Potomac Taphouse

"Very clean and nice atmosphere. The service was amazing from the minute we walked in the door! Mychaelah was our sever/ bartender and she was so helpful and attentive, personality rocked! They had an amazing tap list and the menu was even better. We had an app ( crab cakes) and 2 steaks cooked perfectly as asked. The owner came out and checked on our food as well and that was very thoughtful and appreciated. Bathrooms were clean, always a number one good sign!"

"I don't know what all the kudos on the food is about. My friend got a burger at lunch, well done. It looked burnt. You can do a burger well done and it can still be juicy. The fries looked like they were Ore-Ida frozen fries. The Ahi tuna app was well done instead of seared - it too, looked like it came out of a freezer bag. My Thai salad was horrible. The peanut butter based dressing was very vinegar-y and the cabbage looked like it had been sitting in a bag for too long as the red cabbage color had bled into the other cabbage and didn't seem fresh. There are SO many great restaurant choices in the area, so while the restaurant beer/alcohol and wine offerings are vast, and the atmosphere is fresh, this will not keep your doors open. You need to find a chef and better food to offer."

"My husband and I go here pretty frequently with our baby and have enjoyed the food and drinks. The happy hour is definitely worth your while! Their beer selection is excellent. The waitstaff is always super nice and accommodating. I’m vegetarian and they’ve been happy to make modifications to menu items for me."

"I truly do not know where to begin? I guess I will start with Mychaelah's service and overall skills. Mychaelah was my family's waitress. She was truly GREAT! If this restaurant makes it passed the year mark it will be because of her only. She was very personable and made my family feel special. She was also our bartender. Her drinks were consistent and flavorful. I think there were four drinks in total. Each were as good as the first. Michaelah went out of her way to make sure we were taken care of. And she had a debate with the head cook to make sure we were heard and were able to eat something. Michaelah and her drinks were the only two bright spots. And these are the reasons why I will give this place two stars. Now, I will address everything else as it occurred. My family and I pulled up around 8pm. Wicket Door Pub was packed inside and out. Fountain Grill had about 20 people inside. Potomac Taphouse had zero customers. My family and I were the only people in the restaurant from 8pm to 10pm. We were greeted quickly and allowed to sit where we wanted. The menus were on paper and warped from moisture. Not sure from what, but we placed our orders. We ordered crab cakes, chicken strips & french fries, a tomato mozzarella salad, a beet salad, and the lobster bisque. The crab cakes were the size of small cookies. They were pink and had the profile of a chocolate chip cookie. Flat on the bottom with a slight bumpy peak in the center. I took a bite of one and it was nothing but filler. It had a soft gritty texture like overcooked grits. They were salty and tasted like it had absorbed the odors of their fridge. It became a game to try and find crab meat. I never did after two more bites. This is where Mychaelah got into it a little with the cook. It looked like he was in denial of his poor food quality. She asked me to please try the crab cake sandwich and she would take care of both for free. When this came to the table it looked promising. The bun was toasted and warm. And it was a good size. But when I cut into it I saw that this was also pink. And it had stringy pieces of crab meat in a sea of fillers. It reminded me of pulling up weeds. The roots were the crab meat and all the filler was soil/ dirt. This was also salty and tasted like the odors in their refrigerator. I spoke to my waitress and the owner. I told both of them that anything with crab needs to be removed from the menu PERIOD. They are not using jumbo lump crab meat at all. Although the owner tried to tell me they do. "We blend the crab meat with the filler." The chicken strips were the best thing and the only thing I ended ate. The breading was light and crispy. The french fries were frozen and tasted like they were reheated from the prior day. The tomato and mozzarella salad had way too much garlic on it. It was to the point that it was almost spicy because of the raw garlic. Other than that it was just plain and not worth it. It's another item they should pull off the menu. And just go with a fresh caprese salad with a balsamic reduction. I should not have been charged for this, but I was. I will reach out for a refund. The beet salad was the second best thing. But it was so much liquid from the beets that it made the salad bland. There was no cohesiveness amongst the different ingredients. The cheesecake factory makes a great beet salad. The beets are patted dry and they have a yogurt dressing. The dressing is fresh, flavorful and thick enough to connect all of the flavors. This salad was just watered down, bland and everything had to stand on it's own. The lobster bisque was extremely salty. I think it had reduced throughout the day. The cook could have just added some cream. However, having actual lobster meat inside seemed like it was an issue as well. The staff did not charge us for the crab dishes or the lobster bisque. We will never return to this place. This restaurant will fail if major changes are not made with the cooking staff and recipes. The food deserves zero stars at this point."