Way too loud. Could not hear the conversation at out own table. Food was good. Service mediocre as server was neither friendly nor attentive.

We had the mussels and it was delicious and fun the way they were presented in a cast iron pan for each person. Great waiter!

Very tasty food, get beer selection, looking forward to going back!

Ordered steak Cobb salad. Steak was very tough and very undercooked. Also expensive for the portion.

Terrific Mussels! Fabulous service! Excellent selection of German Beer and an ever larger Beer List! We will be back to visit when in the D.C. Area. *

Loved the food! Plenty of mussels! The extended beer menu was also great. Service was good even though he forgot to bring us our coffee at the end. Other than that everything was very good. We will go back!

We had a difficult time getting our server’s attention and when we did reorder drinks or ask for something, it took a while to get it. Food was delicious though and we enjoy Mussel Bar!

Great place for lunch. Prices and menu are great. Service was excellent.

Had a delicious meal of mussels (my husband also ordered mussels though I enticed him there as there were lots of good meat-lovers options). We both thought the food was delicious. Although we tried some more exotic mussel broths, which were great, next time I will order the traditional one - as I love that so much. The salad was very good - perfectly dressed and not over-dressed.
Waiter provided excellent service as well.

Great mussels, fries, awesome veal burger (best I've ever had). A few hiccups with service, etc, but nothing major and we had a great time! Will definitely be back.

Great environment, great service, fantastic food!

Four of us enjoyed our dinner. The mussels are a great appetizer for sharing. The manager chatted with us about the large selection of craft beer, and pointed us in the right direction. We enjoyed his presence and advice. The food arrived hot from the kitchen. But one of us got the short rib which was so fatty and greasy...in retrospect, we should’ve sent it back. The fish entrees were fine.

We met a friend who had moved out of Arlington to a place where seafood options were limited. We had dined here before she moved away and she asked if we could go back during her visit. We all had mussels, each a different type of sauce, and all were more than pleased. Tasty and well prepared. Service started slow, beers took awhile to arrive, but the food came promptly and subsequent service was excellent. The noise level made conversation easy.
This was our fourth visit and we will be back for more.

Amazing service and excellent food with a great beer selection

My sister and I went for Mussel Madness but the Brunch menu was so amazing that she had to get Eggs Benedict and Fries. I had the all you can eat March Madness Mussels and they were amazing !

Great casual dinner with boyfriends parents!

Food was excellent , service was great . Parking garage right around the corner. Over all very pleased with this restaurant. Will be back again.

We got a bit overcharged. Manager was very rude about it since it wasn't that much. It wasn't about the value, it was the principle.

Good food and service, they'll get you in and out at lunch time.

we got there at 4:30 for our 5 o'clock reservation and the restaurant is only serving at the bar and did not have a full menu. We purposely went for the all you can eat mussels and not available till after 5. The bar area was loud and had 2 TVs but couldn't get anyone to put on the basketball games. We ordered from the bar menu and the mussels were just ok. We were disappointed and will go to Bethesda next time.

Great mussels and great beer selection. Other entrees are also a hit.

Chicken salad was very nice but the chicken itself was dry and too well done.

Our son's favorite place for a special meal. The mussels are great (of course). Fries delicious. Recommend the half portion for happy hour. Plenty to eat. Also, the all-you-can eat mussels is only $4 more than the regular sized portion. Tried the steak for a change. Just so-so. Great beer selection, especially on tap.

Came for the mussels and it was all you can eat for $28! What a deal! Tried various flavors and liked the Mediterranean best. Like paella meets mussels. Beer was tasty beverage to accompany the mussels and frites. Nice place, great service, and good mussels.

The mussels are plump and very fresh. The wait staff are pleasant and attentive. The varieties of flavors is very good and each preserves the subtle flavors and texture of the mussels. I only wish there might be an area for a bit less energetic noise in case I would want to exchange ideas with dinner companions.

Did not care for the selection or content of the food at all. Not going into a lengthy explanation, just know do not recommend it and won't be back, ever.

This is one of our go-to restaurants in the Ballston neighborhood. We all enjoyed our food, 2 people had mussels, which happened to be all you can eat that night, with the luxury of trying different means of preparation. Others had steak frites which was good, and the mushroom flatbread very good. For the table we got truffle fries and Brussels sprouts both of which were very good. We enjoyed our cocktails and beer and wine. My only small complaints were that the water glasses weren't filled often enough and there was confusion using 2 award/rebate cards and splitting the rest of the bill between 2 credit cards. We ended up using the awards cards and one of the credit cards after our bill was brought back telling us our $5 award card took care of the bill (?). Of course I went to clarify what had been done and a different manager took care of it.

Super good food! My boyfriend is from France and were looking for a good mussel place and so happy we found this one! Almost as good as France! Food quality is great, taste is superb, and our server Benjamin was super knowledgeable, funny, and warm personality all around. Definitely coming back soon!

I normally love this place, but for this specific outing the service was very slow even though the restaurant was pretty empty. And I found out they don’t split checks which is super painful and should be noted at the beginning of the meal.

My new place to go. Awesome mussels

The food was excellent for lunch. My Salade Niciose with seared tuna was cooked perfectly: raw in the middle and seared with a peppery crust around the edges. My brother had the special brisket sandwich with sweet potato frites and 3 dipping sauces. However, the brisket was way overpriced at $36 for a not THAT "special" sandwich, plus server didn't mention the price when first describing it. While I would still recommend Mussel Bar and go back myself, guests should definitely ask ahead for prices of specials.

Best muscles around / great beer selections / great expediting!

Beer selection is out of this world. If you are craving Belgian beer this is the place to go. Mussels were awesome, huge and flavorful. Great place for dinner with a large group but can still be a nice place for dinner for a couple.

We ordered the scallops and rock fish. Delicious. The baba rum dessert was dry. Service was excellent and attentive. The waiter didn't charge us for the baba rum because of our complaint. Bar scene a bit noisy but after happy hour, it quieted down. Good place to meet a friend, catch up and have a good meal. Recommend it. The service, at least our waiter, was amazing.

Expect to speak loudly during and after happy hour as there is no sound dampening and all tables are near the bar. Food was delicious.

This past valentines day, Mussel Bar & Grill offered a Lobster special. If you like the atmosphere of a zoo, more of a loud watering hole than a restaurant, this is your spot.
The lobster was a complete disappointment, previously frozen, chewy, with an herb topping to flask the freshness and taste.
Lobster should never come with a masking topping and non-clarified melted butter.
Stick with the real restaurants.

Good food - very respectable octopus which I value greatly. My one BIG complaint is the markup on the wine. I could not find a bottle of Rosé (typically well under $20 retail) for less than $60. I knew a few of their reds, and they were in the neighborhood of 400 percent markups. I will go back and will either brink my own wine or drink beer.

The servers seemed to be rushing us all night long, clearing away our plates, etc very quickly. The restaurant was empty so this made no sense to us.

Service aside, the food was terrific. The blue crab dip was rich but delicious. The mussels in Mediterranean sauce were amazing - better than what we've had in France and PEI.

well-done contemporary take on french-belgian bistrot, very good food, friendly & efficient service.

The mussels were excellent with perfect service.