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Individual User Reviews |
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When we arrived, we were told the table wait would be 15-20 minutes. Half an hour later, they admitted our table was ready, our server was not. The place is completely mismanaged, and can't handle a normal dinner rush. They ran out of rolls, forgot items, etc.
Food was average.
BIG WARNING FOR NON-SMOKERS: While most of the country from Maryland on North has banned smoking in restaurants and bars, Virginia has not, and it clearly sowed at Hops. Imagine seeing and smelling people smoking in public in 2008!!! Worse - in front of kids.
The restaurant allegedly is smoke-free, but it sure drifts in from the bar area -- making this non-smoking area something like a non-peeing part of a swimming pool.
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Boston suburbs, MA
(07/04/2008) |
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Good
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Good
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Awesome!
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Awesome!
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Awesome!
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I have only been to HOPS twice now...the first time was in 2004 and just recently in March '08...I'm from the West Coast and made a special trip to the East Coast only to go to HOPS...I am ever so glad that I did. I love their food and their service is outstanding. I'm not a big fan of beer but I have to add I really liked the beer here at HOPS. I wish their was a HOPS in California!!
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Mystique,
San Diego, CA
(04/03/2008) |
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Awesome!
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Great
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Awesome!
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Good
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Awesome!
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WELL IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I HAVE BEEN HOME, I'M A MRECHANT SEAMAM AND WHILE WE WERE AT SEA ME AND SOME CREW MEMBERS WERE TALKING ABOUT THE BEST PLACES TO GO EAT AND I MENTION HOPS AND A FRIEND OF MINE TOLD ME THAT HOPS CLOSED DOWN IN CHARLESTON,S.C. AND I TOLD THEM AIN'T NO WAY BUT TO COME HOME AND SEE THAT THEY WERE RIGHT I WAS CRUSHED AND REALLY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPEN BECAUSE WHENEVER I PASS BY HOPS WAS ALWAYS CROWDED AND TO ME IT SEEMS AS BUSINESS WAS GREAT BUT TO COME HOME AND SEE THERE'S NO HOPS, I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED. WELL I GUESS THEY HAD THEY REASON, IT'S KIND OF HARD TO FIND GOOD PLACES IN CHARLESTON,S.C. TO EAT AND JUST ENJOY THE FINS BEER THEY BREW. HOPEFULLY THEY WILL DECIDE TO OPEN UP HOPS LATER IN THE FUTURE.
Sincerely,
Natasha.
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Natasha,
North Charleston, SC
(01/06/2007) |
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So So
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Good
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Too many people are outstanding critics who can never find qualities but only faults.No,Hops is not the best,but it provides a very reasonable product which is far superior to your typical Bud.
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MICHAEL GARNEAU,
alexandria, VA
(03/09/2005) |
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So So
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So So
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Lousy
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So So
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So So
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Hops serves poser beer. They want to pretend like they are a brewery, but they brew beer as close to commercial swill as you can get. Then a bunch of wannabe's go there with their wives to act like they know about beer and say "Man, this is almost as good as Budweiser!"
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George,
vienna, VA
(10/22/2004) |
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So So
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Lousy
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Lousy
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Good
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So So
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Tullahoma, TN
(10/12/2004) |
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So So
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About what you would expect from a chain. In one word - uninspired. From the host, to the food, to the beer - uninspired. The only person who seemed to care was the waiter - the kitchen was slow and we waited a long time - and someone delivered the wrong beer to me - he did not charge me for that beer once he corrected it. The Winter Ale was just OK, the Porter (Alligator Ale) was a bit better. The food was no better than diner quality, and a couple of the vegetables in my wife's salad were a bit past their prime. I have no idea how or why this place was as packed as it was. If this brewpub is representative of the entire Hops chain, I'll stay away from them all, as there are tons of places that have beer as good or better with food that is much better.
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Irwin Markus,
Baldwin, NY
(12/28/2003) |
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N/A
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N/A
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Awesome!
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Great
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Great
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Renee Wilson,
Temple Hills, MD
(10/17/2003) |
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Good
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So So
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Good
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Good
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Hops! is a chain brewpub. I don't have anything bad to say about it, although it's not a standout either. The beer is good but not distinctive. The menu is tasty but short. They usually have one or two items that you don't usually find in restaurants, such as meatloaf, shortribs, or pork chops.
We got a couple beers from the bar and settled down to wait. In due course, we got our table. Everyone was coping pretty well, and the service was good once we sat down. The Thorougbred Red ale is pretty good. It has a nice body. There's a hoppy taste when you first sip it, and it has a malty aftertaste. My wife also tried the "Hoptoberfest" seasonal ale. It had a color only slightly lighter than the red. She reported that the taste was just the opposite: a slightly bitter, malty taste at first, followed by some hoppiness (how do they do that?).
I had the shortribs. They came on a bed of mashed potatoes and gravy and were topped by thin onion rings. It was a nice meat-and-potatoes combination. My wife had the shrip platter. It had two skewers of large fried shrmps, with yellow squash, saffron rice, and a tangy sauce. My wife remarked that the squash was actually edible, since it had been cooked with butter and spices. On the whole, it was good food and good beer, if nothing to make you say "wow." The atmosphere was pleasant and roomy. There seemed to be some kind of music playing, but all you could here was the rumble of conversation, which is how I like restaurants.
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David A. Vandenbroucke,
Alexandria, VA
(09/20/2003) |
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So So
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Good
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When we were kids we went to Mickey D's or Burger King (or Carl's Jr. in California). Franchised and predictable. That's Hop's. I dare anyone to differentiate the beer from Hop's in Colorado Springs from the Hop's in Alexandria. Predictable beer, predictable menu.
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John Gezelius,
Orange, CA
(05/15/2003) |
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So So
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Give these guys points for consistency; walk into a Hops franchise anywhere and it's all the same layout, beer, etc. Seasonal pale ale was fair. The usual three other house beers occupied the other taps. Not the best brewpub in the area.
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Roach,
Plano, TX
(05/20/2002) |
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N/A
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N/A
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Great
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Good
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Good
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Barry Gore,
Cherry Hill,, NJ
(12/11/2001) |
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So So
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So So
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Good
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Good
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So So
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The beer is mostly bland and not interesting. Not worth a second trip.
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Alexandria, VA
(08/08/2001) |
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Beer Quality |
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Lousy
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Lousy
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N/A
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Lousy
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Lousy
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When the wait staff have to explain that they actually make thier own beer...this is a clue to a very bad place. Plebe-scrag beer. Terrible
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Alexandria, VA
(05/31/2001) |
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Lousy
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Lousy
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So So
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So So
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Lousy
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This is really an experience best missed by anyone who appreciates a good brewpub. Take the extra five minutes and go to any of the other establishments in the area...
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Russell Schweikhard,
Alexandria, VA
(02/26/2000) |
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So So
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Lousy
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N/A
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Lousy
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So So
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Okay, this is a brewpub, and all they have on tap is a light, a pale, and a red (when I was there)?!? Echoing complaints below on lousy beer service but decent chain atmosphere, decent-looking food, etc. This might save your day on a long drive through beer-dry territory, but with Virginia Beverage Co., Birchmere, Ningaloo, Rock Bottom, etc. nearby, why bother?
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Alexander D. Mitchell IV,
Baltimore, MD
(02/22/2000) |
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Good
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So So
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N/A
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So So
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So So
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Seems like a food chain thought of a gimmick of brewing beer, then crammed it into a Fridays-type restaurant. Believe me, it is NOT a good fit! Although the Alligator Ale was suprisingly good, the atmosphere at Hops is like sitting with your spinster, God-fearing aunt at Thanksgiving (I couldn't wait to get away). The staff knew squat about the beer they were serving.
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D.R. Montzingo,
Wilkes-Barre, PA
(11/21/1999) |
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So So
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Lousy
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So So
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So So
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I have to agree with folks from Alexandira and Reston-this is a chain with bland, unispired, corporate-style beer served in frosted mugs. When I asked the server about which beer he liked, he replied that he didn't drink, but that he had heard good things about the Alligator ale. You don't drink and you work in a brew pub? This is quite telling of what this place is all about. I do have to say that the food was not bad, but I can safely say that it was not enought to make me ever return.
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Jon,
Alexandria, VA
(11/12/1999) |
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So So
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Lousy
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So So
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So So
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So So
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Limited beer selection; food very little selection and the service was sort of "take it or leave it". What more can ypu expect of a chain?
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REston, VA
(09/01/1999) |
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Good
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Good
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Good
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Good
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Good
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Tried the Thoroughbread Red this time. The beer names are Alligator Ale, Thoroughbread Red and Lightning Bolt Gold. And a blend called nectar. Less hops than Sam Adams.
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Patrick,
Wheaton, MD
(08/04/1999) |
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Beer Quality |
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So So
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So So
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So So
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So So
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So So
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I visited shortly after they first opened (back in June, I think, so, perhaps it's improved since...but, I doubt it) I had a sampler, first; and in a restaurant named for brews, I was astounded that they were so uniformly weak and watery. the food and the menu were both uninspired. Give this one a miss, unless someone is jumping off Wilson Bridge, and traffic dictates it…
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Alexandria, VA
(08/02/1999) |
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Good
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So So
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N/A
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Good
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N/A
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07-13, My first visit, Had the house ale which was a fine balance of sweet and roasty, could have been a porter to some people. Was not watery, which was a surprise coming from a chain brewery. The menu looked great. I'll try the red ale next.
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Patrick,
Wheaton, MD
(07/13/1999) |
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