ABOVEGROUND — Restaurant in Washington

I love Aboveground DC. I love Chef Nick. I love the food I get there, which is why I keep giving it a chance, but today may have been my last visit. The woman who runs the register is just so incredibly rude.

A few months ago, I placed an order online and turned up to the food stall a few minutes after the order was scheduled to be complete. I asked for my takeout order, and the woman looked at me with absolute disdain , like what business did I have picking up my order at the time the app told me it would be ready. And she looked me dead in the eyes and told me it would “another 30 minutes.” I was shocked. It had been 30 mins since I placed the order, and I asked “so an hour from when I placed my order ? That can’t be right!” She didn’t even respond and just shoved me a buzzer across the counter and turned away. Admittedly, the food was ready a few minutes later, but still the exchange was so off putting.

Another time the same woman, completely dismissed me when I asked for curry mayo. She said “we don’t have that.” It was very clearly on their menu , and I asked again for clarification and she was so nasty, “I told you, we don’t have that.” Like, okkkk.

But this recent time was the worst. She was so nasty from start to finish. Sighing heavily and frowning when I asked for the order to go. Rolling her eyes. The smallest request was made to be the biggest inconvenience, I’m not asking for modifications or the moon, just trying to order off the menu, and get a bag to carry my $50+ order. I get that it isn’t fine dining, but it isn’t McDonalds, and I’d just like to not feel like a total inconvenience for patroning the...

TLDR: I highly recommend Aboveground for your fish-and-chips needs (plus good vibes)!

Aboveground is a hidden gem in DC, serving up delicious fish and chips from London, as well as other bites with South/Southeastern Asian influences. My wife and I had heard about this place, so we ventured to Union Market to see what it was all about!

We ordered the big fish sandwiches, two sides of chips (French fries), and the curry fish puff pastries (similar to samosas)—all three were great! The fish was fresh, hot, and fried perfectly. Same goes for the fries. Our favorite dish, though, was the curry fish pastries…wow, they caught us off guard with those. The pastries were large, soft, samosa-like treats that we devoured. Also, the ingredients are nut-free (but still tasty), which was a bonus since my wife has a nut allergy.

Finally, the chef, Nick Martino, and his staff were friendly and welcoming. The chef even explained how he prepares the dishes and the history of some of the dishes. The warm hospitality we experienced just added to the delicious flavors we...

AboveGround has the best Fish & Chips we have had on this side of the Atlantic and we are serious about our Fish & Chips.

The fish was well cooked, flaky with good flavor, and the batter was crisp and well seasoned in properly delicious Fish & Chips form. The chips were good sized (think American wedge style fries) and are triple fried (once and 200, once at 300, and once at 375 right before serving) to give them a crisp and full depth of flavor all on there own. The Fish & Chips was served with tarter, malt vinegar, and warm mushy peas (British thing that tastes like mashed flavorful southern style fresh boiled peanuts - try it before you knock the sound of the name).

We also had the Chicken & Leek Pie (think a flavor rich comfort food taste similar to Chicken Pot Pie) and the sausage roll (a very nice puff pastry wrapped around a solid sausage).

We rarely leave reviews but this place seriously deserves it and we will be back for more next time we are in...