Bar Chinois — Restaurant in Washington

A friend of mine was visiting from out of town and we decided to visit your establishment because I live right around the corner and it seems to be a happening place. We arrived at 7pm and the host told us it was a 35 minute wait time, so we added our name to the waitlist, had two apps, and a cocktail while we waited for our table . Around 7:30 pm the host came and told us our table is ready but we needed to leave by 8:30 as they had another reservation coming in so we said we would be finished by that time. He helped us carry our appetizers and drinks to our table and asked me if I closed out my tab at the bar to which I replied “Yes I did.” Our server came by and we ordered another round of drinks and four small plates that she recommended. We received the pork ribs and Rangoons and kept looking around for our dumplings and drinks, finally we flagged her down and she was like, “Oh Ive gotta go ring those in now!” as we looked at the time and it was almost 8:15. I asked her if we could order a dessert, matcha creme brûlée, and if we can have the check at the same time. She brought us the check, we paid in cash, and we left. Even do service was lack luster, we still had a good time and as we walked back to my apartment with my best friend we were planning our next trip there. My house is literally through the alley and down the street from this restaurant, and as we were strolling through the alley and almost to my house I turn around to see this large man behind us, it was the same host from the restaurant. I was like “Hey you live here too?” He was like “No ladies, you didn’t pay your bill, you only left a tip and need to come back with me right now and what’s your names” I told we paid in cash. He then asked me to provide the receipt and as I opened my purse he came closer to look inside my purse(!). I replied we did not take the receipt, and he responded that we needed to go back with him. We asked if he asked the server, but he didn’t answer. We went back into the restaurant with him, he told us wait at the host stand, and while we watch him go to the server station to speak to the other servers they all turned around looked at us and laughed . As we stood there, we saw our sever come out from the back, look at us, and she walked off. Minutes later the hostess came up to us and said “Here are two drinks on us.” We replied that we didn’t want a drinks, but he still pushed them into our hands. As we walked out, we wondered why didn’t he asked the sever before he quietly followed us through an alley and to my apartment. He never once called out to us or anything because we would have heard him. What did we do that makes him think we were just gonna leave a tip and not...

Amazing blend of French and Chinese elements, very unique and extremely delicious creations. The atmosphere is dark but still colorful and energetic at the same time, overall a very cool aesthetic. Service was friendly and engaged, but the coursing was very poor / uneven.

We tried the following items:

garlic chives gao (Fried chive cube dumplings, sambal chili, pickled onions, dark soy ) - great blend of flavor, texture and form. The little cubes are soft and rich, and perfectly accented by the sambal chili and soy. Yum.

gyoza de boeuf (French onion beef gyoza, gruyere, swiss, pickled onions, cilantro aioli) - very rich, very crisp gyoyza, tender beef and indulgent cheese, on a bed of cilantro aioli. Heavenly.

chili karaage (Chinois-style fried chicken, spicy chili & garlic sauce, Shaoxing wine, toasted sesame seeds, arugula) - the only misfire of the evening. The chicken tasted stale, tough and gamey, ruined the dish. Would have been great with fresher, better quality chicken.

crab rangoon (Fried crab & cream cheese wontons, apricot duck sauce, toasted sesame) - excellent rangoon, and tasted delicious on its own without the rich, syrupy duck sauce.

70's garlic noodles (Egg noodles, shiitake, spinach, garlic butter, parmesan, Chef’s soy ) - some of the thickest, softest garlic noodles with the right amount of garlic, butter, and cheese. Simple but superb dish.

black pepper duck (Duck breast with szechuan chili paste, Chef’s soy, fresh basil, sweet peppers) - my favorite, the standout. The sauce was next level and the duck breast was so tender and scrumptious. Loved the sweet peppers with this dish. Could eat it with a spoon.

I tried two cocktails:

iron goddess (Tea-Infused Wild Turkey Bourbon, Montenegro, Pimento Dram, Blackstrap & Cherry Vanilla Bitters, Egg White) - well balanced, unique flavor and beautifully presented

au pear affair (Ten to One Rum, Redemption Rye, Spiced Pear, Don Ciccio Black Walnut) - disappointing, it was just all sweet and nothing else came through. Had to decline after the first sip.

Again, service was good, just the coursing was amateurish. The two small plates and two medium plates came out at the same time, crowding our two top table with four plates. Before we were finished, the entrees arrived. All the food was served within about 20 min; 6 dishes for two people in that span. Way too fast. Our meal was over in about...

Last night I attended a birthday dinner at this establishment and it was by far one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had at a restaurant - they truly ruined what was meant to be a special celebration with the worst treatment and service.

1. it took over 20 minutes to get a glass of wine delivered to my seat at the table. All the cocktail orders and even appetizers arrived at the table before my glass of wine. The cocktails might be premixed since they arrived so quickly compared to a glass of wine.

2. when I was drinking my glass of wine, I noticed there was something inside the glass that maybe looked like salt or ice. It was off putting and at a $16 a glass, the wine should be served perfect. When I mentioned to the server that I’d like another glass, he took the glass away and brought it back less than a minute later with an excuse from the bartender or someone above him that the materials in the glass were remnants from the winemaking process that naturally are found in wine. Sure I’m aware of that. But that’s extremely annoying that and for $16 a glass could you have strained it or just poured another glass so that my experience is enjoyable? Not at this place. Instead the manager or bartender followed the server with an attempt to educate me about sediment in wine bottles and ensure me that no one was trying to poison or spike my drink… what kind of mess was that? Also never said that was what was going on …. It was real disrespectful and completely unnecessary.

3. the server raised his voice and was visually annoyed with our group because we were engaged in conversation when he and the staff were dropping off plates. He must not have labeled the seats with the orders he put in/took which would have made service much more seamless and wouldn’t require him to interrupt our conversations and shout out our food orders at the table. Maybe that’s an old practice that servers did but they don’t do that here apparently.

I get we were one of three groups in the small restaurant on a busy Saturday night but there’s really not an excuse for this type of treatment. It’s a shame that in today’s economy patrons are spending more on less and automatically charged 20 percent gratuity + weird service fees and this is the type of service delivered. Such a disappointing experience at what was supposed to be a special celebration...