Alexandria, VA – Alice Cocktail Bar, 724 King St. is the invention of Thai Signature. Alice is an inviting bar with interesting cocktails and a wonderful menu of Asian small plates and entrees. Alice invokes the timeless tale of fantasy and whimsy where customers are invited to step into a rabbit hole and immerse themselves in a never-ending summer backyard atmosphere. You feel like you’ve entered a lush backyard of greenery and warm woods. It is always summer at Alice’s. Alice is perfect for all. It’s a cozy, private place to enjoy a cocktail and great Thai food. The Millennial in our group immediately announced that a group of her friends could have a lot of fun eating and drinking here
After being seated by Ticky, the all-knowing curator of all things Alice, we took a few minutes to peruse the cocktail menu. There are so many interesting choices for both drinkers and nondrinkers alike. The Golden Hour is a beautiful drink served in a champagne coupe and made with Bombay Dry Gin, chrysanthemum honey, yuzu, and garnished with a flower. Its elegant looks are only matched by its flavor. Not to be outdone, the White Rabbit features Espolon Reposado tequila, orgeat, orange blossom, and lime. Tequila lovers, put aside the margarita and order this instead. So refreshing and wonderful. Coconut lovers will delight in the Mango Sticky Rice. The glass is filled with Junmai sake, coconut rum, mango puree and topped with coconut cream. It’s so good, not too sweet but oh-so-good. Non-drinkers can enjoy several choices like the Lavender Fizz made with lavender, lychee, butterfly pea, yuzu, and topped with club soda. The Tropical Punch sounds delightful. Made with passion fruit, orgeat, pineapple, lime, and club soda, it is the perfect counterpoint to spicy Thai food.
Speaking of food, let’s talk about the Alice menu. It is an abbreviated version of Thai Signature but it features many of your favorites. You can make a meal just on the small plates. The chefs know how to fry the likes of wonton, crab Rangoon, fried chive dumplings, and more. The fried wonton are created with a wonton skin filled with a chicken and shrimp mixture and served with a sweet chili sauce. The wonton are good enough to stand alone but a dip in the sauce makes you wish you had ordered two orders. But be glad you didn’t because there are more bites to try. Crab Rangoon is everywhere but this is an outstanding preparation. The wonton wrapper is stuff with a mixture of crab and cream cheese, then fried to crispy wonderfulness. That sweet chili sauce shows up again to up the tastiness.
More we said, more!!! And Ticki complied. The fried chive dumplings are not your usual dumpling. These dumplings are made with garlic and chive rice flour. These vegetarian dark green triangles are a taste bomb, with a sweet chili soy sauce. The Shrimp Dumplings are filled with shrimp and chicken and gently steamed. The homemade creamy ginger lemon soy sauce is perfect with these tender morsels. Let us not forget the stunning summer rolls. The rice paper wrapper is stuffed (literally) with shrimp and fresh veggies and served with peanut dipping sauce. I love these. The fresh flavors provide the perfect foil for the other small plates. Vegetarians can also enjoy edamame and the Truffle fries, French fries flavored with truffle oil and seasoned with truffle salt.
As we were leaning back on our comfortable seats, the entrees started to arrive. I love Panang curries and the Panang Salmon was amazing. The grilled salmon was arranged in a Panang curry sauce and smothered with lightly cooked mixed vegetables. The level of heat did not overtake the spice of the curry. We sopped up the luscious sauce with lots of rice so as not to miss a single drop. The Phuket Seafood overflowed with a variety seafood including shrimp, scallops, and squid stir-fried with onions, scallions, bell peppers, young pepper corn, carrots, sweet Thai basil in flavorful roasted chili sauce. Again, the chef does not shy away from a well-balanced explosion of heat and spice. Another keeper and on the list to order again. We could not finish our meal without ordering the Shrimp Pad Thai. This is not the sweet dish you find at other restaurants. The thin rice noodles are loaded with shrimp, bean, curd, egg, scallions, bean sprouts and crushed peanuts ready to be tossed together in the palm sugar tamarind sauce. The tamarind lends a sour, tangy, and tart flavor to temper the sweet of the palm sugar. This is an exemplary example of what Pad Thai can be. It was another hit with everyone at the table.
Alice (and Thai Signature) offer many seafood dishes such as the Crab Fried Rice featuring jumbo lump crab in fried rice mixed with their specialty soy sauce, onion, carrot and egg. I want to try the Crispy Whole Branzino, one of my favorite fish. The Whole branzino is fried then nestled in a mix of steamed veggies and topped with a tamarind, basil, chili, and a soy garlic sauce. It sounds so good. Meat eaters can enjoy the Crying Tiger. It’s composed with a marinated and grilled sirloin steak served with papaya salad, chili-lime sauce, and sticky rice.
There are more menu choices downstairs in the adjoining Thai Signature. Why not relax in Alice with cocktails and appetizers and enjoy the rest of your meal downstairs. It’s definitely a two-for one special event for everyone!
ICYMI: crumbl cookies is Sweetening Bradlee Shopping Center in Alexandria!
