Matchbox — Restaurant in Maryland

Terrible service and our waiter had the audacity to apologize for his actions after giving us the check. I came here with my dark-skinned male friend and we left very unhappy and dissatisfied with our experience at this location.

Before I dive into it, I've been to another Matchbox restaurant and had a great experience. This one, not so much. We arrived before the dinner rush and we were seated by a kind host. I quickly used the restroom and came back to see that the waiter was at our table. We were not ready to order yet, but he didn't even offer us beverages. After awhile, we got water and ordered appetizers. The waiter served us the appetizer but didn't give us small plates. I thought, "it's fine, maybe he forgot". We finished the appetizer and waited a long time for someone to tend to us. Reminder, the restaurant was NOT as busy and we started to notice MORE people arrive after we were served the appetizer. I saw that our "waiter" was tending to other customers at the time. ANOTHER waiter finally came to us and we ordered one entree. The entree took a really long time to prepare and we were getting impatient since we felt like our first waiter completely forgot about us. The entree came out, and we finished it. We waited about 30 minutes for someone to notice that we are done, but again, NO waiter was tending to us. We wanted the dessert menu and had to ask the hostess for it. Our appetite was ruined by then. We waited for the check but NEITHER waiters were coming to us. I saw our "waiter" helping other customers around us (5 feet away) and everyone that arrived after us, left the restaurant already. It wasn't until he helped out ALL the other customers (who were white) then he came to us and handed the check. He told us, "Sorry guys, that's my fault for not doing the best I could. But I got you guys next time". I have never been treated so rudely at a restaurant. We were there for 2.5 hours, ate one appetizer, and one shared entree. I wish I got the waiter's name because he would be fired the next day for treating POC...

We have lived in the area for years and this is a place we frequently visit with my disabled son due to the atmosphere and menu options. I’ve even recommended it to other people as a great place for disabled people to visit for community integration. He loves matchbox… I like knowing I’m supporting a BOB.

We arrived on a Saturday close to 2pm and we were asked for a reservation. We have never needed a reservation before coming to visit so this puzzled me. They found a table for us.

I then learned why they needed a reservation… their brunch was the only thing they were serving until 5pm all weekend. It apparently is new to this location. Music while a nice R n B vibe was very loud, hard to hear one another talk. Not good for people with disabilities/hearing/sensory needs. Felt like I was in a club when we just wanted a nice lunch. We were able to convince a manager to just let us order a pizza for my disabled son explaining we don’t plan to stay long due to the atmosphere and we declined to order anything more due to just not feeling comfortable with the vibe.

The waiter basically abandoned us at that point and we had to chase him down to pay the bill and order drinks for ourselves so my son could enjoy the pizza.

We ended up going somewhere else to allow him to enjoy his community outing. I hope they are making all the money they need… I don’t foresee us coming back anytime soon just due to how uncomfortable we felt having to beg for accommodations when before this place was always a great place to visit...

Disappointed in Bethesda. Walked in from the neighborhood for pizza on a Sunday night with my husband and two kids. Decided to order a drink after the waitress bragged about the special cocktail for the day. I said ok, I will try that. I did not bring my purse with me, since I walked into town, hence no license, granted I look young at 51 but I thought she would give me a pass for 21. She said she could not serve me. I told her it was fine and I would have water which was my first order until she up sold me. She later sent the manager over to talk to me about the “ policy” and said I looked old enough and he carded the 75 plus year olds next to me.... It was sooo weird and embarrassing! I have been to matchbox 5 times in 3 different states including the Rockville location one week prior. Nobody in my group was asked to show ID at any time. To say it is” policy” is just a lie. We ordered and the pizza, crust was burnt, mushrooms were on only 2- 3 slices and very little cheese, food was also served not hot one pizza was definitely sitting awhile before being served. Rockville and Dallas locations had great pizza, perfectly cooked and served hot. Our waiter in Rockville gave us beer samples before we ordered to make sure we picked something we liked ( he did not ask for our ID) I was so excited that matchbox opened in Bethesda, what a let down! Next time we will go...