Bobby Van’s Steakhouse — Restaurant in Washington

December 12, 2019. Background: I live in Severna Park MD. My mom and our friend Sherrie are visiting me this week. They came up from Georgia. Sherrie has never been to DC so we decided to book a hotel and spend a day or two siteseeing. Our day went great today! But come suppertime, we had no clue what or where to eat. We googled of course, but since we are walking we wanted something close to our hotel, The Madison on 15th NW (very nice hotel but will save that for a later review). With this day at an end, feeling hungry and in need of an adult beverage, we moseyed into Bobby Van's, and oh my goodness, we had no idea that we were in store for an amazing meal. Despite looking tired and being seriously underdressed (ex. Me in my jeans and an Auburn tshirt...War Eagle!), the host at the front door welcomed us with a warm understanding and had us seated within 10 minutes or so. Service: Our matredie was promptly at our table, smiling and bantering with us, making us laugh. Drinks came quickly, in addition to ice water and warm fresh bread with real butter. Our drink orders were taken right away and we were instantly having a wonderful time! We were told about the specials and all of our questions and special requests were attended to very quickly. For instance, I need a lot of lemon wedges. No problem, they brought me 6 wedges arranged nicely upon a glass via toothpicks so that I could discard the seeds and rimes. I thought that was so cute. Service throughout the evening continued to be reliable, consistent, and fun. And, at the end of the meal, when they were taking our plates off the table, they did that fancy thing with that crumb scraper to clean off the table top. Kudos to the staff. Environment: From the street, I thought it was a hotel entrance until we got closer. I looked through the windows and saw people eating. To be honest, we were so tired we just wanted a quick bite and to get back to our hotel. Thinking drinks, appetizers, and sleep. However, once inside, the aura gave us a second wind. White tablecloths and napkins. Tables meticulously set and ready. A nice bar. Everyone is smiling. The temperature is comfortable. The seating is comfortable. Lighting is great, especially if you are like me and can't see without cheaters. Holiday decorations everywhere. The bathrooms need improvement though. They are clean but outdated, albeit, this is an older building so dont let that deter you. Most of these old DC buildings need updating. Look at it as enjoying a part of history. Food: Mom and Sherrie ordered the surf and turf for $60 each. It came with lobster, a petite mignon filet and mashed potatoes (Picture included). I know that's a lot of money but they could not eat it all. Its huge! They will both get a second meal as leftovers. They even box it up for you themselves. I opted for the tomato/red onion plate with a side of sauteed garlic spinach. It was delicious. Here's what you need to know: The bread and butter will fill you up. Most everything is Alacarte. A few dishes do come with their own special sides, but the regular menu sides are served family style. These "family style" side portions are small. Consider this when they tell you family size...Not. I cant speak for the salads since we didnt get one. Price: Now to the nitty gritty. Expensive. Yes, great friendly super efficient staff. Yes, beautiful, cozy, comfortable environment. Yes, delicious food. But...expensive. My tomato/red onion plate had 3 slices of tomato and 2 slices of red onion. Dont get me wrong, I loved it. It was exactly what asked for. In addition, our matredie standing nearby, offered to bring me some parmesan or blue cheese to add. You are paying for the atmosphere and the service here. Dont bring the kids, they will be bored. As I mentioned earlier, we were underdressed. Everyone else was in business or dress casual. Overall: I'll go back in a heartbeat. And I'll recommend it...

Tonight my husband and I arrived for a date night away from our two young kids. We mentioned to our waiter that we had never been to a Bobby Van’s. I wasn’t pleased by any means to the “quality” of the food. We felt the food was flavorless, mediocre and not anywhere close to what you expect for a $50 charred/burned steaks.

Let’s break it down by course. We started with the buffalo mozzarella and tomato salad. This is one of my fav combinations, but I found the mozzarella to be very chilled and watery. It didn’t seem fresh and didn’t even eat my half. We also tried the calamari which was incredibly rubbery. My husband mentioned that’s normal, I’ve had better.

We then ordered our entrees. I choose the petite filet with side of Mac and cheese. As you see in the pictures, my steak was completely burned and tasteless. The cost of this masterpiece is $49. I quickly told the waiter that I wouldn’t be enjoying this steak after taking one bite. He offered to bring me something else or remake it. Based on all the food I had at this point, I wasn’t willing to try again. The Mac and cheese as seen in picture was soaking in oil and almost worth forgoing as well...but at this point in hour into the meal I was hungry. My hubby ordered the ribeye which was also charred and burned. They took it back to “remake” it...20 mins later the $54 steak returns and is too pink to eat. It is then sent back an additional time. 20 mins more later it returned and he ate it bc again he was hungry. The manager came over to greet us and ask if I wanted anything else, he rudely informed me that all the steaks are cooked a certain way and it says so in the menu. Ok, well Your a well known steakhouse and we are new to the restaurant and figured you could make a decent $50 steak. Customers are always right...no so much. Took 45 mins and two different times of making this mediocre ribeye and it was still not removed from the bill.

$200 later with two apps, 2 drinks, 1 steak and some sodas...we won’t be back and are truly disappointed in our experience and...

part 2 I had to go to MY insurance office- file a claim directly through them, and have my car repaired on my own dime. My insurance company WILL be going after the Valet company directly in an attempt to get my money back. They caused 1300$ worth of damage to my vehicle, and due to the fact they couldnt be bothered to clear the glass out of my car, the entire trunk lift gate had to be removed to clear the glass that had gotten trapped in the door jam causing the trunk to become stuck. They also never hooked up the rear defrost at all. I had to pay my 250$ deductible, even though I wasnt even in the car when the accident happened!!! I had to also pay 250$ for a rental car so that I could get to and from work for the week and a half that my car was in the shop. To date, I have paid 540$ out of pocket for expenses related to this accident, and I find how it was handled by your valet company to be completely unacceptable. Now, my insurance will go after them however this is just another headache for me!! I can only "hope" that one day they will be able to get my money back. I go to Bobby Vans often, and really enjoy my time there. I have been there often! I have even celebrated my wedding anniversary there. The food is excellent and the drinks and service superb. However, I can no longer visit your restaurant as long as that valet company is contracted there. This is very disappointing, but it is the truth....I dont write this looking for anything for "free" or to get money out of the restaurant in any way. I write this to make you aware that a company you are doing business with is breaking the law. Even though they are contracted, this reflects very poorly on your establishment. I would hope you would reconsider what company you are using for...