La Fromagerie Cheese and Wine Bistro — Restaurant in Alexandria

Absolutely a horrible experience at La Fromagerie caused by the bartender! My friend and I were asked to leave the restaurant tonight, shortly after arriving and ordering our first glass of wine (within 5 mins). Our mistake? We stopped and greeted another, larger table, of work associates that had clearly been in the restaurant long enough to have been served drinks and appetizers at their table. After we ordered our wine from our very nice waiter (Rigel), the bartender then approached our table, asked if we knew the other table and when we confirmed, My friend and I were rudely told that the restaurant does not allow big groups to dine in the facility and we would have to leave because we knew each other. Literally, when we walked in, there were empty tables to utilize, and no wait at all, so why kick paying customers out. Completely dumbfounded. Only after I told our waiter that we were in town with 16,000 of our fellow coworkers for a conference, in National Harbor, were we re-approached by our waiter and told that it was ok if we stayed...Seriously, what is wrong with this restaurants customer service! So, We left as requested and our friends ended up joined us at another restaurant, where we had a lovely and enjoyable meal. We will definitely NOT return to this...

Extremely disappointed with the service. I was very excited to eat here and a family member had even given me a gift card to the restaurant. I expected a bit of a wait but not the complete indifference from the staff. We walked in and were greeted by no one. A couple there before us got seated. Then there were 2 two person tables available. A couple that came in AFTER us got one of the tables. When I tried to clarify with the waiter (because I knew they don’t take reservations) I was told they don’t take reservations but take “call ins”. He then immediately walked away without saying anything about getting us seated even though we had waited 30 minutes at that point. The other 2 person table then was merged with another table where people were already drinking and had been for at least 20 minutes. We never saw the alleged rest of their party show up. After another 10 minutes we walked out. It’s unfortunate my family member has already given them money by getting me a gift card. It’s a mistake I will tell her not...

Horrible place. Arrived via Uber at 9:44pm on a Saturday night after a show at the Birchmere, because they advertised being open until 10:00pm. And as a wine connoisseur I thought this place would be a good venue for a fine glass of wine. Just one. And no food. Instead I was greeted curtly by the bartender, who, before even me asking for a wine list said "we're closed!"... Oooook, I just want a glass of wine, no food. "We'll, I'm sorry, I already had last call!" I replied, if that's the case you should advertise your hours as 9:45! He said "No, I'm sorry, unfortunately we have to close." Instead I got an 'I hate my job and tough luck, we don't want you here anyway ' vibe. No worries, I went to Vermillion next door. Excellent wine list and super friendly people, I wasn't going to get food but they said I could get any order of food I wanted, so I did. I'll definitely be back to Vermillion for a full dinner, great wine and awesome staff. Skip La Fromagerie and go to Vermillion, you won't be...