Filfillah Mediterranean Grill — Restaurant in Columbia Heights

DRY BURNT FLAVORLESS EXTREMELY BLAND, CERTAINLY NOT AUTHENTIC TURKISH FOOD! Terrible Customer Service! ZERO STARS! The person that took my order asked for my name (over the telephone) I told him “Dwayne” however, he wrote something completely different. I’m British and have a strong accent but relatively well spoken and my name is somewhat common. The server pretended to not hear me 3 times in a row purposely as though we were close friends he was playing a practical joke on. I paid for my order and wrapped up to wait on the side for my food and he uttered something to which I responded pardon me (because I missed what he had said) and he smiled and said nothing which was weird! Throughout the wait for my food to be prepared he continued to shout things out in a tone that was not understandable but he and his colleague in the kitchen felt it was funny for some reason, although unbothered I could see what the intention seemed to be. This happened 3 times. When my food was ready the server uttered some word so I looked in his direction but he was still in the process of wrapping up getting what I now know was the bread, as I wasn’t sure if he was simply continuing his weird behavior or calling me I just waited but continued to look in his direction then he called me some word I couldn’t understand with a huge smile on his face like he had directly blatantly insulted me holding my bag out in my direction! So I gathered it was my order, complete ready to collect. This is the first time and last time I will ever go to this establishment!! May I remind you as a registered business of the city you are obliged to conduct yourself to a certain minimum standard, and produce food that is fit for consumption!! The food was burnt, dry and the salad was going brown it was past it’s best! Certainly not the quality of food that will pass an examination from inspectors!! AS YOU WILL SEE IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS, THIS IS NOT A GOOD PLACE TO EAT FROM, DEFINITELY BELLOW A HEALTHY STANDARD! BURNT FOOD CONTAINS CARBON MONOXIDE YOUR COOKS AND STAFF NEED TO BE TRAINED ON FOOD SAFTY & HYGIENE, THE SALAD MAY SEEM SMALL TO YOU BUT BAD LETTUCE CAN CONTAIN E COLI IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOT SERVE IT TO CUSTOMERS WHO MAY NOT BE ABLE TO IDENTIFIER THIS! After some of the good reviews I read I’m not sure if for some reason I was specifically given bad food or if it was just a regular occurrence but I wouldn’t be going back to find out! When you receive such service report it to your local authority so they can keep up with the trend and shut down establishments that pose a threat to customers. I SUGGEST FREQUENT UNDERCOVER INSPECTIONS!

A year later they respond to my review with some canned response making reference to my expectations of their establishment as though they didn’t even read my review! If my memory serves me correctly someone had left a photo of their chef cooking and preparing without a mask on in the height of the...

I was looking for a Palestinian restaurant in my area, for an “evening brunch”, also known as “getting coffee” (but during supper hours in this case). My neighbor and I needed to catch up on life together, and so we chose this restaurant.

I arrived first, even though while we were on the phone with each other moments earlier, she’d accused me of being late! But I digress. It worked out perfectly, actually.

The sun setting cast a warm and comforting glow into the dinning room section where I chose to sit and wait. I may have arrived at evening prayer time, because there were not people standing around which ironically made my experience more authentic to what I would encounter in a predominantly Arab African country like Tunisia, Morocco or Egypt.

I grabbed a couple of menus while waiting for my neighborhood bestie, and by the time she arrived, I knew what I was going to eat. We both walked the menus back to the counter and ordered there. Then, paid, tipped, and got the #7 place-holder for servers to know where to bring our dishes.

I should have ordered sauces and a side of hummus to go with my chicken and rice with bread! I needed the extra moisture, but the food was still very good. Ended up bringing most of it home to share ❣️

The staff was really nice too! I gradually interacted with more people before leaving. Really enjoyed the boisterous “Bye, thank you!”, that was exchanged between the staff and our duo, as we left. I highly recommend if you’re looking for a chill, yet warm spot to ‘plot’. We had a great time and felt comfortable talking about topics that we would have felt self conscious about discussing at a different public...

The service was the best thing here. The atmosphere was clean but it's not being maintained and falling apart somewhat. It used to be very beautiful and felt like you were about to have an authentic Middle eastern experience, now you have to be careful stepping off the stairs because it feels dangerous with the broken floor tiles.

The food once was so good, I would bring VIP guests from out of town and they would rave about the moist meats and layers of flavor. People ate beyond what they had the capacity to eat because it was just so good you couldn't stop. I ordered a kofta sandwich tonight and I could only take 3 bites. I wanted so much to find something that I liked about it but I was trying to add flavor with mayo and watery hot sauce. I don't want to describe it as not to offend anyone, but I'm sharing in hopes that this will allow them to become better. The chicken kofta was mushed ground chicken, seasoned with what tasted like a light version of seasoning salt, turmeric, and maybe some paprika. It had a few tomato chunks, and I know it had pickles in the past that were absent from this sandwich. There were 3 small slices of pickled turnips next to my fries.

The fountain drink was not carbonated or sweet and the Kunafa was dry, lacked sugar syrup and was not nearly how I remembered it at all.

The fries were good, not greasy, crispy, hot and the only thing I ate on my plate.

I miss the old Filfilleh where you could tell the people that ran it took pride in their business. It really hurt and disappointed me to see how much has changed, and I hope I can rave...