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Blue Point Grill

Alexandria restaurant offers good service and shellfish.

The dining room, full of gleaming dark wood, is decorated with extravagant floral arrangements. The raw bar has an elaborate array of offerings. The restaurant is noisy: The close proximity of tables can lead you to believe that your table is part of a larger party. An outdoor veranda offers a less formal setting in nice weather. Inside or out, you can count on good service.

Shellfish is a specialty. It is good but not cheap. A half dozen clams are $8, a half lobster $15. You might start with the buttermilk-fried calamari with a Serrano-chili-lime dipping sauce, a plate of seared tuna and tuna tartare, or sweet garlic soup with sourdough croutons. Good seafood main courses are the Eastern Shore crabcakes with corn relish; sea scallops poached in butter and scallop with a sauté of mushrooms, baby bok choy, and salmon roe; pan-seared halibut with green lentils and asparagus in anchovy butter; and the medallions of tuna–thick triangles of tuna with tasso ham, wild mushrooms, and cream. Meat fanciers will enjoy the grilled New York strip steak with a bleu-cheese-and-Port sauce and the roasted poussin. Desserts are good, with chocolate concoctions heading the list.