Bond 45 — Restaurant in Oxon Hill

The food and drinks were amazing! I can’t speak highly enough about the quality of the food, the popping flavors of the sorbet, and the amazing flavor of the Passion Fruit margarita. I gave “5’s” for both the food and atmosphere. The service was so bad that it was actually shocking. When my friend and I entered, she was in a walking boot. The waiter did ask if she needed a chair to prop up her leg. She thanked him and said there was no need. He brought a chair anyway. He asked what we wanted and I ordered the Passion Fruit margarita and my friend didn’t want a drink. He didn’t ask if we wanted an appetizer so after he brought my drink, I asked for garlic bread. While we were eating our bread, he came back and asked us what we wanted. I ordered the rigatoni with beef ragu, not with alfredo. He stated it was both. I didn’t understand what he meant so I asked what he meant. He was offended that I didn’t know “it was on the top” of the ragu. I asked that it be left off. When our meal was delivered, we were not asked if we needed anything else. He put the plates on the table, said they were warm plates and walked off. We had to ask for parmesan and salt. I ate as much of the huge portion that I could. I had pushed my plate back a little while my friend finished her entree. He stopped by the table to ask if all was okay and we said yes. I asked if he had a dessert menu. He looked at me and said “it’s my job to ask you if you want to see a menu and I know how to do my job”. I was floored! He was so rude! When he brought the menu he asked if I was finished with my dinner and I said yes. He removed my plate and said “I guess thats why you wanted the dessert menu”. Once again I was shocked. My friend commented on how rude he had been towards us. When my friend finished her meal, he came back to the table and reached for her bowl. My friend wanted to take her leftover lasagna with her. He didn’t ask if she needed a box or wanted to take it with her, he just went to remove the bowl. I said that she would like to take it with her and could he box it for her or…he cut me off and said that they don’t box food but would bring a box. He brought the box and asked if we wanted dessert. We ordered dessert and it was awesome! When it was time to pay, I had 4 gift cards $25.00 each. Our bill was right at $92.00. The tax was $5.57. When I gave him the 4 gift cards, he ROLLED his eyes at me. I explained that the gift cards were $100 so he’d have the remaining amount of the cards and I gave him an additional $12.00 cash. I thought $20.00 was a great tip. He walked back over to the table and gave me one of the gift cards and said you have $6.00 and something left on the card. I said okay and he said you only gave me $12.00. I was shocked and said okay, give me the $12.00 back. I took the $12.00 and gave him a $20.00. He was the rudest waiter I’ve ever had in my life. Such a beautiful restaurant with amazing food, but his behavior put a damper on...

Yesterday, I celebrated my 39th birthday with my family at Bond 45 at the National Harbor and it was nothing short of extraordinary. The day before, I began calling around to different restaurants to ensure they were both kid-friendly and accommodating to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). As parents of a son on the spectrum, we’ve come to understand that not every place is equipped or willing to meet our son’s unique needs. When I called Bond 45, I had the pleasure of speaking with John, the general manager. I explained our situation and asked whether they had outdoor seating, preferably at the front or back of the restaurant, to help minimize sensory overload. I also shared that my son’s stimming can sometimes be a bit loud and asked whether the restaurant was child-friendly. John, without hesitation, responded, “The only thing in our policy is that we treat every guest like family.” And that’s exactly what they did. Before we ended our call, John told me that on my birthday, my fiancé, our son, and I would be dining in a private room with a view, complete with a complimentary bottle of champagne to celebrate. I was moved to tears. His offer went far beyond anything I could have expected. He even said, “Your son is our son, and he’ll be treated as such.” Arriving at Bond 45 on my birthday, we were greeted with a smile from the host at the front and immediately welcomed by John. He poured two glasses of champagne and told us to follow him, then walked us toward an officer who was there to take our little one for a ride in his cruiser! My mouth was on the floor! Once we got to the private dining room, we met our server Lotfi, who was AMAZING, to say the least. Lotfi greeted us and instantly made us feel like family. John let us know that he was so happy to have us and that we would be starting our five-course meal. I CRIED AGAIN. Lotfi came out with our son’s food and appetizers so fast! There was so much food, and EVERYTHING WE ATE WAS DELICIOUS! Around the third course, John brought in Derrick, who is the GM for the Ferris wheel and after dinner, we would be going on a VIP ride on the Capitol Wheel. I CRIED AGAIN! Who knew there was VIP seating on the Ferris wheel? Not me! After dinner, we took a few pictures & headed to the Wheel to end our amazing evening. Bond 45 is now family. The hospitality, the food, the love, the atmosphere -ALL 10/10. Thank you again a million times for this wonderful experience and for making my family feel so welcomed. Your kindness is rare and so gratefully...

I had dinner with a group of 9 coworkers at Bond 45 National Harbor on a Thursday evening. We were able to come in with a same-day reservation and were promptly seated. The atmosphere is very classic and classy Italian restaurant, a little old-school and very nice. The most stand-out thing about our evening was the service, which was absolutely phenomenal. Our server was an older gentleman and I wish I knew his name so I could give him the recognition he deserves, but he was wonderful! Bond 45 seems like a great spot to take a date, or for a special occasion. However the food is definitely pricey, and I felt the dishes were 50/50 hit or miss.

As we had a large group, we were able to order several appetizers served family style, which I would highly recommend if you are also visiting with a large group. For me, the appetizers were the stand-outs of our meal. They were far more delicious than the entrée I ended up choosing (scallops).

-Caesar salad (authentic dressing, fresh ingredients, one of the best I’ve tried) -Housemade Meatballs (amazingly delicious, juicy, and perfectly seasoned) -Steamed Mussels (appetizer, not served family style. Definitely one of my favorite items of the evening!)

I honestly would have just loved more of the starters in retrospect, because I was very disappointed with my Seared Scallops entrée. For $32, you only receive 4 scallops. The chickpea puree was a weird combination and the mushrooms added to the out-of-sync feel of the dish. The scallops were so salty (and I love salt!) and sadly so overdone that I didn’t finish them. Luckily I had also ordered the side of Mac & Cheese ($10) which was, although more edible, also disappointing – the sauce and cheese was a weird gritty texture and it just wasn’t really good, especially for the price point.

We finished off with a dessert sampler, which was very nice and a good variety of flavors. This included cheesecake, tiramisu, and chocolate cake. We enjoyed the extensive wine list and a solid list of local craft beers throughout the evening.

Bond 45 is a decent option for dinner in the National Harbor area. I feel you are definitely paying more for the location and the atmosphere, which is fine if that’s what you’re looking for. Some of the food was delicious, and some was extremely disappointing. Maybe I just got unlucky with my selections as everyone else seemed to enjoy their mains. I cannot say enough good things about the service though, which really elevated...