Brightwood Pizza & Bottle — Restaurant in Washington

First the good.

The food was actually quite tasty. And it's a pretty space. And plenty of outdoor seating. And on a Sunday afternoon there seemed to be plenty of street parking.

But the rest was pretty much a disaster.

We arrived around 1 pm on Sunday. Walked in. Said hello to two different restaurant personnel.

It seemed mostly like we were bothering them.

Nobody told us where to sit, offered us menus, etc.

We found ourselves a table outside.

It was at least ten minutes before anybody came to the table.

It's not like they were crowded. There was one other table of customers with us outside, and nobody inside.

The server was unenthusiastic at best.

We ordered drinks from the $4 happy hour drink menu (very good vermouth), and from the cider menu.

We ordered four or five different tapas (several being multiple orders of the same thing).

The drinks were good. But note: the pour is usually six ounces. So eight or ten bucks for a cider drink is going to get very pricey very soon.

The food was good. Hot, tasty. Although our main tapas (a cod fritter if I remember right) pretty much never came. We had to ask our server about it and it seems she had just forgotten it. We ended up waiting another fifteen minutes past time to go just for that to show up.

And a pork tapas I ordered never came.

Several different people brought drinks, tapas, etc.

Only one seemed to actually be enthusiastic about being there.

It didn't seem like attitude. It more seemed like maybe no one there had actually waited tables or greeted patrons before and thought this inattentiveness is just how it's done.

When the bill came our $4 drinks were actually $8. We mentioned this to the server. She didn't seem particularly concerned. Though she did quickly take it off the bill.

All in all I felt like they just didn't care if we were there or not - that the simple act of having trendy food was enough. Actual service was clearly not a priority.

Which is a shame. Because the food is inventive and quite good.

Tapas for four and happy hour drinks came to $90 (after the bill was corrected). We were still hungry enough to want to go somewhere...

I ordered a pepperoni pizza through an app service. I added extra pepperoni which came out to be $4 extra. When i received my pizza, it was unevenly cut, undercooked dough and no extra pepperoni. I drove to the restaurant myself to return the pizza. I was told by the chef that he would make a fresh pizza for me. I waited enough time to assume that a new pizza was made. I took a glimpse at the pizza before i left but i do wish i examined it longer. Once i got home i realized that it was the same pizza i returned and they just put fresh pepperoni on top and put it back under the fire. I knew it was the same pizza because of how it was cut previously before. Looking closer at the pizza i realized the burned pepperoni were from the returned pizza and the fresh pepperoni were them trying to compensate for the forgotten pepperoni that should have been on the pizza in the first place. Even though i didn’t dine in the atmosphere was nice. I would only return because of the manager and her hospitality. Next time, if there should be one, if my pizza is not to my liking i will hold onto the pizza i need returned until a new fresh one comes back to swap out. It leaves a bad memory with me that a returned pizza was reused instead of making a fresh pie. Especially since I’ve waited the same allotted time that it would have taken to...

Brightwood Pizza is a true neighborhood gem! If you're in the area, you absolutely have to check it out. One of the owners, Sam, is incredibly passionate about his business, and he's always a pleasure to chat with. The staff is super friendly and helpful, which just adds to the warm, welcoming atmosphere.

As for the pizza – it’s fantastic! They are delicious and come with ample toppings. Two people could share a pie, unless you are really hungry and want one for yourself. No one would blame you…they are that good! But that’s not all Brightwood Pizza has to offer. They also run a craft cider business under the name ANXO (pronounced Ahn-Cho), and their cider creations are a must-try! They have a unique selection, and you can really taste the care and creativity that goes into each one.

Now, I’ll be honest – I’m not a fan of businesses that charge service fees. But after speaking with Sam about their fee structure, I get where he’s coming from. It's a modest 20% for dine-in customers and 5% for take-out, and while I may not personally agree with it, I understand the reasoning.

Overall, Brightwood Pizza is a fantastic spot with great food, friendly people, and a unique cider selection. They are closed on Mondays but open the rest of the week. Highly recommend you...