Bistro L'Hermitage — Restaurant in Lake Ridge

I brought my mother for Mother's Day dinner last evening. French cuisine is her favorite, and she had been excited for our meal together there since I made the reservation a month ago. From the numerous positive reviews online, as well as excellent word-of-mouth, I was anticipating a great evening also.

Upon check-in, we were greeted by the hosts and seated at an outside table immediately. We greatly appreciated the prompt seating, especially it being one of the busiest dining days of the year.

However, our server, Andrew V, could be heard rather loudly at the outside serving station telling the hosts quite shortly to stop seating the patio. When we asked how he was doing upon his introduction, he replied "good, the day is almost over." While I do appreciate the staff being there, especially on a marathon day such as Mother's Day, his response could be seen as unprofessional at best, and unwelcoming at worst. His demeanor was a precursor for the rest of our uncomfortable meal.

We proceeded to order drinks and our courses from the 85pp prix-fixe menu. As aforementioned, my mother's favorite cuisine is French, and we make a point to try the myriad of French restaurants in the DMV. My mother was disappointed that a la carte items, such as escargot, a French fine dining staple, weren't available, or listed as an option on the prix-fixe menu. Given the day, strict adherence to the prix-fixe menu is understandable. However, it is unacceptable that Andrew V. didn't even inform us that there were multiple prix-fixe tiers available until after we had ordered. I inquired about the prix-fixe options after overhearing another member of the service team walk her guests through the prix-fixe wine pairing options. We were never offered the premium prix-fixe option that included the wine pairings or premium selections. My mother would have enjoyed that. It is my sincere belief we weren't told our options because Andrew wanted to finish his shift quickly and leave for the evening. I assume we were his last table, which is odd, given that we were a 5pm reservation on Mother's Day evening.

The food, simply put, was nothing short of excellent, and exceeded expectation. My mother's steak was overcooked, but Andrew did make it right and brought my mother a recook promptly.

We progressed to dessert; after dinner beverages were never offered. Andrew also brought an incorrect bill to the table, one that was missing items that had been ordered. My first thought was that he had generously comped a couple items, which wasn't necessary (sparkling waters, wine). I was about to thank him, when he arrived with an updated bill with all items charged, which is completely fine. Just made me wonder why we were presented with the initial bill, and how items were able to be brought to the table without him ringing them in. Yet another awkward, unprofessional moment. Bad form.

My mother and I concluded our meal at 7:28. I noted the time specifically, as I took a screenshot of the time on my phone when the patio lights and fans were literally turned off on us at that time. Thankfully it was still light out. Closing times listed via a Google search read as 10pm on Sundays. I had looked up Bistro's operating hours prior to coming, to ensure we wouldn't be there for our meal at closing (which I consider to be rude). I guess the online hours listed are incorrect? And if Mother's Day hours are different for the restaurant, I'd expect that information, as well as notification of prix-fixe menus, to be posted on their website. It wasn't. Or, if it is, it's inaccessible, as the website has been down all weekend.

We will return to L'Auberge Chez Francois or La Grande Boucherie going forward, places at which we feel genuinely welcomed and valued. Hospitality extends beyond a menu, however good. And a lack of hospitality dims a star menu, even one as exceptional as Bistro's. The food was the only warm thing yesterday...

Even though the food was great, I will never dine at the establishment again. This is now the second time there has been an issue at this restaurant. I promised myself after the first issue never to return . But my husband asked to meet after work for dinner and I agreed. He arrived before me. He witness the people in front of him denied service since they didn’t have a reservation. Funny, how a three-piece suit gained him access to a table with no reservation. I walked in minutes after my husband was seated. I didn’t realize I literally held the door open for the other patrons that were denied service. As I approached the hostess, she asked me if I had a reservation I told her my husband already had a table. I’m just looking for him. The host stepped in front of me, not allowing entry. I repeated that I already had a table. She then became aggressive, asking me my name which I provided. She then told me no she wanted to know my husband‘s name. At that point I called my husband . I felt threatened. She was in my personal space as I stepped to the side. I felt as if there was going to be an altercation. I was taken back by her aggressive behavior . She then asked for my coat because I was not allowed to have it in the restaurant. By then my husband had answered the phone, and I explained what was going on. He told me where he was sitting. I started walking over towards him. The hostess followed me demanding my coat. At this point I refuse . As I sat down she must have said something to the waiter. As I pulled my chair in telling my husband what just happened. The waiter came over asking for my coat. He explained that if people take pictures, they do not want my coat in any of the pictures. I was wearing a winter puffer jacket. Unlike my husband, I was not in a suit. I was treated differently. I asked the waiter if that’s the case, I will sit on my coat. My husband then reminded the waiter how he asked if they could to hang his suit jacket. He was told he can keep it beside him on the extra chair. Obviously, the waiter did not know what to say at this point other then telling us the specials . I asked for more time because I wanted to discuss with my husband about what just occurred. At that point, I felt very uncomfortable, and I was shaking. I did not want to give them our business after the way I was treated. The waiter approaches again, we did explain. We weren’t sure if we were going to stay explaining what just happened with the hostess. He apologized getting the manager. We were offered a free dessert. We decided to stay ordering our meals. We explain to the waiter. We will pay for our meal to include the dessert. We did not need any handouts, but would rather have an apology from the hostess. Hoping she would not treat other customers the way I was treated. Instead, we received an apology from the waiter with the free dessert. I’m not sure if the hostess refused to apologize, or if it was even brought to her attention. Either way as a professional, I do not handle conflict with violence. Due to the holidays my office was given permission to wear business casual . This restaurant does not have a dress code and to be profiled and receive different treatment is absolutely ridiculous. I feel for the people who denied service because their appearance. If a customers willing to spend a few hundred on a meal, who should deny...

Bistro L'Hermitage does a pretty decent job of bringing the French countryside fine dining experience to Occoquan. Our server had a French accent and addressed us as "mademoiselle" and "monsieur," though his name was Carlos, according to the receipt. We live in the Woodlawn area of Alexandria and figured we'd try something to the south rather than always dining in Old Town. This is a good restaurant for sober adults to enjoy a nice, quiet evening. Don't bring your kids. Nothing against children-I have many of them-but this is not the place. Wear something nice, and let them check your coat. At first I laughed at their sign, "graciously asking that all guests check their over coats in order to maintain the ambiance of the room," as we did. But as the evening went on and bright colored Colombia sportswear and sheepskin-lined denim jackets took over the seatbacks, I saw their point. The wine list was impressive, though there were no bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon on their "under $55" menu. We opted for a $69 bottle of Estancia, a typical $25 Cab-Merlot blend. With the house wines starting around $12 per glass (and they are not liberal pours, from what I saw), if you're going to have two glasses each, you might as well get the bottle. Kind of odd that you can get a single-malt Scotch for the same price as the house wine. There were plenty of reds in the $50 range (Malbec, Cab Franc, Bordeaux), but my wife wanted Cab Sav (or at least a blend). The lobster bisque was a thin, and lacked any trace of lobster meat. My wife's sea scallops were excellent, well-seared. They let her substitute risotto for the potatoes. The risotto needed salt, but this is the kind of place where only the chef is allowed to season the food. Bring your own salt and pepper if you're into that. My Red Snapper was fair. It had a few bones, and wasn't a particularly large portion. I was still hungry afterward. So much so that we ordered dessert, which we never do. The apple tart was enjoyable, and enough to share. The couple next to us had steaks. If you're hungry, I recommend the beef filet. I can't comment on the quality of the cut, but it was certainly enough to fill you up. The menu had the filet listed as "market price" as if their cows are caught in the wild at unpredictable rates. Overall, I'd say it was a nice dining experience. It wasn't quite worth $100+ per head (including tip), but it's unlike anything else around. The ambiance is worth something (as long as you don't mess it up with your Redskins jacket). We'll probably be back for special occasions, but next time I'm...