One of Alexandria's Oldest Restaurants Gets a Facelift

Eater

6 days ago

A 100-year-old Alexandria stalwart has been transformed into a swanky all-day spot, after decades of serving breakfast buffets for diners in classic red booths. It comes courtesy of Alexandria Restaurant Partners (ARP), who have announced the updates across The Royal Restaurant's building with a new floral mural by artist Amuse126. The restaurant that's been here since 1964, and dates back to 1904, has a brand new brunch and dinner menu to mark the finishing touches of the remodel.
'We've focused on reimagining The Royal, paying homage to the many years of history there, and just bringing it up to 2025, so to speak,' says Dave Nicholas, ARP managing partner.
It's a transformation years in the making. After the death of The Royal's longtime owner, Charlie Euripides, in 2022, the team behind the family-owned restaurant and ARP engaged in talks about the restaurant group taking over. The ARP team has been managing a fleet of Alexandria restaurants, like The Majestic, Mia's Italian Kitchen, Barca Pier and Wine Bar, and more, for about a decade.
'I said to them for almost 18 months, 'if you'll sell us the real estate, then we're interested,'' Nicholas tells Eater. Since sealing the deal in 2023, ARP has been working to give the building a gut renovation down to the studs and completely reinvent the menu with a roster of modern American dishes.
The restaurant reopened in April 2024 after closing for three months and has been slowly updating the brunch menu and workshopping a new dinner menu as the last details of the redesign (like the floral mural) fell into place.
The Royal's update involves trading out an old-school breakfast buffet for the likes of acai bowls and swapping a parking lot (a rarity in Old Town) for an 80-seat patio. Also new: dinner and cocktails. The Royal offers dinner for the first time in 30 years, and the building's renovations created the opportunity to add a bar. The drinks program also spans a 'boozy brunch' which ARP felt was missing in the rapidly-developing North Old Town neighborhood.
Nicholas and corporate operations chef Santiago Lopez went on a North American food tour from New York City to Texas and Florida to gain inspiration for The Royal's menu of American staples, hitting up to 10 restaurants a day on their trip. 'I think our focus here has been hyper-seasonal, fresh, vibrant food,' Lopez says.
For example, mushroom ravioli is dressed up with a dried porcini mushroom crema, stuffed with a mushroom mix, and accented with maitake mushrooms that have been marinated and grilled. A classic cheeseburger includes house-cured bacon flavored with maple syrup, while international influences include deviled eggs topped with roasted corn and tajin or a dinner dish of char siu pork with fried rice. Brunch includes staples like steak and eggs and blueberry pancakes, options like cinnamon-molasses butter-topped oatmeal pancakes and avocado toast with marinated burrata, plus decadent dishes like bananas foster French toast, or chicken and waffles with chorizo gravy.
On the 80-seat patio, diners will find a very 2025 innovation with seasonal decor designed by artist Naii Vegas ​​of Creative Buildr, who created a floral arch that's begging for social media selfies. In the dining room, there's room for 100 diners, including a small private room with 20 seats. The decor plays up Alexandria's history as well, with newspaper-inspired wallpaper and touches of Americana nostalgia.
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