WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Rustico burst on the scene in north Alexandria a year ago, a masculine temple to beers from around the world. But the cuisine never quite matched up to what came out of the taps.

Enter Frank Morales. Rustico’s owners, the Neighborhood Restaurant Group, recruited the man who put Zola on the map in Penn Quarter to overhaul their cuisine.

He’s added small plates, artisinal ingredients and an epicurean touch at an establishment that could probably get by with burgers and fries. His ambition is welcome and makes the restaurant worth the trip, no matter how much you like the suds.

» The Scene:

The dark, high-ceilinged room is downright industrial: lots of brick and steel, with a few wall-sized glass mosaics softening things up a bit.

Off to the right is the first-come, first-served bar and lounge area, filled nightly with a mixture of locals and beer lovers.

» The Pour:

Fifty smartly selected wines are available, but beer is the attraction here. The 30 taps include three stouts, local ales and German pilsners, as well as a cask-conditioned “real ale.” Add in another 250 bottle selections — including whole categories of Belgian wheat beers, Trappist ales and fruit lambics —and you’ve got a hop head’s paradise. For the less adventurous, 14-ounce Miller High Life drafts are $2 for happy hour. And of course, this being Virginia, you can carry home some of those hard-to-find bottles with you.

» The Taste:

Rustico claims its menu is influenced by the “cucina rustica” of Southern Italy, but in reality it’s an American menu, with clam chowder and New England cheeses at home among Italian sausage and imported salami.

Morales’ most interesting innovation thus far has been the “Mosaics” menu — selections of three themed small plates, designed to pair with a flight of three different beers. Air-dried beef comes with Vermont butter and baby arugula, persimmons and 25-year-old balsamic and with butter greens and toasted coriander. Big-eye tuna is offered as a carpaccio with citrus brown butter jam, as a tartare with poblano pesto and lemon cream, and grilled rare with tomatoes and olives.

» The Touch:

Service is mixed here. Waiters generally know their beers and are friendly in a “Deadhead” kind of way. On one visit, however, it took 15 minutes from walking in the door to having my drink order finally taken. Part of the delay involved the hostess debating with the server on whether they could seat only two of us in a booth — this all in a half-empty restaurant.

» Don't miss:

The wood-grilled octopus on rice beans with herbs and lemon oil; the ragout of braised pork shoulder over rigatoni.

» Why you will go:

For the four-seat “bar” that looks directly into the open kitchen — a must for the restaurant-obsessed.

» Why you won't go:

Because the neighborhood — a small retail enclave at the edge of a new town house development — is the picture of suburban lifelessness.

RUSTICO

827 Slaters Lane, Alexandria

703-224-5051

www.rusticorestaurant.com

Prices: Soups, salads and appetizers: $6 to $10; entrees: $12 to $15; “Mosaics”: $9 to $17 for three small plates.

Hours: Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday; dinner: 5:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 5:30 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; bar open until at least midnight every night.

» Bottom line: An upscale brewpub with a gourmet touch in the kitchen.

jdufour@dcexaminer.com