Awesome, awesome place. I actually liked this better than Pizzeria Paradiso: cool ambiance (lots of original tilework, low lighting, young professional crowd that’s more pleasant than DC), lounge aspect is open and relaxing, outside patio for when the weather warms, easy parking, quick, knowledgeable and friendly service (even while the kitchen was about to close), and an awesome beer selection. I happened to time it right to pick up Victory Donnybrook Stout and St. Michaelsburg Kellerbier. They had Nugget Nectar on cask and Hopslam in bottles already. Up-to-date menu, nothing uber-rare or old, but any place that has 3+ Kolsches and 4+ Geuzes consistently is wonderful in my book. I could always fine something I’d happily drink. Slightly overpriced on the larger-format bottles ($32 for Ommegeddon?). A comparable markup to what you’d see for wine, I guess, but still pretty high prices compared to other places in DC. Looking forward to trying the food.

The good: FINALLY a place that has gotten on board with food and beer pairings. Check out the back of the menu for their Mosaics, a series of three similar small, tapas style plates with individual beer pairings. I had the Mac and Cheese Mosaic which was well paired based on ingredients in the dish. Also, the beers on tap were unique and varied and afforadable. They even offer 6oz tasting glasses of beers on tap. Also, Rustico allows you to take any capped beer home with you. See something you like on the beer menu, tell them you want to take it home. The bad: To the untrained eye the beer menu looks long. Take a closer look and you’ll see there isn’t a bottle you couldn’t get for a cheaper price down the street at a gourmet store. The entrees were standard: pizza, burgers, chicken etc. The food was prepared perfectly and with alot of flavor, just nothing that would strike you as origional. The ugly: The service I had was poor at best. The place was packed, both the bar and the restaurant, and it was a Tuesday night. Only one bathroom for both restaurant and bar patrons. Worth a look, but I’m not sure I can’t do better in my own kitchen with the exception of the Mosaic pairings.

Very modern and trendy restaurant bar. Crowd is mixed, but seems to be heavy on the 25-35 young professionals. I stopped in two nights in a row. The first night, I caught the tail end of a DFH tasting and a buzzed Sam Caglione was still there. In fact, he was blocking the path to the pisser ignored me when I said "excuse me." The second night (wednesday) was a little slower and not as noisy, which is more my speed. They have one engine and a nice rotating tap list. Bottle selection covers a broad spectrum. Prices are a tad high (at least what I am used to), as a standard 12 ounce bottle of micro starts at $5. I did not eat, but the Pizzas looked delicious. I do have one gripe. I tried calling them to see how late they would be open and to get directions around the construction. What do I get? An answering machine that directs me to the web site. Uh- it’s hard to surf the web while driving. You have a phone line- answer it! All in all, this is a very nice place to have a beer. Alexandria badly needed a place like this. If you are staying in the area, I highly recommend you stop by. It is much easier than going into DC.

Kind of a trendy place, with decent food (we had a pizza). Beer selection is very good. Reasonable prices for beer and food. Overall, a very nice place.. a must-stop in Alexandria.

Good place - food is a bit eclectic, but the brick-oven pizza is good, and a nice selection of food and beer pairings. 25+ taps and a cask ale that changes monthly.

Rustico was really great. The tap selection was decent, not too few, but not so many that you’d be worried about how old the beer was. They had Langunitas Cappucino Stout on cask when I was there, and the bartender was friendly, knowledgeable, and readily poured samples for me. The bar food was reasonably priced (all items were $5.00) and were delicious.

The place looks so new, I thought I’d be walking into one of those "insta-breweries" you see popping up in the chain restaurant areas around. Very clean. Very friendly bartender, who admitted his beer knowledge wasn’t what it needed to be, but was very helpful & said he was working on knowing more everyday. Food selection was very decent, & the bar menu’s only $5/item. Not too shabby. They’ve got a rotating cask selection, & the current beer was Lagunitas’ Cappucino Stout. Very tasty. Some other odddities that I enjoyed were a decent selction of Bells and Bluegrass brews. If you live in Southern MD, this place should be on your list to hit, as it was only an hour drive for me. I can only think of one other place that comes close within an hour, & their selection isn’t nearly as good.

Nearly 30 taps, including rotating Old Dominion and Rogue taps, along with a real ale offering. Boasts 250 bottles on the menu. Unfortunately several of the more exciting taps were out on my first visit. Pizzas are good and bar fare extensive... no too pricey a meal. Low light and new building, so a clean and modern place for a night out. Rustico is in the Evening Star, Vermillion, and Daily Planet family of establishments.

New place in Alexandria with good tap selections (Duchess, DFH, Left Hand, Dominion, Victory, etc.) and extensive bottle selection (nothing rare, but plenty of good stuff). Food was decent, and service was friendly though a bit slow (sat in the bar section). Beers are reasonably priced. Modern decor.