When people think of “good service” at Alexandria restaurants, their thoughts automatically turn toward Restaurant Eve, but The Majestic – while not having the sheer numbers of staff on the floor – has service that’s otherwise its equal.
My young dining companion and I were extremely fortunate to snare a last-minute reservation for Saturday at 6 PM, and the restaurant was just about full when we arrived.
We were led to our two-top along the left wall, and immediately given menus. Matt started the meal with a glass of The Majestic’s terrific homemade Limeade ($4.00) while I had my first-ever Port City Optimal Wit ($7.00). I’ve read a lot of murmuring about Port City being overpriced relative to its quality, but I really liked this beer a lot (most of The Majestic’s beers are priced at seven dollars; I’m not sure what it retails for).
The bread basket here is simple but outstanding (Nathan Hatfield makes all the breads for the Restaurant Eve group, and has blossomed into one of our area’s very best bakers). Although I don’t know, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the salted butter is Kerrygold like it is at Eve.
You have two choices: you can split a side order of House-Made Gnocchi ($9.75) as your first course, or you can hate yourself forever for not doing so. A perfect gnocchi, this is currently being served with peas, fava beans, pecorino, Meyer lemon, crème fraîche, and thyme. Regardless of whether or not you split this as a first course, you absolutely must work it into your meal somehow. Get this.
Knowing that we’d be splitting everything, we ordered very different entrees: Matt ordered the Home-Style Meatloaf ($21) with green beans, bacon, whipped potatoes, and pan gravy, and I got the Seared Muscovy Duck Breast ($26) with sautéed arugula, watercress, truffled wild mushroom risotto, and cherry sauce. If this had been a dog show, both of these dishes would have earned Best in Class – the meatloaf a large portion of homeyness and comfort; the duck elevated by its sophisticated saucing and condiments. They really didn’t go together at all, but they weren’t supposed to, and besides my wine was custom-picked to go with my duck (which I ended up Bogarting a bit): a glass of Miguel Torres Santa Digna Shiraz ($9.50) that picked up the cherry and ran with it.
These were large entrees, but exquisite in their clarity and straightforward approach – not once did they lose their flavor interest. This, despite us being completely stuffed, mainly due to us saying yes to a second bread basket.
But not too stuffed for dessert. “How about a wafer-thin mint?” I asked Matt. And sure enough, we got the Chocolate Brownie Sundae ($8.00) – a warm fudge brownie with walnuts, vanilla gelato (from Dolcezza), and chocolate sauce. After a huge meal, I could only respect it, whereas Matt enthusiastically proclaimed it “the perfect dessert.”
I’ve been to The Majestic several times under the new ownership, but never have I so thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the meal, from start to finish. Truly, I don’t know how I could have loved this any more than I did – chef Shannon Overmiller is doing tremendous work here.