American Girl - McLean, Virginia

Maria Stewart

Ohhh my God ! This place was a dream come true for me as a doll collector and a huge fan of the American girl collection ! The sales associate,Carlene,was so sweet and even directed me to a few dolls that were on sale ! I ended up buying a new doll and book and Carlene even took pictures of me in the store ! I definitely enjoyed this place and will recommend 10 out of 10 !

Amanda Renderos

Since we were visiting the DC area from Ohio mostly for the enjoyment of my history nerd son - we decided we’d spend a day at the mall visiting the American Girl doll store and having lunch in the bistro.

This turned out to be a trip highlight. The shop was very inviting. The dolls and the outfits are all neatly organized. An entire all of American Girl books. Friendly staff ready to assist if any questions. Having been a kid in the 90’s who never owned a doll but received the catalogs - I felt like I was in a utopia.

Then…lunch. Our waiter Cortes was an absolute riot. He made the experience so much fun. He made jokes. Chatted with the kids and even included my son who had brought his stuffed Panda in all the doll activities.

Food was pretty good. Service was just the right amount of time - didn’t feel rushed but didn’t take forever either. You get hair bows and a doll size cup and sauce to take home with the meal. The table is adorable. It was such an experience! 100% recommend.

Brittany Aldridge

With it being my daughter’s birthday, we decided to stop in at the Bistro for some dessert after shopping in the store.

We were seated at the counter, and waited several minutes for someone to take our order. My daughter was so excited to try the Mary Ellen MilkShake with cotton candy and marshmallow twists. The waitress informed us that it didn’t actually come that way and we were probably asking about the cotton candy milkshake instead.

I showed her the menu description and she said it was just a strawberry milkshake with a decorate your own cupcake and strawberries on top. She was very cut and dry, not super helpful and informed me that the chocolate sundae I planned to order only came with chocolate sauce and marshmallows (none of the fun toppings described). She suggested we just get the rainbow cake.

We ordered the strawberry milkshake she originally suggested and it was anything but fancy. It was so messy and already sliding down the outside of the glass. The cupcake was very small piece of cake, no frosting, no sprinkles, nothing. She said she would bring a plate if we felt like it would get too messy and then walked away. I had to catch her attention to ask for a straw and plate. The whole time my daughter was so excited to try her fancy American girl dessert while my husband and I were so disappointed in the lack of attention and care being given.

The waitress barely paid us any attention and then dropped the ticket by and complained about how crazy closing down for the day was to us, while just having seated a family for a reserved meal. Meaning they had plenty of time to serve a single milkshake with a little more friendliness than they did.

If time and care isn’t important until the very minute your customer walks out, I honestly feel like you lose a lot of the magic in the experience.

I was VERY disappointed in the service.

Nathan Bryant

WOW!!! This was my daughter's first experience, and it was amazing! All of the Staff throughout the store was great. In the Bistro, special thanks to our Server (Cortez) - he catered to my Princess for her birthday. The food was GREAT! (see the pictures)

The entire establishment was exceptionally clean and orderly. There is SO MUCH! Browsing through the store is an experience of its own. I can't even put it into words. Hopefully, the many pictures will offer some visualization of my daughter's experience.

We will definitely be returning!

Alex Jahn

Overall we had a pretty good experience. This was our daughter’s first visit and she so was excited. This store is 2 stories and has so many options which was great for our little one. Since this was our first visit we decided to go to the bistro and made reservations for 12. We got done 25 min early so we decided to head over to the cafe since it didn’t look busy. When we went to check in we were told we couldn’t eat earlier because they were short staffed and super busy. I asked when we could come back and was told exactly at 12, even though the people in front of us arrived early and were still sat. We sat in front of the cafe waiting while our daughter played with her doll. Not 1 person came till our reservation time and they never offered to go ahead and seat us. There were only 4 tables when we got sat so I was little confused. Once we were sat we had a really nice time, and our daughter loved getting to eat with her new doll. The food was okay and a bit overpriced for the options provided but it was a nice one time experience. I still look forward to taking our daughter back to get new things for her doll.

Shantay Fields

Had my daughter's 8th birthday there today & it was a lovely experience. The private party room was really nice. I can't say enough positive things about the staff! They were attentive, accommodating, and extremely helpful. The girls had a great time playing with their dolls and hanging out together. We shopped the store and received services for the birthday girl's doll while we were there. Both the retail space and the Cafe were jumping with people, so it's advisable to go as soon as they open, or you will face a crowded store. The food wasn't good in my opinion, but my daughter only nibbles anyway. Probably shouldn't go in expecting 5 star food from a doll store. All the kids were focused on was playing and shopping, so it all worked out. If my daughter wants, I would totally treat her and her friends to this experience again. Oh, and btw, latex balloons aren't allowed--we had to take them back out to the car in case others have latex allergies.

Karen Nations

The food here used to be good. It is absolutely horrible now. My daughter's macaroni was clearly a cheap frozen item microwaved. The burger was the west I've ever had. It was dry and the "bacon tomato jam" was a disgustingly sweet jelly that was gobbed on. We were also the only people there and the food was luke warm when we got it. The people were lovely, but the food was so horrible I would never eat here again. I can get a better meal at a fast food restaurant for a fraction of the price. We'll come to shop, but definitely will eat elsewhere.

Kevin Brothers

It was a beautiful store with lots of experiences. My daughter was looking for a particular doll that was on backorder. They were able to have it shipped right to our house quicker than anticipated thanks to the salesperson. She was super helpful!