Restaurant SpotlightTavern on the Lake
If you’re one for ambiance, the bar is your first stop. Earthy rock walls and painted murals create a foreign backdrop that you can get lost in. Offering full table service and an intimate alcove with plush seating, this is an ideal location for a Saturday get-together or first date. Smoking is permitted here, so younger patrons and families are advised to select the dining room or outside terrace. The chef’s kitchen provides traditional American cuisine, altered with worldly flavors. While presented in gourmet fashion, it’s the home-style earthy tastes that make Tavern on the Lake’s menu stand out. Entrees are diverse enough to satisfy any craving. For the lunch hours, the Tavern can accommodate a quick work break amongst co-workers or supplies an excellent treat for a family outing as well as the opportunity to take advantage of the spacious patio seating. The menu is familiar and kid-friendly, offering fresh spinach or Caeser salads, burgers and vegetarian items. The Montreal Hamburger is an excellent choice, a juicy hamburger steak seasoned with mildly tangy and semi-sweet Montreal spices and topped with two thin slices of creamy brie. For pasta lovers, the Chicken Scaloppini combines savory breaded chicken breasts and linguini with a buttery lemon caper sauce. This dish alone is worth a visit, as each bite lingers on your taste buds. Not to be overlooked, the crispy steak fries are a wonder of their own. Most lunch menu items cost between $7.95 - $9.95. At dinner time, Tavern on the Lake foregoes its bistro style cooking for a more elegant take on traditional American meals. Here Homestyle Meat Loaf gets the royal treatment with a wild mushroom glaze demi glaze and sides of horseradish mashed potatoes. Presentation is everything, entrees are beautifully assembled with fresh ingredients and you can see as well as taste, appropriately spiced to set a tone for flavors, not overpower them. One such dish is the Wild Mushroom Casserole. Featuring fluffy bread pudding, thin mushroom slices over a truffle scented cream sauce and garnished with wilted scallion stalks and a vegetable side. Delicious, filling and reasonably priced, for me this was the perfect concoction. Another favorite, the Tavern Crab Cakes come with a roasted red peppers in a remoulade sauce, neither overly salty or mushy. Dinner entrees cost on average in the mid-teens and are worth every penny. While the kitchen flaunts an impressive selection, the true culinary accomplishments rest in the Tapas menu. It’s the little things that can add up into a feast for the whole table, combing tastes and ingredients from around the world. Whether you prefer the Grilled Marinated Chicken sizzled in Argentinean chimmichuri sauce, Marinated Beef with Spicy Vietnamese Dipping Sauce ($7), or Spicy Indian Chicken Pakoras ($6), the combinations seem endless. Every meal should start with an order of the Bread and Olives ($3), a healthy portion of marinated green, black and kalamata olives with French Bread slices. The Grilled Asparagus ($5) is another delightful treat, perfectly roasted and shaved parmesan topped off with a light coating of the house vinaigrette. This dish is the perfect side to any meal. With Tapas dishes costing from $3 to $8, its appropriate to skip the entrée menu altogether. Tapas are available through both lunch and dinner hours. With warmer weather approaching, the patio will soon be in full operation. For those warm summer evenings, guests are advised to arrive early for preferential seating. But trust me, Tavern on the Lake is well worth any wait. (1617 Washington Plaza, Reston, VA 20190 (703) 471-0121) Lunch:
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There are three faces of Tavern on the Lake: a classy family dining area, a trendy bar with a Mediterranean Villa motif and an outdoor bistro overlooking serene Lake Anne. Owners, Omar and Alexis Balkisson, have created a masterpiece, an Americana locale that embraces high class atmosphere, prestigious service and offers a gathering place for both friends and family. It’s the personal touches that really give the Tavern its majestic feel. Mamma Balkisson herself is the artist behind the impressive mural that decorates the main dining room and the grape vine designs in the bar.