Stars: 3.5 out of 5
Pros: Beer Selection, Food
Cons: Parking, Prices
Capital Alehouse is located downtown on East Main St. It's just West of Shockoe Bottom in a section of hotels and office buildings. Be warned, first and foremost, parking SUCKS. There is a parking garage around the corner, but it's very tiny. There is also street parking, but that can be tight during the day. Granted this is an issue everywhere in downtown, but I just wanted to note it here so that you could prepare. If you are meeting someone, I suggest factoring in an extra 10 minutes and $1 in change for parking. Unless it's after 6 pm as then street parking is free.
TS was already there by the time I got there. He had ordered a beer so I jumped on the wagon and got one myself. Capital Alehouse has a HUGE HUGE HUGE beer selection. They have tons of beers on tap including a lot of local craft beers. They also have a massive bottled beer selection if that is your preference. I am a huge supporter of local brewery's so I went with Legends "Hopfest" IPA. It was bitter and hoppy which I just love. I'm not sure what TS got, but it was lighter. Looked tasty, as most beers do.
Beer does not make a meal by itself (as much as some people will argue that). So, we needed a little food. TS suggested the sausage and cheese plate. This is a pretzel that comes with sausages, cheeses and fruit. I will say, it was pretty impressive. The pretzel was giant and flavorful. It was brushed with what I think was a garlic butter and was perfectly salted. The middle was soft and warm while the outside was perfectly crusty. There were several varieties of cheese cubes and sausages served with the pretzel. I'm not sure exactly what they were, but they were cold and tasty. It also was served with sliced apple. The combination of pretzel, apple, cheese and sausage was perfect. All the flavors, the salty of the pretzel, the sweet of the apple, the smokiness of the meat and the smoothness of the cheese blended together into a nice bite. It was a good start and a nice balance to the beer.
For lunch we agreed that sandwiches were a good choice. I mean, how does one go wrong with a sandwich. For me, I had to go with the Cuban. Pork tenderloin AND ham? I can't even tell you how that just blows my mind. It also came with a chipotle pepper mayo, so I figured I would give it a try. TS went a little more conventional with the Capital Club. It's a basic club with a beer stout mustard served on a pretzel roll. I chose to get mixed greens as my side while TS went with sweet potato fries. While we waited we had a second beer.
All of the food was very good. My sandwich had good flavor and was nicely prepared. The bread was excellent, crusty and warm. The pickle slices provided that slightly sour taste which kept the bites interesting. The mayo flavor was muted by the flavor of the Havarti cheese and the pork, but I didn't feel like I missed it. I will say that my mixed greens were slightly under dressed but our waitress was quick to bring me some additional dressing to rectify that issue. TS liked his sandwich as well. The pretzel roll was an excellent vessel for all of the fillings. He said that it all tasted perfectly balanced. He also really enjoyed the sweet potato fries, which aren't my cup of tea. Needless to say, we devoured it all.
I will say that Capital Alehouse has got a lot of good things going for them, but they have one negative: price. Now, before you jump all over me I'm aware it's a stupid thing to complain about. Things aren't free and you pay for quality. I'm fine with that. I just think $20 for the pretzel appetizer is a lot of money. Or $18 for some of their beers. Granted, I don't have to order those things. I can find a different option. But, it just seems excessively expensive to me. Just my opinion...
Capital Alehouse is a nice place to go if you are looking for an after work beer or a nice dinner. It would make a very nice place for a date. If you are looking for a place to go downtown that isn't packed with college kids, Capital Alehouse is a fine choice.
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