Often when we go to new locations, we look for random places to check out and experience. On the way to our NoVA (Northern Virginia) trip, we decided to stop in the Herndon, VA area for lunch (on a Sunday). Between searching restaurants in Herndon on Google Maps, and reviews, we locked into Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern. It was slightly off the “beaten path” but it looked like it might be worth it.
Totally random.
More often then not, rewarding. Maybe it’s the few minutes of research at the last minute that provides just enough information to almost always find the right place, although we did find out exactly why Jimmy’s has a 4.5 rating on TripAdvisor. When a restaurant is consistent enough with 86% of their diners having a greater than average experience, that’s doing something.
Located in old town Herndon, it’s right on the corner of Elden and Spring Streets in Herndon. Similar to other old town scenarios in the US, parking can be tricky, however, with very little effort we found there was plenty of municipal parking across the street and behind the restaurant.
So we show up and we quickly discovered that they take their motto ” Where Everyone is Treated Like a Regular” pretty seriously. When we walked in, we were greeted warmly and seated quickly. Throughout our whole dining experience we were welcomed in a very personal manner. Even though there were clearly some hard-core regulars, our experience was incredibly positive.
We told them up front about our Journey Moore Often blog and we were treated to the history of the location and venue. Quite fascinating actually.
The restaurant/bar is much larger than it looks from the front when walking in. There are two other entrances to the building itself, one of which is used to access the lower level and the indoor lift.
Then there are two different alleys to the outside bar…yeah, that big.
The building has a longer history than the current restauranteurs, but you’d never know that unless you asked. With the current business having been there a solid 21 years, it feels like the restaurant has been there since the building was built which is a tribute to the current owners. When Jimmy’s was first opened, it was only the section near the intersection where that bar and seating are located. As time has progressed, their building base of local patrons has allowed the restaurant to expand throughout the first floor on different levels. In the process, they reconstructed a kitchen in a new location and completed updated the restroom facilities.
Most recently, they expanded to their Buffalo Wing and outdoor Beer Garden. The Buffalo Wing is one more theme in the different sections of the restaurant.
With the owners being fans, and a number of locals supporting the Bills, the bar has a definite focus on football in the fall, but all football fans are welcome. We had lunch on a Sunday when the Bills weren’t playing and by the time we left the place was pretty much full and had folks who supported other teams.
Note the Jets and Eagles NFL gear.
They also like to dress up the bar for whatever season it is, and you can tell we went in October during Halloween.
There are plenty of scheduled activities throughout the week. While we were there we discovered that on Sundays they have a poker game in the lower section.
The outside looks like it could be a lot of fun at least 3 seasons out of the year. They have a separate bar that was even manned in late October when we got there. There’s a fair amount of seating both at the bar and at tables. Plus, they have outside games including an outdoor dart game!
Through one of the alley entrances to the beer garden, patrons can buy memorial bricks on Philip James Curtis Memory Lane. The memorial walkway extends all the way into the beer garden.
Last but definitely not the least, let’s discuss the food. We had the Beef on Weck, and the Grilled Chicken with cheddar cheese and no bun.
Being suckers for a good homemade bread pudding, we couldn’t resist Jimmy’s Homemade Bread Pudding with vanilla and raisins, topped with a Captain Morgan Rum Sauce.
All things considering, this random choice of where to eat was another successful pick!