Ireland's Four Provinces — Restaurant in Falls Church

If I could give less than zero stars, I would. My husband was just asked to leave this establishment and I think it's because the server and owner don't like middle easterners. We reserved a 6 person table and when our party showed up, we were seated at a 4 person table. After we ordered our price fix entrees-- all six of us, a waiter came and told us that the owner said that we had to order from the prix fixed menu. We informed him that we had just ordered. He said, the owner said that each of you had to order. We stated that as we just told him, we all ordered from the price fix and not sure what the issue was. He told us to stop shooting the messenger and stop repeating ourselves after he continued to repeat to us that the owner sent him and told him to tell us that each of us had to order. I said, we'd be happy to tell the owner this ourselves then and he said "NO. You don't want to do that." My husband then said, conversation done- "leave us alone, our orders were taken." Yes- he said, leave us the F alone. And this waiter continued to bait us and cause a scene. He said he couldn't leave ...because they were now serving our food. SIX entrees. Now I understand why he did that- for a show. We all are adults, professionals, parents, love dining out and this server's behavior was beyond strange, abrupt and seemingly, ready to be confrontational. So, I can only assume that it was because half of us are middle eastern and an affront to the people at the 4 Ps. Anyway, in all of my life, I have never been asked to leave a restaurant until today-- upon the owner telling us that my husband had to leave, we all opted to leave and he told us to gather our things and go. I had come many times with the previous owner of the 4 Ps (this one and DC) who was always hospitable and gracious. This owner's response was that we should go see that previous owner at the Irish Inn at Glen Echo, which we have and we will continue to do so. They offer a true Irish, hospitable experience, open and welcoming to all. What a sad way to try to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day. Very entitled waiter who was smirking at us when we left, along with a disappointing environment. To the owner, you were duped by your smug waiter. Or, perhaps you sent him over for the reason stated above. As you' can see by my many reviews, I love to celebrate great local restaurants and experiences. This was the absolute opposite of an even a palatable experience. Just awful. Also, I really hope that they didn't serve the plates that they quickly brought to our table, to other patrons. We'll continue to patronize the Irish Inn at Glen Echo, Celtic House, Bobby Van's, O'Donnell's and Murphy's. Super fun venues and great Irish food with superior service at these places. "I'd like to take this chance to apologize ...to absolutely nobody" --Conor McGregor (I think he'd hate this...

I visited on a quiet Wednesday evening waiting out some rain with some comfort food. The interior looked clean and inviting. Service was pleasant and friendly throughout. I ordered potato and leek soup and sausage rolls for appetizers, fish and chips, and bread pudding. Dishes arrived at appropriate times throughout my meal.

The complimentary brown bread came in two flavors, both striking me as somewhat dry (even for soda bread). The soup was smooth with a subtle potato flavor. I prefer this kind of soup to have more texture from diced potato and sautéed leek myself, but this version was pleasing to eat nonetheless. My server recommended the mustards accompanying the sausage rolls, and she was correct in saying how the rolls taste great with either Irish yellow mustard or stone grain and stout mustard. The pastry was flaky and just a tad chewy, and the sausage had a proper European flavor and texture. Overall a good appetizer portion. The fish had a great crunch, satisfying thermal heat, and flaky texture. I sensed a slight oiliness with the outside, but I gladly finished my plate. Fries were warm and good crispiness without being oily at all. More cole slaw would have been welcome, as their version was not overdressed at all. Even the tartar sauce had some diced pickle to add some welcome acidity along with the lemon garnish. The bread pudding was soft. The amount of sauce seemed excessive to me given the portion of pudding, but I could see how others might enjoy.

The total for my meal fell between $40-$50 without tax or tip. I am glad I visited and would consider returning to sample a beef dish such as the shepherd’s pie...

We did a carry out order tonight—a fish fry, a Rueben, a kids grilled cheese and kids Mac N Cheese. When I called in the order, I asked—does the fish come with tartar sauce? Yes. Does the Rueben come with 1000 Island dressing? Of course. This is all listed on the menu, so why did I ask? Well, the last time I ate here they didn’t give me 1000 Island dressing for my Rueben so I thought, I better remind them just in case.

Not only were there no sauces, the fish fry also had no coleslaw (also on the menu). Food was not good, fries were soggy—clearly were cooked some time ago and sat out; or they need to change the oil in their deep fryer as it’s soaking into the food too much. Mac n cheese was disgusting—like cheese from a nacho cheese dispenser on it, noodles were hard. Oh, and to top it off, we also ordered desserts. One was apple pie, which came with this delicious looking tablespoon serving of melted ice cream which is vanilla (maybe?) but looks mustard yellow. Didn’t even try it, washed it down the sink.

Called the manager and informed him of these issues. He tried to explain why tartar sauce would not be there because he said it was used for the coleslaw (huh?) I then told him there was no coleslaw and he needs to get better control of his kitchen. No offer to compensate or address the issue, but that’s fine—it’s not like we would want a credit or free entree to such a terrible restaurant.

I never write poor reviews, but I decided this was necessary because it was so awful. Hope I don’t get food poisoning in the next 24 hours—if so, I’ll be back on...