Highline RxR

The space and vibe of Highline is cool. I wouldn’t go back for brunch, which was soggy and bland, but I would be willing to try the dinner menu. Seems like it would be a cool place to bring friends and play games (they have foozball and board games).

This is the worst bar I’ve been to in America. The service here even makes service in Australia look great. It took 20mins to get a beer and by the time it arrived it was half empty because all the head had disappeared. Terrible find somewhere else!

Came here for happy hour for the first time and enjoyed myself. Great beer list. I had an order of wings which were good, not sure that’s enough to judge the food on but I digress. They have a book shelf with tons of board games too! Small gripe, but I sat outside and it seemed the very sweet waitress was stretched a little thin. I will definitely be back.

Vicky was very attentive and she took very great care of me and my friends, Erica the manager was very friendly and welcoming. We will be coming back soon highline is awesome

We should have stuck to the reviews on this one but we still ventured in for a Saturday lunch.
The positives first…
The band playing was AMAZING. We went for Bluegrass brunch and there was a guitar and violin playing. Unfortunately, they never identified themselves but they were fantastic. The musicians were the right volume and the mix of what they played was perfect. I would definitely see them again (but hopefully somewhere else).
The food was inexpensive because Saturday is half-​price burger day. And the burgers were delicious. Whoever is cooking back there did a great job.
The atmosphere and physical space is also great; very open and airy. The place has about 20 board games, two foosballs tables and tons of large tables. It seems to be the perfect place for happy hours.
The main – and all encompassing – negative is the service. O M G, it was terrible. Seriously, worse than what you joke about at a fast-​food restaurant. There were only eight tables occupied though two of them had 7 – 8 people at each.
We were directed to seat ourselves and our server came over to ask for drinks and said she’d bring water. We ordered a diet coke and bloody mary. Ten minutes later she came back (without the water) and said the bloody mary mix was still being made and wasn’t available (for brunch, mind you). It took another five minutes to get all the drinks. We asked why it was taking so long given there were three servers. Our waitress looked exasperated and said, «We had a big table and they are finally leaving so we can pay more attention to other tables.»
We ordered two burgers and a bruschetta appetizer. Ten minutes went by and we were informed that they weren’t serving appetizers off the main menu. You could only order off the brunch menu PLUS the four half-​priced burgers on the main menu. Super confusing and not helpful. The burgers arrived a few minutes later and as mentioned above, were delicious. When she dropped off the bill, the bruschetta was still on it and we had a request a new invoice. She kept apologizing but blamed it on how busy were. We left her a $ 4 tip and then tipped the band $ 10.
Maybe this place is better for drinks, but go to Good Stuff Eatery down the street if you want burgers. Avoid Highline RxR at all costs.

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Theft (noun) — The action or crime of stealing.
Integrity (noun) — The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.
Horrible service, unprofessional, no tip left, server gave themselves a tip anyways and overcharged me. Its being disputed.

Local resident. Wanted to support a local business. Went to Highline RxR Sunday evening around 7pm. Waited 15 minutes for the waitress to arrive, had to ask for a beer menu. Waited another 10 minutes for her to return with a beer menu, then another 10 minutes to finally take my order. Ordered a 3 star brown ale and the Highline Chicken Sandwich. The Chicken Sandwich arrived 5 minutes later, leap frogging over the other three tables next to me that had ordered before me. And, it came out with chips, waitress did not ask for a side and I assumed fries were the default side. Anyway, the quick turnaround for the sandwich made me question how long the chicken was on the grill, either it was on for a few minutes, a long time waiting for someone to order it, or pre-​cooked and reheated. Cut through it just to make sure and the chicken was as thin as paper, the onion was cut thicker than the chicken, definitely not worth the $ 10 considering it was basically all bun. I didn’t care at that point, I was hungry… and I left hungry.
It was clear that the staff was under-​trained or overwhelmed, or both. The server/​busboy/​bar back (?)/​bartender (?) did not know where to take the food once it left the kitchen, so obviously the table numbering system wasn’t being used for the orders. The waitress had to come over and direct where the food was going in front of the tables. And, the expo (if there was one) in the kitchen must have gotten confused or discombobulated because the table next to me asked two different staff for the status of his other order of wings.
The beer was good. Probably would have had another one, if the service and food was half-​decent.
My recommendation: If you go, sit at the bar. If the bar is closed (like it was this evening) or full, grab a nice bottle of wine from around the corner, go home, and order in.

Slow service, bad signature cocktails, overpricing, lack of cleanliness, and ridiculous, inflexible, nonsensical policies are all good reasons to avoid an establishment, but Highline RxR has them all!
Service: Even when it isn’t busy, the staff can be MIA for extended periods of time, some even can be caught taking breaks when they already have a table or two they are/​should be serving! And the poor guys delivering food orders have such a hard time when they come to the table! You would think that the wait staff would have come up with some way of communicating what position at the table an order goes to! And some of these guys struggle with English, which without that prior communication can frustrate the customer…
Cocktails and Food: The cocktails are just bad. Sure, they can do standard bar fare, but their «signature» cocktails are not worth the money. I have had better cocktails at house parties in college! And the bar food is pretty much just bar food, only more expensive… My advice? Stick to water: pretty hard for them to screw that one up!
Cleanliness: Floors often have some mild degree of crumbs and whatnot, while tables have a sticky, nasty feel to them. Décor also gives the place a bit of a grungy dive feel…
Policy: They won’t change the television channels even if one of the tvs has something on it that no one is watching. Sure, playing sports is one thing but there are a million sports-​related channels; at least choose something people are interested in!
Policy: Oh and if you ever forget your credit card at this place, good luck getting it back without a hassle!
Probably the only good thing about the place is the fact that it hosts District Trivia on Monday nights, so I marvel at the fact that they get enough business to stay afloat! (Maybe the prices help with that?)

We came here for happy hour the other day after work to give this place a try.
It was a nice spring day so we wanted to be at a happy hour spot that is somewhat outdoors. In this case, it was nice they had the upstairs bar that was open to the city.
The drink selection was great. They had a lot of high-​end beer and mixed drink selections. It’s located in Crystal City so be prepared to pay $ 7 – 8 a beer.
The food selection was so-​so. Nothing really stood out or looked amazing from the menu but we were desperately hungry and ordered. Again, with it being CC, be prepared to spend $ 12 for mediocre food.
I think what surprised us most was the service. The level of service didn’t match the restaurant. The way they make cocktails and the overall establishment says it is a high-​end place. But service is all but that.

How can this establishment (hereinafter «Highline»), with a menu as safe and uninteresting as the «city» in which it is situated, botch precisely that which it seemingly purports to be proficient? I don’t attempt to answer that question here. In my view, such a question belongs to the same class of questions to which better men, smarter men, for centuries have failed to produce concrete, persuasive answers. Questions such as: How does consciousness emerge? Does a god exist? Why couldn’t Rose move over? Rather, what follows is merely a restatement of facts. You, the reader, can judge for yourself whether one star is severe, or whether it’s entirely charitable.
And while I could write an exposé on Highline’s lackluster appetizers alone (fries — soft; chicken wings — bland, sauce — runny; chicken tenders — overcooked and equipped with human hair), I won’t waste your time and will narrow my concern solely to Highline’s most egregious transgression (s).
I asked the server for the Left Hand Milk Stout® and an Angel’s Envy® *neat*. Some time later I could see him approaching my table with what looked like my table’s order, but for a lowball glass filled with whiskey and ice to the brim. As he proffered the glass to me I immediately reminded him that «I asked for my whiskey neat, meaning no ice». And that was when I received the look to end all looks. A look that can only be compared fairly to one’s appearance upon hearing one’s beloved pet had its life snatched away by a violent drowning, and notified of this by the very person who committed the atrocity.
To his credit, he attempted to rectify the situation, though begrudgingly. He returned again, this time with an iceless glass of whiskey. Now because this particular joint joins the ranks of pretty much every other business on earth in that it provides light to its patrons, I could tell by its color without tasting the glass’ contents that someone simply strained the whiskey from the ice and put it back in the original glass. I tried it and my fear was confirmed. I am not sure who is responsible for this deed; although, I can be reasonably certain, because after personally walking this abomination up to the bartender, telling her I knew what they had done, she, too, gave me a look eerily reminiscent of the aforementioned.
She said she would fix it (at least that’s what I inferred from her evasive mumblings and shoulder shrugs). I left the glass there on the end of the bar and walked back to my table. After about ten minutes of chirping crickets, I again walked up to the bar and saw the same glass sitting there, untouched. At this point I had had enough. I walked to the main room and asked a different bartender for a proper pour. I finally got it, but not without more attitude from a third employee.
It couldn’t have been easier. I literally wanted them to transfer the contents of a container into a smaller one, and none of the three individuals at this place could do so without extending palpable attitude. All this after a whiskey drinker twice made it clear that all he wanted was neat whiskey. They try to pass off to me chilled, highly diluted whiskey, and I’m the a****le for asking for what I ordered? No, instead of doing what they should have done the first time — amicably fixing their mistake — the whole of the bar seemed hell-​bent on turning that mistake into my problem. If this is what I can expect from Highline’s «happy hour», I needn’t experience it again lest I shave off years from my life.
NOTE: This review assumes: (1) Highline takes itself seriously as a bar/​restaurant; (2) it desires the public to take it seriously as a bar/​restaurant; (3) it wants customers and/​or return customers; and (4) the servers/​bartenders have and/​or desire to have even the slightest interest in their job.
© 2016, Author.

The only thing this place has going for itself is the view and the atmosphere. The service is absolutely terrible. I seriously suggest ordering two drinks at a time because you’ll be ignored at the bar and there’s only one server out on the balcony during happy hour. We ordered food and it never came. They even charged us for it and said that we were not at our table when the food came out. The thing is, we never moved from the table. The bartenders behind the bar are so busy and there were only two. The lady bartender would help everyone around me and never take my order. Not sure why. Ask for the bartender Jay because he helps everyone and is not selective.

Uhmmm I dunno, I just dunno. I rarely, very rarely hang out in the Arlington, Crystal City area. I promise that everything, and I mean everything, is inflated just due to the location and proximity to the city. You can miss me with that.
I was here at this venue solely and only out of love for my very good friend that was visiting from out of town. I hadn’t seen her in ages and would have went just about anywhere she suggested just to be there. This little spot is cute and I appreciate that the venue was relatively easy to find. The bar is located upstairs and it holds a decent number of patrons.
The food and drinks are overpriced, but should I even have to mention that? The food is nothing that I would write home about, definitely not. After perusing the menu I decided upon something really simple. Chips and queso. These suckas couldn’t even get that right. Half of the chips were hard and stale and the cheese was so clumpy. I hate that some venues believe after a certain time at night that they can serve you almost anything and think that you’ll eat it because you’re just looking for «libations soaking food». Ughhhh, that irritates me to no end. I would have sent that mess back to kitchen, but another friend was drinking and thought the chips and cheese were «delicious». Right. We’ll definitely talk about that once he’s sober. Smh.
I can’t give this place another shot. It’s definitely not my speed nor up to my standards.

Came here for Happy Hour with my co-​workers on a Friday. The atmosphere casual but expect to see a bunch of people in suits and professional work attire looking to distress after a long week.
They have $ 5 rails and $ 2 off beers and wine

Stepping inside Highline RxR will make you forget for a second that you’re in Crystal City. If you stay long enough, you may even think you’re on H Street DC or even U Street NW, somewhere slightly more hip than Crystal City. But the facts are facts and Highligne RxR is in fact a «cool» restaurant in the heart of Crystal City. From the artistic masterpieces dancing up the stairs leading up to the restaurant to the very neo-​urban décor on the inside, Highline RxR may bring «cool» to Crystal City.
The menu is extensive offering a wide range of neo-​American comfort food from grilled cheese to more unique favorites like «dirty corn on the cob» (Known as Mexican street corn at other restaurants). They have a good happy hour menu and a large beer, wine, and cocktail menus. They also have Bold Rock cider on tap, which is spot on.
The service is on point. If you need a place to go in Crystal City, start here… and maybe end here.

Went here on a Monday night with co-​workers. They do Trivia on Monday nights from 7 – 9, and we had a great time! The trivia is about 6 rounds, ranging from topics including music, history, literature, pop culture, science, you name it! Happy hour runs till 7 and includes $ 2 off their beers and wines, which brings it to $ 5 draft beers during happy hour!
Definitely a great bar vibe, they also have a dresser with tons of great board games, would recommend for drinks with a group!
The one downside is that I’ve been here a few times now, and have ordered different beers each time. Somehow, they are always out of the one I order. This has also happened to friends I have gone with, who ordered different things than I did too. I’m sure this is my own bad luck, but it seems like being out of anywhere from 1 – 3 of their beers at any given time seems to be a common thing for them, so don’t be too disappointed if something you order is not available!
⁴⁄₅: for great bar scene, fun trivia as well-​priced drinks during happy hour!

This place is nice ! I love the open windows that wrap around the establishment. Only if it was a nice view that would be great but it’s just the streets around it It’s an open layout front and back section
TVs in different locations so easy to watch sports whereever you’re sitting.
The menu is very basic not much variety so this is not a place to go for a real dinner!!! Snacks or bar food Perfect
Service was Standard
The food was Mehhhhh nothing to write home about
GO to watch the GAMES!!!

Got the Chili Mac and Cheese and the Cheese fries with bacon.
I really didn’t like the chili, it wasn’t bad, I was just I hoping for more mac and cheese and less chili. Just my personal preference. Now the cheese fries were amazing, the bacon is extra, but it really brought the dish together. The cheese also had a little heat to it, but not too spicy. It was great, and the cheese was warm and hit the right spot on a chilly night (well for me at least, I’m a Floridian).
They also had a great choice of beer on draught.

Highline RxR is a relatively new bar to Crystal City. We went here for dinner on the suggestion of my fiancé, who raved about the beer selection and food. It’s a second floor restaurant above McCormick and Schmick’s. Lots of windows and natural light. The vibe is relaxed, furniture mismatched. They have board games which you can borrow at your leisure, including Cards Against Humanity. The windows are great because they open up and give the place a patio feel. They have a variety of beers on tap and in bottles. I decided on a grapefruit beer (perfect for summer in my opinion). We then ordered food. My fiancé and I both ordered chili mac. We also ordered fries and a salad to share. The chili mac was quite tasty. Chili was not too spicy and flavorful. The fries were a pleasant surprise. I think they were sprinkled with Old Bay– nothing fancy but still good.
Prices are average for the area. Service was decent during dinner. They have daily specials that I want to come back for, taco Tuesday is one of them…

Great happy hour every day! 4−7pm $ 2 off draft brews, wine, and wells. Great upperstairs patio with open air seating. Lots of arcade games and great music playing. Overall, a very laid back vibe, tons of local DC and Virginia microbrews on tap (DC Brau, Three Stars, Parkway), and very friendly staff!
No happy hour food specials but the bacon nuts (assorted nuts cookex with bacon) — unique, savory, and tasty with beer.
This place is a welcome addition to Crystal City.

I’ve been here every week on Monday for trivia since they opened. I’ve never seen a more difficult «birth» for a bar, surprising given Highline is run by the same folks that have PennSocial, Buffalo Billiards, and Rocket Bar.
They’ve mostly gotten their act together. Service and quality /​consistency of the food is all better now. The first few weeks I needed to have a 2^nd or 3^rd option from the menu as «we’re out of that» was a consistent theme, and staff was either none existent or smothering.
Food is a little hit and miss — but one thing is consistent: the bread they use for the sandwiches is AMAZING, to the extent I actually inquired what bakery they source from :-) I like the Cali sandwich with its healthy amount of turkey, fresh avocado, tomato on multigrain bread.
The bar is spacious and better utilized than I think it was at its predecessor Baileys. They offer happy hour every day — but happy hour specials are limited to drinks, which is unfortunate. The menu is very overpriced for what is offered — quality and quantity. Particular disappointments — $ 7.50 for a grilled cheese sandwich where the cheese wasn’t even melted, $ 4 for a plain ear of corn, $ 12 for 8 chicken «strips» that aren’t any wider /​bigger than my finger, $ 6 for a bowl of bacon nuts that while tasty didn’t represent the nuts advertised on the menu (walnuts, peanuts, almonds — instead I got a bowl of pecans). Oh and while the menu on the website is current — the prices aren’t.