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Clare and Don's Beach Shack, Owners David and Rebecca Tax's Casual Dining in Downtown Falls Church


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I can assure everyone that our key lime pie is made at the restaurant and never sees a freezer. There was a time when we served our homemade pie from a freezer. We thought it made an interesting frozen treat, but those days have since passed.

I can only think of 1 person I have thrown out for complaining and that was my mother....mom is that you?

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Nope, not your mom (someone else's) but I am now committed to trying again soon!

I can assure everyone that our key lime pie is made at the restaurant and never sees a freezer. There was a time when we served our homemade pie from a freezer. We thought it made an interesting frozen treat, but those days have since passed.

I can only think of 1 person I have thrown out for complaining and that was my mother....mom is that you?

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Hmmmm.... No posts in eight years....  

Clare and Don’s does what it does very well. The fish is always fresh, the fries are always crisp, and it’s a very good burger. This isn’t fine dining but it’s a great family place with good food and very reasonable prices, and the owners are *very* generous to the Falls Church community.

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1 minute ago, stevem said:

Hmmmm.... No posts in eight years....  

Clare and Don’s does what it does very well. The fish is always fresh, the fries are always crisp, and it’s a very good burger. This isn’t fine dining but it’s a great family place with good food and very reasonable prices, and the owners are *very* generous to the Falls Church community.

Do they still have Grouper Tuesday? I really enjoyed that.

And the owners are *wonderful* - I can't claim to know them closely, but from what I do know, they are wonderful.

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20 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Do they still have Grouper Tuesday? I really enjoyed that.

And the owners are *wonderful* - I can't claim to know them closely, but from what I do know, they are wonderful.

Didn’t see Grouper Tuesday on the menu anymore but they do have daily specials. 

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We had dinner Saturday night before the Legwarmer's at Clare and Don's.  I have a feeling they have a love-hate relationship with the shows playing at the State Theater.  Certainly it brings in a lot of business, but it really slams them too.  We showed up with the other throngs in 80s attire and put our name in for a table.  We got drinks.  Then seats opened up at the bar and we took them.  Our bartender went MIA for a bit, I think perhaps there was a table he also had to attend to, and even when he got back trying to get his attention was REALLY difficult. We wanted to put a food order in, but our drinks were also empty (full glasses=patience, empty glasses=impatience).  Luckily the other bartender who seemed to be maybe the more regular bartender, as he seemed to be much quicker and proficient behind the bar, got us another round and put in our food order.  And I give them a lot of credit, really the place was slammed.  I was happy we could get food at the bar, as I don't think we would have gotten a table in time.  Hubby got fish tacos- no guac, no sour cream.  He really wanted some salsa, but at that point we had a time crunch, and it was just too crazy to make any requests like that and it was fine.  I got fried shrimp and hush puppies, as that seemed to be good soak up booze food for the evening.  I thought both were good and they did do me well for an evening of drinking.  The hush puppies dipped in the melted butter definitely hit the spot with beer.  

I felt bad for any person that just thought they were going to have a normal dinner there, that evening.  The place got taken over by Bro's with mullet wigs, and Girls with lace fingerless gloves, bangles and side ponies. 

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26 minutes ago, Peachyboy1 said:

Mmmm...Fried clams with tots, preferably at an outdoor table.  Perhaps not today, but soon, soon.  Owners are great; really into the community.  And those clams and tots.

Yes, David and Rebecca were two of only a very, very few restaurateurs who really supported us early on, and I won't forget it. Remember when we had "Membership Cards?" They were all-in, saying, 'sure, why not?' The others in the area, I could count on one hand, despite my having bent over backwards to support their businesses.

No, their food isn't the greatest, nor is it even "good," but who cares? They have a Captain Fantastic pinball machine, and the cashiers-slash-short-order-cooks who work breakfast are as nice as they could be (I'm talking about Mike's here).

Grouper Tuesday at Clare and Don's - if it still exists - is worth your time - if not for great fish, then for supporting a pair of good people. It's just a red, plastic container with a fried-fish sandwich and frozen fries, and shredded iceberg lettuce everywhere, but I always enjoyed it, and left knowing that I'd supported an important local business.

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12 hours ago, DonRocks said:

No, their food isn't the greatest, nor is it even "good," but who cares?

Get whatever fresh fish they have simply grilled on a bun and you have yourself a pretty good lunch.  If you avoid most things fried (excepting the scrumptious swamp lobster) you can put together a satisfying meal here.  It's no Fiola Mare, but so what?  It doesn't need to be.

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I'm not sure how often they have live music at Clare & Don's nor how many bands who play there end up "making it"...but at least one did.

The Revivalists played at Clare & Don's on Dec. 31, 2010.  According to their Instagram, they also played there in 2009.

On January 11, 2019 they kicked off their latest tour in front off a sold out 6,000 people show at The Anthem and in February embark on their first European mini-tour.

Not bad for a beach shack!

 

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Went here Friday night because my daughter goes to the Catholic school down the street (haven't been here in years).

Avoid the Baton Rouge Swamp Lobster - doesn't taste fresh and not very good.

The fish fingers were decent (and plentiful) and the hush puppies quite good.

We chose fried clams, fried oysters and crab cake for the Admiral's Feast.  The clams were the worst of the bunch, not worth trying.  The oysters and crab cake pretty decent.

Service is quick and efficient.  

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