Quarterdeck — Restaurant in Arlington

My daughter and I went for lunch. Frank greeted us and seemed to have a hard time accommodating our need as we had a stroller and wanted a high chair. Clearly a fire hazard how he tried to seat us so we asked for another table. Even after mentioning the safety risk he didn’t seem to care and said we can sit wherever we want it’s fine. We felt very uncomfortable where we had to sit but other options didn’t look any better. Food came out and was very good. Frank checked in once about the food then never came back to our table to ask if we needed refills or anything else for that matter. We watched him go to his other tables giving refills and taking care of their needs. It was very hot we had to get another waitress to help us and she agreed how hot it was saying she had to put her hair up. She was very nice and turned AC on for us. Very frustrating after being hot for so long, not asked if we wanted refills or anything else and just sitting there waiting for him to stop by our table so we could take our food to go. Finally, in passing he said, do you need a box? We said yes and I asked for a refill. He brought a pitcher of coke and attempted to pour it in my cup that was half full of melted ice and flat coke! I let him know I wanted a fresh coke also let him know he never bothered to come back to our table and how frustrated we were. He stated, I thought I was pretty cool to you guys. Shocked at his response I let him know how unprofessional that was and I wanted a manager. He continued to try to argue back and forth so once again I firmly stated I want a manager. She came out and we clearly understood why Frank reacted the way he did. She tried to say they are required to put their hair up instead of acknowledging our concerns of how hot and uncomfortable we were. Somehow she ended up comping our entire check but that’s not at all what we wanted. Good customer service is essential especially in small businesses. That’s not just a friendly staff and giving free meals when there is a problem. It’s listening and responding appropriately to concerns then coming to an agreed resolution. Knowing how to diffuse a situation and make sure a customer feels heard is imperative. Staff that understands and is properly trained to handle situations and not argue with customers is also imperative. This was very inappropriate, uncomfortable, lack of good service, frustrating to say the least and all with an infant who was also very hot. We won’t ever dine there again nor will we recommend to anyone. Crazy because the crabs looked great and we would have come back had things gone...

My sister and brother invited us to dinner here on a Tue night for a total of 4 adults and 1 child. Here are the high points of my experience:

-FORCED GRATUITY: They force a 20% gratuity for parties 5 or more and for bills $100 or more, regardless of the quality of service you receive. Although I fully anticipated this upon ordering since it's at the bottom of their menu, it actually wasn't an issue for me that night because service was decent as expected on a Tue night. But if it wasn't, and it was on a busy weekend, there's no way to hold servers accountable for poor service.

-INCONSISTENT SPLIT CHECK POLICY: When the server took our order, she did so with a handheld ordering device. I immediately assumed that like other restaurants who have this technology, it's easy to identify what we ordered and pay as we close. She said she would do it for this time but that their policy was not to split checks for parties 5 or more. Although I thanked her for doing that, I still wanted to speak to their manager to clarify the policy. I told him (Will) that I fully own the 20% gratuity policy because it's on all the menus, but nowhere did it state ANY split check policy on there (side note: I found out after the fact that the policy on their website is no split checks for 6 or more...and we were a party of 5 which is why I always clarify). My wife, daughter, and I ordered over $100 of food and drinks, while my sister and beau had a roughly $50 bill and my brother had a roughly $30 bill. It would've been unfair for them to pay for my eating and drinking habits. It also puts us in an awkward position to ask family to pay mere dollars, so I see how most just give in. The option to split checks anywhere wouldn't exist if it was so easy, and this establishment definitely takes advantage of that.

So I really wanted to give the rest of their menu a try, but I refuse to support establishments who have good food but have unreasonable policies like this. And it would be understandable if this was a fancy restaurant, but it's a casual spot. Not...

Local vibe, great service, & delicious food!

Quarterdeck had been around for decades. I remember coming here when I first moved to DC years ago. And, the service and food is consistently the still the same If you're looking for Maryland blue crabs that are fresh, meaty and of good size in the DMV, without doing long drives to the Maryland shore or dealing with crazy wait times and the crowds where it can take hours at local seafood markets or the wharf in DC.... this is your place. Instead, come here relax, have a couple of drinks and dive in on the star of the show ......Steamed Crabs!

The service is always great... the staff is friendly & helpful with recommendations & instruction "how to" for the crabs! We started with the Crab Balls appetizer...the small crab cakes fried just a little with a Heineken beer. I must' admit one thing ...... the crabs here are little bit on the expensive side and are not cheap.....but you get what you pay for here and that's crabs of good size and steam to perfection! So when you come here..... don't hold back. You might as well go all out and take in the entire experience that comes with enjoying Blue Crabs by treating yourself to at least a half dozen of the "Large Crabs"--at minimum! During my recent visit, this is exactly what I did and enjoyed everything from beginning to end ......the She Crab Soup, Oysters on a Half Shell, & some well steamed-seasoned Half-dozen Large crabs! They were so good (excellent spice mix) and it was a lot of fun for all of us there in my party. Not to mention....when ordering the large, x-large or Jumbo crabs....you get more meat for all the work that you have to put! So why bother or waste time with the small or medium-size crafts ... just to save a few bucks. Imho lol

In all, you can't go wrong with Quarterdeck The vibe is always great. There is both indoor and outdoor seating which is perfect when the weather is nice outside. The drinks are strong and the staff here work hard to make sure you enjoy the experience.

Definitely...