Marie de la Fleur — Restaurant in Ashburn

This place is new, I get that, but the staff was less than knowledgeable about the food and the restaurant does not have a liquor license yet (this is the end of February). Note to all: this restaurant is located in a 55+ community.

We arrived for our reservation and were happily greeted and seated. The place is small, but cozy and attractive. The menus appear to be well used and include a selection of cocktails that are not available for consumption. We were only informed the restaurant didn't have a liquor license until after we asked about beer and wine selections.

The staff was energetic and friendly, but knew little about the menu. What is included in the Amous Bouse Platter? No idea. Is there a price difference between the veggie burger and regular burger? Did you order the sea bass or the stuffed salmon?

While the bread came quickly and was warm and delicious, ordering appetizers and mains took some time. The staff loved to fill our water glasses, but their serving skills are clearly a work in progress. Handing all the meals to one person at the table and having them distribute to everyone isn't what we expect.

The servings are substantial, but the flavors were muted. I can only assume that this is to cater to the core customer base from 55+ community the restaurant is based in.

We started with the Amous Bouse Platter and the Trois de Bourdain (there were six of us). Both were delicious. Hands down the best of the night. The amous consisted of hummus, pita, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers and deviled eggs as well as empanadas. The Bourdain dips were great, but needed more bread.

Mains consisted of sea bass (they were out of red snapper), veggie burgers and the Caribbean inspired beef. None of which were truly memorable. Two slices of mushroom were an additional charge for the veggie burger... The servings were a good size, but lacked flavor and were underwhelming.

If not for our companions and their conversation, the night would not have...

The entire experience was just awful.

We visited for brunch, on a Sunday. Two people in our party.

The restaurant is in a gated community. The guard told us to make a right at the stop and it'll be there; you can't miss it, he said. We missed it. He didn't mention you'll have to drive all around the building to get to the restaurant, which is inside a clubhouse.

No one was around to greet us and seat us. The gentleman, who was the entertainment, actually said hello and welcome. Someone finally shows to seat us. There are only two other occupied tables at that time. The dining room is not a big place.

We sat for over 30 minutes before one of the 7 waiters came over and asked for our order. No hello. I asked about one of the cocktails listed on the first page of the menu. He said they don't have a liquor license. I ordered a coffee and cream. The cream was one of those creamers that come in a plastic little shot. The menu prices would indicate real cream or milk would be an option. I guess not? The waiters wear black latex gloves, which is super weird, btw.

We order the special: sea bass and grits. It took well over an hour to get our food. One of the dishes arrives and my girlfriend pulls out a long hair embedded in the grits. We flag down the waiter and he apologies. He brings a new dish and proceeds to explain that he spoke to the kitchen staff and the food runner and no one has long hair. ??? I'm not sure what he was implying, however we let him know (again) the hair was IN the grits, not ON the grits.

The sea bass and sauce had good flavor, however the grits were gummy.

No one ever came to check if we needed anything or to check on the food. The service is a hot mess. No one seems to know what they're doing. The owner was walking around, but obviously she's not managing the chaos.

I didn't want to stick around for dessert. We had to flag someone down for the final check.

Two hours later, we left. Not...

First time dining here after reading about it. Very nice atmosphere. The food was excellent. My wife had sea bass which consisted of an impressive chunk of nicely cooked fish with a lemon butter sauce on top off some potatoes au gratin and some large asparagus spears. I had a crab ravioli. It came in a tureen with a large amount of very nice vodka sauce. The raviolis were large and covered with just enough melted cheese. The raviolis were stuffed with crab, not just topped with crab meat. It was fantastic. The service was good but needs a little more work. It was a Friday evening and there were very few diners. That was surprising since the food is excellent and the prices reasonable. Possibly it’s because it is in a gated community and non-residents must get a pass at the security station to enter and park. A slight inconvenience for an...