1799 Prime Steak & Seafood — Restaurant in Alexandria

Horrible Customer Service and Misleading Room/Hallway!

I hosted my son's 40th Birthday on August 23rd. Due to a last minute conflict with another venue that was secured, I went to 1799's website because just about 2 weeks ago, I had lunch there with a few of my girlfriends to celebrate one of their birthdays as well and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

So, I was like, the food was great, the atmosphere was great AND the owner came to our table to personally thank us for coming and said that if we needed to come back at anytime, to just email or text him. I emailed my request online to book a room and I knew it was last minute so I wasn't sure whether or not we could get it. To my surprise, I received an email from the Sales Manager, Jackie Barnes, accepting my request. I was so excited and I knew my son would love it. She reached out to me via telephone and we connected. She was very friendly on the phone and I felt good about securing the room (or what I thought was a room).

Fast forward to the day of the event.......

We arrived about an hour earlier than our reservation was scheduled for and so I knew we would have to wait a while. I announced who I was to the hostess and I could see a woman walking around who I suspected was Ms. Barnes. I asked the hostess if that was her and she confirmed. So I was excited to get to actually meet her person since she was so nice on the phone.

To my surprise and disappointment, Ms. Barnes NEVER came over to say hello, greet me or even thank me for booking the reservation with them until about 30-40 minutes after we were seated and now I know why!

When I booked the reservation, I was given a contract for a semi-private dining area and the the minimum cost was 1200.00 and a deposit of $300.00 had to be given. I was fine with all of that because it was my son's 40th Birthday. What I have a problem with is the space that was designated as Semi-Private and the lack of customer service, especially since we were already locked into a contract that yielded more than the $1200.00 minimum!

We were literally in a hallway behind the kitchen and an entrance to/from the bar. There were people walking back and forth and the kitchen was extremely noisy. NOTHING about this was semi or private or intimate!!! The space did not adequately accommodate 14 people and the owner did come over and put another table on the end because we were all cramped up around the table. He never greeted us or said thank you for coming.

Once we were winding down from dinner, our waitress, Chelsie, came out to inform me that we had not reached our 1200.00 minimum and that we could either order more food for takeout because the kitchen would be closing soon or we could order bottles of wine or champagne. By this time, I did not want either, but I opted for the champagne.

She then proceeds to bring me the bill and added the bottles of champagne which did not reach the limit, so she tacked on an extra 46.00 as a room fee! I was livid! I asked to speak with the owner and she said, you have to speak with Ms. Barnes, who is the Sales Manager. Ms. Barnes came out and I told her that I was not happy about the price at all because first of all, we were NOT in a room or semi-private space, rather, we were in a hallway that they called a semi private area. NOTHING about it is private. In fact, some stray guy was sitting at a small bar across from where we were and I was like, who is that and why is he sitting there. Had I known this, I would have just made a regular reservation for 14 people and we could have sat outside on the garden area!

While I was excited to support a black-owned business, I was highly disappointed because it was not worth the $1540.00 that I put out for it. It was almost as if, they knew the gratuity and other fees were already included and just did whatever they wanted to do because we were locked into a contract. Customer service is earned and not a given! Nothing upscale about this place. Not a happy customer. Needless to say, I will not...

A friend and I tried 1799 Prime out on a weeknight for dinner. We were excited to try this restaurant out being that it is the only Black owned steakhouse and one of the few black owned establishments in Old Town Alexandria.

There’s a variety of seating styles in the different rooms. They placed us in the center under a bright light near the door which was chilly, but the nearby fireplace helped a little. Our table was not ready upon our arrival, maybe about 10 minutes before our reservation, so we were escorted to the bar area for a drink while the table was being prepared.

Drinks: Our bar experience was great, as our bartender was extremely nice and answered our questions, even suggesting an off-menu item that my friend ended up trying. The drinks at the bar were great. We enjoyed the Strawberry Lemon Drop (off menu) and the Quando. The smoke effect on the Quando was very cool.

Dress Code: I’d like to critique the restaurant’s dress code policy. Upon being seated at our table, the waiter informed my friend that the restaurant had a “no hat policy”. This struck me as odd because she was wearing a knitted beret. My friend obliged and removed her headcover to adhere to the restaurant’s dress code policy, however we wanted to highlight how discriminatory it is particularly as it relates to the medical, religious, cultural, and personal reasons that people may wear head pieces. As a Black owned restaurant with cultural roots to Ghana, where headpieces are used to represent and celebrate cultural traditions, I encourage the restaurant to re-evaluate the no-headcover policy. I’d like to suggest being specific and instructing that no baseball caps are allowed by guests, if that was the ultimate intention of the policy, instead of casting a wide net and discriminating against individuals who can adhere to the dress code appropriately with the addition of headwear for whatever medical, religious, cultural, and personal rationale that they have. Additionally, I’d like to suggest that your dress code be enforced for all those dining in the establishment as we noticed that there was a diner with ripped denim jeans on.

Food: The wedge salad was amazing. If you enjoy wedge salads, I'd highly recommend ordering this one. The pork belly was a bit over cooked and the kimchi didn’t taste fresh. I wouldn’t recommend.

For our entrees, we ordered the Prime New York Strip and Prime Bone-In Ribeye. While I elected to keep the grilled asparagus that the New York Strip comes with, my friend exchanged hers for creamed spinach. We both added an additional side; I ordered the potato au gratin and she ordered the macaroni and cheese. The potato au gratin was not in the style I’m used to. My friend enjoyed her creamed spinach and macaroni and cheese.

Our waitress, though still training, was amazing. She was extremely attentive, answered all of our questions, made great suggestions when asked, and was an overall delight to dine with. She made our first experience at the establishment a great one, though it didn't start off...

After years of dreaming about my steak date with 1799 Steak, the stars finally aligned, and I thought, “This is it! My culinary destiny!” I gathered a group of friends for a dinner catch-up in Old Town, and I was ready for a night of good food and laughter.

First off, hats off to the hostess! She was the superhero of the night, swooping in to save the day when we called to add one more person to our reservation. If only getting a table at a busy restaurant was as easy as navigating through the bar area! It felt like a game of human dodgeball, with all the Saturday night revelers crammed in. We made it through and headed to the bar, where cocktails were calling our names—because who doesn’t need a drink after wrestling through a crowd?

Once seated in a cozy corner booth, we were greeted by our server, whose name I couldn’t catch due to the noise level resembling a rock concert. We ordered two bottles of wine, only to get the classic “Sorry, we’re out of stock” twice. The third bottle was a charm, and we finally landed a delightful Sauvignon Blanc. Cheers to perseverance!

For appetizers, we went all out with scampi mac & cheese,lamb meatballs, and baked brie. The meatballs were smoky and delicious, the mac & cheese was the cheesy hug we needed, and the brie was a classy touch. There was a bit of a wait for the appetizers, but with a private party happening, I figured that was just the price of fame on a Saturday night.

Our friends decided to share the daily special: a 16-ounce New York strip with a lobster tail. They ordered it medium, but it arrived more well-done than a 90s sitcom. They bravely dug in, proclaiming it was well-seasoned, but the lukewarm lobster tail at $99 felt like a culinary “meh.”

As for my friend and me, we opted for the tomahawk steak, asking for medium rare. It was more on the rare side, but it was seasoned beautifully. The asparagus was a nice touch, and the cream spinach? Pure comfort food!

Now, onto dessert. Our friends ordered pistachio ice cream but received cherry instead. Surprise! It’s like a game of flavor roulette! We tried the featured dessert, a red velvet cheesecake. It was good but didn’t quite have me sprinting back for seconds.

To wrap up our evening, we enjoyed coffee and after-dinner cocktails, but when the check arrived, it was clearly meant for another table. Mistakes happen, right? But getting our server’s attention to sort it out felt like trying to catch a unicorn—magical, but elusive.

As someone who usually hands out five-star reviews like candy, I couldn’t quite do it this time. But I’m hopeful! I believe it was just an off night, and I’m ready to give 1799 Steak another chance. After all, everyone deserves a second shot—especially when there’s steak...