the cigar lounge.

Food and ambience were great but the service is very slow.

I ordered the grits and shrimp. The shrimp were tough and had a weird taste. I only ate two of them. The grits had the consistency of oatmeal. And seemed undercooked. The sauce seemed to be separated from the oil. It was just horrible.

Food was amazing and the service was superb. We really enjoyed the live music. A perfect date night..

We were very happy with our evening at 219... even in the midst of a winter night during a pandemic we were comfortable and Cozy on the patio, and had a great meal.

Always a pleasure.

It was ok. Service was slow with drinks and water throughout the meal. Had to ask order my beer and wine from the waiter 3 times before we got them on 2 different occasions. Food was kind of bland especially for it supposedly being cajun food. They also charge 3.95% for using a credit card which i didnt think was even allowed. All in all, a mediocre or worse meal and I wouldnt recommend this place and wont go back.

Food so good and excellent service! Highly recommend this place.

Had the opportunity to eat outside at 219 on a Friday. Love their outdoors that is close to their lobby. It is very nice and warm. So warm that we took off our coasts. Not too many places like this to dine out in the cold. Service was excellent.

Thank you

Restaurant has great ambiance whether dining inside or outside. Food was excellent and we stayed for a drink to watch the band upstairs.

The food was AMAZING and service was good. The server seemed too rushed but it was Saturday night so I’m sure they were super busy. Still great customer service.

The food was delicious! We sat comfortably outside. We definitely plan on going back.

This is stop you in your tracks food! The service was amazing and attentive. Such a sweet group of people. Go!!!

I come here for a quiet, cozy place to talk with great service and food. Thanks to planning my first date here, we’re dating still. 👍🏼

Mediocre, expensive food and terrible customer service. Also, hefty credit card fee.

Food was tasty, but the service was severely lacking. We often didn’t see our server for over 15 minutes. Once we requested our check, we didn’t see our server for over 20 minutes...and saw a nearby table request their check, pay, and leave before we even received ours.

The final straw was a ridiculous 3.95% additional charge that could be “avoided” by paying the tip with cash. After complaining to the manager, she literally handed me cash from the register to cover the fee. If I hadn’t looked closely at the check, I could have gotten nailed with this charge. Despite decent food, the poor service and shady charges are enough to keep me away for good.

We were never seated. We looked on open table and saw open reservations every 15 minutes for an hour before and an hour after the time we selected. We arrived about 10 minutes prior to our reservation and found a line waiting to be seated. We could hear the parties ahead of us each being told that the restaurant was at capacity, but they were free to wait for an available table. One of the walk-in parties was seated without a reservation by the time the host got to us. We were then told that they were at capacity, but we were welcome to wait for a table to open up. We mentioned the reservation and they just repeated the same thing about being at capacity even though they had just seated a walk-in party. I understand capacity restrictions are beyond their control, but what’s the point of making the reservation if this is how they handle seating? We will give Two Nineteen another chance because we’ve been wanting to check it out based on reviews and impressions we get walking by the place, but it will only be if we happen to be walking by and see that it’s not busy. We won’t try planning around them again.

The restaurant is very quaint and is in a lovely setting. Unfortunately, there is a cigar lounge on the upper level and the odor carries into the dining room. We ordered the Shrimp Creole and the Jambalaya. There was very little seafood or chicken in the Jambalaya and the crawfish had been frozen. Both dishes were tasty, but the rice was way under cooked in both. As a chef, I’m not sure how you can operate a creole restaurant and undercook the rice. It was crunchy and sort of ruined the meals for us as both dishes are, essentially, rice dishes. We also ordered the fried calamari to share and unfortunately it was not crunchy, as it should have been. It was clearly under cooked as well.

We enjoy coming to 219 often. Always good food. Service was a little slow, but not unexpected due to the current circumstances

Had a great time enjoying an October evening ON King Street at a cute table. Food was good, service was prompt and drinks were flowing. would definitely come back during COVID to enjoy that great table in the street with a water view!

The service was super! My cousin got the blackened salmon and loved it. I got the shrimp & grits. I prefer more flavor and spice in my shrimp & grits personally. I wouldn't reorder it. I did really like the red sangria...that's a definite repeat! We plan to be regular visitors to Alexandria and will return to 219 Restaurant & will try other entrees here.

It was good under Covid circumstances as best as it could be

Wait staff was very slow. It took an hour to get drinks. Food was great

The outside tables are a little unstable and dinky (whereas across the street, they have lovely tables, settings, cover, etc). We were a little jealous and wished we had booked there. The server was fine, food took a long time to get, the service was fine, food taste was great. The outside seating definitely was lacking.

Very slow but otherwise it was fine

We only wish there were more people. Everything was perfect.

The food was as good as ever. The oyster po' boy is the best. However, we were very disappointed when the bill came that the restaurant without notice decided to add a 3.95% fee if paying by credit card. My daughter used a debit card but was still charged the fee over our objection. Regrettably we will not be dining there again.

219 has a great area that is covered but has open sides so that you can dine with sufficient airflow even in the rain. The she crab soup was so good my dinner companion threatened to lick the bowl. The Fried chicken was spicy and delicious. We were pleasantly surprised by how good everything was, as we had not heard a lot of buzz about this restaurant. There should be!

2020: Highly appreciate the precautions taken by the restaurant. Staff wears masks and the restaurant offers outdoor seating (on the street).

Location: Very well located in King St, and clearly a hot spot in Old Town Alexandria. Outdoor seating is literally on the street by the parking spots; but the staff will take care of you. And you’ll hear the jazz band just fine. It’s a very basic setting for the outdoor seating. But it’s worth it, in my opinion. My table was inclining forward and a car was literally parking behind me. We could only see the humor in the situation.

Food & drinks: Missed seeing a list of cocktails in their menu, but they have a solid wine & licor list.
The shrimp & grits were fine, but I would order something else on the menu. Both my husband & I agree on this!

Service: The staff is very courteous. They’ll make you feel welcomed.

The only pleasant experience was placing the reservation over Open Table. The service was not completely horrible but it was not pleasant either. The food took about a hour to come out and some of the orders were incorrect. When the food finally hit the table it was cold and it was not tasty or appetizing to say the least. No one at my party finished the food. It was brought to the attention of the manger about one particular order and she was rude and dismissive. Would not recommend.

I had blacked salmon with an oversize helping of roasted brussels sprouts. My partner had shrimp and grits, which he said was excellent. Good selection of house wines by the glass, not just one California red and one California white. I had a Spanish rioja which was lovely.

Shi, our waiter, was efficient and very personable. Good food, good service, good ambiance.

Love this restaurant, good food l, good wait staff and ambience!

Food good, service excellent, table next to us with unruly kids...

It was a great experience. We went for a bday dinner and it was fun. Food was good

Amazing service at a small table outdoors. Everyone was taking the necessary precautions to keep us safe while serving us very frequently and thoughtfully. And the fried oysters and shrimp creole were just delicious!

I hadn't been to this restaurant in MANY (like probably at least 20!) years and was happy to hear that it was still in business when my friend suggested we go there. Food was REALLY good, but definitely a "disconnect" on the service as we had three things that were not what we'd ordered and had to be sent back, etc. Great drinks and bartender (he delivered one round of the drinks personally) and all-in-all, a pleasant surprise that the food was so good in a place that's been around this long. We'll go back - and just hope for better service. Wasn't busy (as most things aren't these days...) so was especially surprising to not get stellar service...

Everything about our experience was great, service, food, drinks and Cigars

What a pleasant experience! Food was delicious, our waiter was very friendly and knowledgeable. Omg the begniets!!!!

The shrimp po' boy and jambalaya were very good. The Moscow Mule was perfect. Dining in the (King) Street was different but fun.