Fat City Kitchen

We did a search of seafood and didn’t want the usual chain red lobster style. We stopped in here and we’re completely floored by the quality and taste of food. I have eaten at a GordonRamsey restaurants and this place could give Gordon a run for half the money. Wife and I have found our favorite place to eat.

Ummmm… Wow!!! The food and service was amazing!!! I just had the cheesesteak with truffle fries… It was flipping awesome. Not only was the food great but they had hot chocolate (my personal favorite). The best part was it was in a huge to go cup so it felt like it was never ending. Our server mike was like a server ninja!!! Every time we looked at our drinks they were filled. Seriously you need to try this place!

I’ve been intrigued to try this place out for a long time, and so I was glad two of us finally made it out here! We made a reservation for a Friday night dinner, and that was a good decision. The place is a decent size, but there aren’t too many tables.
Anyway, we ordered the Boursin cheese dip to start, the duck and scallops for entrees, the jack mac as a side, and some beers for drinks. The cheese dip was really good — it was creamy and flavorful. I wish it came with bread instead of the toasted focaccia. It’s a good amount to share amongst three, potentially four, people. The duck was very rich and okay — the blueberry balsamic reduction definitely made the plate; without it, this dish would have been a little boring. The scallops were cooked well, and they came with a pomegranate glaze, lemon risotto, and spinach. I didn’t taste the glaze at all, and the lemon risotto was actually too lemony and buttery. The food overall was very heavy and filling. The jack mac was not worth it — it was a tiny portion, and with the rest of the food being as heavy as it was, this was just too much. I drank several glasses of water throughout the meal. There was a dessert menu, but everything was pretty run of the mill and lacked creativity. The drinks menu had a good selection, and I saw things I have yet to see anywhere else which was cool.
Note: if you are vegetarian, this is not your place. You have about three things to eat — salad or pizza.
Our waiter was nice and helpful, but he always stood behind me and only engaged with my dining companion. I always had to turn my head to look at him, and it was slightly awkward for me. He didn’t make a point to acknowledge my presence.
Bottom line: this is somewhat of a fancier restaurant compared to other bars in the area, and the prices match. 90% of the menu is for carnivores, and everything is very heavy and filling — unless the menu changes seasonally, I can only see coming here once in a (long) while.

Awesome. Very eclectic menu. Great service. Great space. Food items were very tasty.

Solid 4 star review:
Dinner on a Monday night with a friend who has been here a couple times before.
I try to keep my reviews to the 3 reasons I go out to a restaurant on a regular basis — quality of food, service, and price. We shared a bottle of wine and both had a Boathouse Salad as our stater. We agreed the salad was excellent. Nice balance of greens, candied pecans, and dried cranberries. There was a little mix up as we asked for blue cheese dressing (on the side) since the salad comes with blue cheese crumbles and the salads came with no blue cheese crumbles when brought to the table. Easy enough, we asked for the crumbles and the server brought them, but we were charged for two sides of blue cheese crumbles. Not the end of the world by any stretch.
I had the Oven Roasted Duck breast cooked medium. Aside from my preference for the skin to be crispy, the duck was cooked to perfect temperature and the Brussels Sprouts were simply delicious. My friend had a special, the Chicken Pot Pie. It was more of a «deconstructed» version but it was also delicious.
We finished with coffee and dessert; Chocolate Chambord cake for me and Oreo Cheese Cake for my guest. The chocolate cake was rich and the perfect end with hot coffee but the Oreo cake was a miss as it definitely smacked of store bought knock-​off and was still frozen in the middle.
The coffee could have been hotter, perhaps the coffee cups were cold and with training the staff can easily fix that. Aside from that, the staff was attentive without being overbearing and the price ($ 160 with tip) was appropriate for the meal. I would recommend and will be back.

Our first time visiting for Brunch after finding on Unilocal.The egg omelet was excellent, home fries tasty. The vanilla waffle– so so. The service was good, waitress made recommendations based on our inquiries and was familiar with the menu, which was appreciated. Good atmosphere, around us tables were immediately cleaned. The waitress let the Manager, Alex, know that this was our first visit. He came over and was very welcoming and receptive to our feedback. He provided an incentive to return for dinner and we definitely will return.

If I had a child I would trade them for Fat Cities truffle fries. They are friggin delicious!
The staff is so personable too!

We came with zero expectations and were (very) pleasantly surprised! Tucked away in a strip mall, City Kitchen appears unassuming at first glance, but once you step inside, you are immediately impressed with the cozy atmosphere, exceptionally friendly staff, and delicious food. We were both impressed by the selection of delicious beers and the quality of service. Hubby ordered the chili and raved about it, followed by the City Burger which he also pronounced exceptional. I ordered the Bronx Knots and the Margherita Pizza with sausage, which were both excellent. The food came out quickly and we devoured it. Would highly recommend for a great date night at a very reasonable cost.

Excellent food. Great for brunch. Delicious and creative cocktails, meals and desserts.

Elevates brunch to the next level for a good price. My fiancée and I are recent graduates and if we can go there, it’s affordable. We’ve only been for brunch but they are 2-​for-​2 with excellent service and food. I had the blueberry French toast and it was awesome. We got a side of grits and they were nice and cheesy (which is to say, I like them that way.)
As for dress code, I would say at least a collared shirt and jeans but I’ve seen people there in sweatshirts.

This place is great! Always have great service and excellent food. Love that they have tons of beer choices and local brews on tap. The food specials are constantly changing and are always good. I definitely recommend this place if you’re in the area.

I’ve been wanting to try this place since a co-​worker told me about it. It’s very good! It’s a hidden gem because on the outside it looks like it’s closed, but when you walk in it is a really cute/​nice place! They have a very good beer selection along with a wine list. We got the St. Michael’s Crab Cake sliders, 10 piece wings, truffle fries, and hot fries. They were all so delicious and reasonably priced. I got the Vienna Lager to have and my boyfriend got an Angry Orchard (as always).
Overall, the food is great, drink selection is plenty, and the staff is very nice.

This restaurant and bar is a surprisingly cozy little space for a strip mall. I can’t comment on the food, but this is a nice place to grab a drink. Came in here after dinner because it was close, and I was surprised to find a really nice selection of beers on tap, as well as a full page of bottles. Good wine selection as well, and service was great. First drinks were ordered and delivered right after sitting down, and they checked on us multiple times and always were on top of clearing away empty glasses. Food looked good, if I’m ever back in the area and looking for a new place to try for a meal, this will definitely be at the top of my list!

Crabs benedict for brunch and plain coffee. Watery poached eggs and worst home fries. Tasted of pure oil. Worst thing? FOOD POISONING! So sick all day. Thanks for ruining my Sunday. Get your damn kitchen under control.

Was here last week, Sunday. It’s always hard finding a place interesting enough that my husband and I want to eat there as well as having quality food while still having simple items my mother in law would like. She’s not an adventurous eater and 6 years of breakfasts at Dennys, IHOP, Bob Evans and cracker barrel as our only options is a bummer.
I was excited to see the menu. It had go to breakfast classics, eggs, bacon, potatoes while also having a great selection of other choices husband and I.
While there I decided to try a cup of their new England clam chowder (they call it Boston) and it was good. I haven’t had any I’ve liked in awhile and this was pretty good. It was a bit thinner than I’m used to and in the cup (typical size) there were a few bites where the clans had grit but the flavor was spot on and it had a toooon of clams.
For breakfast I decoded to try the Italian sausage gravy with biscuits. Very good. Homefries perfectly cooked. Over medium eggs perfect as well.
Now the picky stuff. .
Coffee cups unfortunately very small and slightly bitter. Waitstaff overall fantastic until just chatting at the end as wrap up of the meal, then no refills. I know taking a table to just hang at for awhile bugs waitstaff but there wasn’t anyone waiting for a table and he had other open tables in his section. And it was like 15 minutes.
Some of the tables are right next to the kitchen with the open end at the kitchen so sitting in one of those maker it not as much of a relaxing dining experience as usual because of the constant hustle and bustle.
Overall though I really enjoyed it. The quality was great, the décor was fun and the menu interesting. Definitely going back.

***3.5 stars****
I had the MAC ‘N CHEESE, BRUSSELL SPROUTS, and HALF CHICKEN.
I thought the mac was delicious; the chicken was decent, but definitely over-​cooked. The brussell were terrible. WAY too salty. Overall, 3 STARS for dinner.
The servers were friendly and helpful in choosing items off the menu. If I were back in the area, I’d probably go back to try the scallops. Service: 4 STARS

If you want to impress someone with fancy appearances and hoity-​toity décor then go someplace else. If you want to impress them or yourself with an outstanding meal then ^this^ is your place.
Fat City is located on the left side of a seedy strip mall. It is also handicapped by looking closed from the outside and NOT having the word «Fat» in the easy-​to-​overlook sign they have. I would never have considered this place were it not for the Unilocal reviews *and* being extremely hungry at the time.
When I walked inside it was like stepping into a different place entirely. The restaurant was spotless. The staff was friendly to a fault. The noise level was nonexistent.
They have a decent selection of beers and wine. The menu covers a range from burgers to seafood to steaks. Or, so I would guess. I didn’t open the menu and instead selected seabass with blue cheese and a watermelon glaze from among the half dozen appetizing specials offered on a separate sheet. Rach of those specials included a suggested wine and beer pairing (I assume the intent is to pick one or the other).
The meal was delicious.

Surprisingly great. Odd location but the brunch was fantastic. We had the crab cake eggs bennie, crab cake sliders, Memphis bourbon chicken and the lobster roll special. All was very good and reasonably priced. The best with the chicken. The flavor was excellent.
Service was very accommodating to food allergies but lacked in some areas, like making sure our drinks were full. Bacon Bloody Mary was delicious and very reasonably priced.
Will return.

TL;DR: A good addition of a breakfast place in the area, but the weekend brunch is just okay.
City Kitchen (note: does not say «Fat“in the front, just keep an eye on the circular logo) is part of the Fat City Restaurant Group, which also runs Ramparts Tavern, TJ Stone’s, and Shooter McGee’s in the Alexandria area, so you can expect a familiar feeling. The restaurant has a bar and also a dining area similar to other restaurants in this restaurant group. The interior is nicely decorated and they have booths as well as tables. There’s even a working fireplace at the back! Really can’t beat that.
We came here for brunch right around opening (and the only meal this review covers — will have to come back for a beer and dinner) and the place packed up pretty quickly. Our server was a little slow at first, but everything picked up after we got the orders.
The food came out at a reasonable time. I got the Eggs Benedict (my go-​to dish to determine the quality of the place), the wife got the Belgian Waffle, and our friend got the Crabs Benedict. Because of dietary restrictions, she asked the egg to be done well instead of poached and the kitchen did exactly as asked, which is definitely a plus. the Eggs Benedict, though, is ham versus Canadian Bacon, which is a different take. The hollandaise sauce was a little on the saltier side and also a little runny. Nothing too special.
Belgian Waffle was bland.
The coffee is free refills, and it’s not bad, so you can spring for it for sure.
If you’re looking to come here with a kid in your party, this place is kid friendly, at least for the brunch portion. Our friend has a toddler and they were able to accommodate to her needs. We also saw many families that had young children and babies as well, so, this is a good place for family brunch.

Came here for brunch. Service was a little slow but I think that was a symptom of the fact that a bartender was my server. The sweetest bartender though with perfect tooth, so I wasn’t mad! I think his name was John!
Anyway, they don’t have bottomless mimosas, which hurts my heart, but their crafted beverages are really good. I got the Liquid Breakfast (pink grapefruit juice, champagne, served on ice, with sugar on the rim). It was delicious. SOO good! They didn’t serve it on ice, thank goodness. Maybe they just meant cold.
I ordered the Weirs Beach Breakfast Sandwich. I thought it was really good. My only complaint was that the chipotle mayo was kinda concentrated to just one part of the sandwich so I didn’t get it with every bite, but the easy fix is just to ask for some on the side. My brunchmate noticed the fact that the «brioche» bun looked a loooooot like a regular hamburger bun (which it did) but I thought it was tasty anyway.
My other brunchmate for the Blueberry Muffin French Toast. It was really good but it was so sweet that it’s hard to finish it all. Sugar-​overload. But again, tasty. And a good choice if you’ve got a sweet tooth.
BUT i’ll tell you what won me over. John was telling us about their happy hour specials (which sound great), but also told us about their liquor infusions. Yes, they do in-​house liquor infusions. He let me sample the Apple Pie Bourbon and Maple [something I don’t remember] Bourbon and BOTH were great. You can obviously buy this stuff at the liquor store but I love that they do it themselves and that you can order a cocktail w/​an infused liquor instead of just regular.
Anyway, the place is awesome. Our server, John, was awesome. The Apple Pie bourbon was awesome! Go.