TRIO Grill — Restaurant in Merrifield

Came for a bit of an early dinner @ 5:30. It was already surprisingly busy for fine dining at that time.

The restaurant had high ceilings and a large open dining room with a bar that feels spacious & comfortable. The color scheme focuses on darker earth tones & wood giving it a more cozy, warm feeling. There is a sizable "outdoor patio" as well which is actually more like a semi-enclosed porch. There are at least two additional rooms for private parties which appeared to be able to seat 15 and 25 people.

All of the staff was very friendly, helpful and courteous.

Our server was very good. He was very knowledgeable about the menu, provided the ideal amount of interaction, and presented with an excellent balance of friendly, personable and professional. The timing of everything was ideal and all of the steps of service were met exactly as one would expect in fine dining. The other servers also seemed to be well chosen and trained.

I had a burrata salad which was outstanding, a very well designed salad. Lots of flavors from many greens & herbs with a perfect dressing. Nothing overpowered the delicate, subtle flavor of the fresh burrata. My friend ordered the soup du jour which was a mushroom bisque; he didn't care for it and offered it to me. It was outstanding! Amazing texture, perfect balance of flavors, well seasoned and the drizzle of truffle oil took it to the next level. My friend ordered the filet mignon which came with mashed potatoes and asparagus. It was cooked perfectly he enjoyed it very much. I was very indecisive, but finally ordered the bison. I enjoyed it and finished it, but I was not thrilled with it. It was cooked exactly as I ordered it (med-rare), but it was a bit dry and fairly tough; a bit more than what is typical of bison in my experience, although that is somewhat limited. The sides did not seem especially well-paired. The vegetables were a bit over-seasoned and had an odd mix of texture/doneness (some kind of mushy others quite al dente) and the starch was slightly tough & bland. The amount of sauce also seemed a bit stingy. I just want to clarify that my critiques are fairly minor and not meant to be harsh. I made a point to use diminutive adjectives for that purpose. I worked in fine dining for many years with some fantastic chefs and I know what to expect and how to evaluate & assess all aspects of a meal, the service, the atmosphere and so on. My comments are just observations, not complaints. I was not dissatisfied with anything, I just saw room for improvement with my entree.

Probably around 6pm the music switched to a live piano player. A fair amount of or conversation ended up being about live music. We agreed that while it certainly did not "add to" the atmosphere, it didn't detract from it either. Perhaps the player was having an off day. But the playing was rather monotonous, uninspired and amateurish in style & technique. There was not really any emotion put into the music through tempo & dynamic variation. It sounded quite a bit like how I played at 13-14 having right myself how to play by ear, but before I took any formal lessons. It wasn't bad at all, it just wasn't especially good either. Basically all of the songs were in one of 3-4 keys and were played at a very similar tempo and volume. Over all I'd say that the pianist was a pretty good choice. He wasn't flashy or too loud; trying to get attention. He made few noticeable errors (to me; I doubt anyone else noticed) which were minor & rather insignificant. All of his selections were appropriate. I like the idea, but at least on that day they probably would've been better off playing prerecorded music of some kind and saving their money on the pianist.

I'd love to go back and order the ribeye or the NY strip.

This is a great restaurant, in a convenient location with an excellent staff and a fine menu, in quite a pleasant space...

We were celebrating a dual birthday dinner. A few days prior, OpenTable only had a 4-seater at 6:30 available for Saturday night, but I called Trio and asked if they could accommodate us if we were a group of 6, and they made it happen. Very kind of them.

We arrived at 6:30 for the reservation on a rainy evening, and the parking lot was full. No one was working the valet despite a sign to the contrary; we waited 10 mins and finally my husband let me out and he parked in the back himself.

They did have a coat check, however, so we could ditch the bulky winter coats prior to being seated.

They sat us at a round near the back. Dim lighting but not too dim you couldn’t read the menu. Some noise from other diners, but not too loud that we had to shout to hear each other across the larger table.

We started with cocktails. My friend and I had the Tequila with Love, which was excellent...some heat from the jalapeño, some salt to counter it, and overall well balanced and flavorful, not overpowering in any one direction. Others at the table had wine, which they enjoyed but was a little pricey—I think $12/glass, about the same price as the cocktails.

They had a bread server who brought individual rolls to each guest, along with butter that was flavored with a mustard seed of some kind. One of our friends liked that flavor pairing, but the majority of us quickly asked for regular butter after we tried the mustard kind.

I ordered the brown butter gnocchi for an appetizer, which was excellently prepared. Our vegetarian friend split it with me, and she enjoyed it as well.

The menu has predominantly both surf and turf options, with a few exceptions. I had the shrimp and grits (see picture), which was excellent. Shrimp was partly in shell (tail), broiled to a nice crisp with a little smoky broiled flavor to it. Grits were the perfect temp, not lumpy or thick, but perfectly smooth. Beautiful presentation to that dish as well. My husband opted for their evening dinner special, which was a surf-and-turf with a filet mignon and two pan seared scallops, over mashed potatoes and asparagus (see pic). He said it was cooked to the perfect medium temp, crispy and grilled well to create a bit of a “skin” on the outside, and warm red and tender on the inside. Scallops tasted fresh and were also perfectly sautéed, not chewy or overdone.

I think the server team was very attentive. Could have used someone clearing all the unused wine glasses for those who partook in cocktails as the table of 6 started to get a little crowded with each course. Maybe another offer of bread to those who didn’t get appetizers might have been in order. But otherwise, we had zero complaints and only these minor suggestions for future improvement.

After dinner, we ordered coffees and cappuccinos since we had a late night of karaoke ahead of us, and a few of us opted for dessert. My husband had the salted caramel creme brûlée, which was just scrumptious. My friend and I shared the warm pear crisp with ice cream on top. The wait staff paid attention to our OpenTable reservation where we denoted that we were celebrating two birthdays, as they brought the pear crisp out for the two birthday girls who shared it with a lit candle. Very thoughtful! And the pear crisp itself...a very good choice!

We had a very enjoyable first experience here. We will definitely return. It’s close enough to the metro and Mosaic District but without having to park in a nearby garage or pay for parking. Just need to get the valet(s) to man their...

Unfortunately i have to leave 1 star review for TRIO grill. I'm saddened by this as I've recommended this place to many people and have spoken positively about it for years. Well, I hope no one took my recommendation because this place has fallen off and quite frankly I will not be returning. I've been going since they opened and have used it for birthdays/anniversaries/special occasions. Always great food and great service but let's get to the review.

To start, it was my birthday and the reservation was made via the online reservation platform open table. We arrive around 7 and are seated quickly. We wait a few minutes and a female waiter approached and asked if we came in for a special occasion. We all said yes, my birthday. She basically said "that's nice to celebrate and get everyone together on a Monday, what kind of drinks do you guys want." I've been sober for 4 years and my brother for almost a year and my lady doesn't really drink. So we all said water was fine. After she heard we weren't getting drinks she left immediately to get "bread".

We didn't see her again for quite some time. About 10 minutes goes by and a male waiter approaches and asks if we've been helped or been waiting long. I said yea kinda of. A little frustrated but not the guys fault, I order 2 apps to start. So this ticket isn't going to be light. I'm there to spend money and have a nice birthday dinner. Sensing we might not see a waiter for a long time we put in the entree and sides as well. We order 200$ worth of food. Boneless ribeye w/crab cake, crab cakes, duck fries, Brussel sprouts, and some muscles.

THE SIDES NEVER CAME! We ate our whole meal...all 3 of us. Calmly, chatting, and until we spoke up after our female waiter showed up 20 minutes later to check on us. We told her our sides never came. After finishing and basically asking for boxes they came with the sides. The amount of time to get these to go boxes and check was ridiculous. Let's keep in mind..it's a Monday night in a not busy restaurant. Having served before, I'm a little more understanding but this is just piss poor service. I feel bad for the table attendant filling our water. That guy was the real hero, water glass always full, brought out all our food. If I had cash on me I would have tipped him directly as I know he gets a cut off the waiter.

Also this is the first establishment I have ever been to that didn't even bring me a damn cupcake with a candle in it or anything. For a birthday celebration. Don't get me wrong, we're not here for hand outs but it's the thought that counts.

I can count on 1 hand the amount of times I've done this. I left 0 tip. Yes, no tip. We all rode home, everyone in the car bitching and I'm just riding in silence. On my birthday. Glad everyone had a good dinner lol

This was 09/30/2024. Last night.

In conclusion, you guys did me so dirty on my...