Lyon Hall

Lyon Hall is one of those neighborhood places that I really really really want to like, but I just can't quite get there.

The place has all the right ingredients - good location in Clarendon, a cool retro vibe, great beer program, mussels on the menu, good service...

This is also a place that treats its neighbors well.  Eating there with the MTB for Easter Brunch, the maitre d tried to do whatever he could to accommodate his regulars despite having a full book.  Service has always been enthusiastic and cheery, even if a few amateurish mistakes shine through (which are always promptly handled by management).  I will say I did have to wait an oddly long time one Saturday afternoon while sitting at the bar by myself to get the bartender's attention - by all alone, I mean I was the one customer they were responsible for.

I also like how their respectable drink list is organized - beers you can drink all afternoon in one category, versus those that'll get you drunk in a hurry.

But then we come to the food.  I get that french food is supposed to be heavy, but sometimes you aren't in the mood to lay waste to your entire afternoon by what you order for lunch, and that's hard to avoid here.  There are also issues of consistency - one day I had the best mussels dish I've ever had.  The next time I ordered the exact same thing and it was downright foul.  The mussels tasted old and about 1/3 weren't opened.  The same bartender who took so long to realize I was a customer also failed to notice (or comment) that half my dish went back untouched.

So for the time being, I'm putting Lyon Hall in the beer category.  Great place to grab a drink on a Saturday afternoon, but if I'm going to drop serious cash on dinner, I'll probably go elsewhere.