This summer, Great Falls diners will be able to escape the D.C. region’s heat at a new restaurant designed to mentally transport patrons to a rustic mountain lodge.
Great Falls Lodge Bar & Grill is on track for a soft launch at 9835 Georgetown Pike in Great Falls Center in the first week of July, with a potential opening as soon as Monday, June 29, according to owner and chef Neel Kamal.
Initially, the restaurant will open for dinner only, from 3-10 p.m., before expanding to include lunch and happy hours. The team also hopes to offer live music on the weekends in the future.
“It’s a family-oriented restaurant with a mountain theme … very friendly menu with lots of wine selections, and a basic good American-themed menu,” Kamal told FFXnow. “We are excited, grateful to the Great [Falls] community.”
Filling a 4,689-square-foot space that previously housed El Tio Tex-Mex Grill, Great Falls Lodge will be the third location of a brand that can currently be found in Ijamsville and Clarksburg, Maryland.
Described on their websites as neighborhood bars with a focus on whiskeys and craft beers, the Urbana and Clarks lodges have proven to be “very successful,” Kamal says, so his team was eager to expand the concept into Virginia.
When asked what made Great Falls stand out as a potential location for an expansion, Kamal joked that “all my rich friends live in that area” before more seriously praising the area as a “neat community” with plenty of history but limited existing options for dining.
Retail in Great Falls is mostly concentrated around the Georgetown Pike and Walker Road intersection. Existing restaurants in Great Falls Center include Village Grill, Izumi Sushi Japanese Cuisine, Toastique and Bollywood Bistro, but no bars like what Great Falls Lodge plans to offer.
“There’s not much there, so people are really excited,” Kamal said. “As long as we do good food, good service, price it right, I think I’ll hit the nail with all the experience I have.”
In addition to the Great Falls location, a Vienna Lodge is in the works in Merrifield, where it’s expected to open sometime in August in the former Blackfinn Ameripub storefront at 2750F Gallows Road.
The food menu at both locations will be similar to what’s offered in Maryland, mixing standard American bar food, such as chicken wings, fish and chips, and hickory burgers, with Southern dishes like jambalaya and Indian cuisine, including butter chicken and a chili paneer flatbread.
Kamal says the menu in Great Falls will also feature seafood, pasta dishes and “great desserts.” Sweet options at the Urbana and Clarks locations include a brownie sundae, New York cheesecake, chocolate lava cake and bread pudding.
“It’ll be really fun, exciting fusion menu,” he said.
The Vienna Lodge, meanwhile, will be significantly larger than the Great Falls restaurant at 8,654 square feet, according to a Fairfax County building permit application.
Because there’s more space, Kamal is planning to bring a more sports-focused vibe to the Merrifield location, which could host a pool table and other amenities. A brunch buffet will also be available.
“[It will be] more sporty, but with the same basic menu, with the same basic looks,” he said.
A veteran of the hospitality industry for over 30 years, Kamal operates Brews & Barrels in Gaithersburg and the Indian restaurant Maharani Palace in Herndon as well as the growing Lodge concept.
