Spider Dip, raspberry brains and a cocktail called the Dead Man's Colada are on the menu through Halloween at Royal Restaurant in Old Town Alexandria, where the patio at 730 N. St. Asaph Street has transformed into a Halloween pop-up called Royally Spooked. The seasonal takeover opened Oct. 1 and runs through Oct. 31, with themed food, drink and decor built around the restaurant's own ghost story.
The pop-up runs from 3 p.m. until closing, according to alxnow.com, which reported that the restaurant opened Royally Spooked on its patio on Oct. 1. Food highlights include the Spider Dip, made with black bean hummus, a sour cream web and jalapeño-cheddar “ghostinis,” the outlet reported. There's also a dessert billed as raspberry brains, built from raspberry panna cotta and hibiscus ooze.
On the drink side, the Dead Man's Colada mixes two types of Don Q rum, grilled pineapple, activated charcoal, coconut and what the menu simply calls “danger,” per the same report. The whole concept leans into a local haunting tale the restaurant has embraced: a ghostly bride the restaurant refers to as the Weaver Bride. “The old-timers call her the Weaver Bride,” the restaurant told alxnow.com.
A Ghost Story Behind the Décor
Separately, DC News Now reported that Royally Spooked marks Royal Restaurant's first Halloween pop-up, describing a patio decked out with themed decorations, a Halloween playlist and movie screenings that include classics like Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown. That report also detailed additional menu items, including dyed deviled eggs, a Spider Dip served with black sesame crostini, and chocolate vampire cupcakes filled with raspberry and topped with buttercream icing.
DC News Now also described a Blood Orange Margarita served in a blood bag and a cocktail called the Black Flame, billed as a variation on a banana old fashioned made with Four Roses bourbon, house-made banana cordial and sherry, finished with a rim of black and orange sugar.
A Restaurant With a Long Old Town History
Royal Restaurant sits at 730 North Saint Asaph Street, per royalrestaurantva.com, in the heart of Old Town Alexandria. The restaurant traces its roots back more than a century: it first opened as the Royal Cafe on Royal Street in 1904 before relocating to its current St. Asaph Street address in 1964, according to the Old Town North Alliance.
The restaurant changed hands in 2023, when it was acquired by Alexandria Restaurant Partners and Sloan Hospitality, the alxnow.com report noted. The Royal reopened in April 2024 after closing for three months, according to Eater DC, which described the acquisition as the start of a gut renovation down to the studs. The overhaul also added patio seating, though sources differ on the exact capacity: the restaurant's own website lists a covered, all-season patio for up to 50 guests, Eater DC reported an 80-seat patio, and the Old Town North Alliance put the new patio at 56 seats with a retractable awning.
Part of a Bigger Pop-Up Playbook
Royally Spooked fits into a broader pattern for Alexandria Restaurant Partners, which has leaned on seasonal pop-ups as programming across its portfolio. The company previously ran the Hi-Tide Tiki Pop-Up Bar at Vola's Dockside Grill and a Christmas-themed Barca Wonderland at Barca Wine Bar & Pier, the alxnow.com report noted. For now, the ghosts, blood bags and brain-shaped panna cotta have the run of Royal's patio through Halloween.
