Emissary — Restaurant in Washington

So beyond disappointing. I came to DC on a work trip March of 2023 down the street from my hotel was la bicicletta when I first went they were only open for less then one month and I remember meeting the head chef and getting the rigatoni alla vodka with red wine and being served bread with oil and herbs before hand and loving it so much I came back 4 more times during my week long work trip and him calling me his regular. When I heard the news I was coming back to DC for work I was so excited to come back. I came in hungry to la bicicletta and saw the menu was Mexican food. The nice bartender woman told me all the pasta changed to the emissary across the street but it was the same recipe. Ok no big deal I’ll go there. Upon entry it was very loud and filled with college students ordering popcorn and french fries(it was Friday), what happened to that cute Italian restaurant I loved. I sat at the bar and the bartender took 15 minutes to even remember I was there. Brought my wine before my water and was running around crazy doing a million things. Another waitress girl was on her phone hiding near the coffee bar doing nothing on a busy night. He finally sees me and says he’s sorry he forgot to give me a menu after me waiting 15 minutes for one I decided it’s ok and was annoyed but I understood. So I take my menu and look over it and wait yet again 15 minutes for him to come back to take my order he takes my order and says there is no more rigatoni… the exact thing I came for but he says they can make it with penne. Like ok I’ll do that no big deal. The food comes they made it with spaghetti noodles?? I told them what happened and the chef made it right very quickly with penne. But to my dismay as I tasted that pasta is was overcooked and falling apart on the fork. Cheese sticking to the plate and fork. Under seasoned yet over salty… the sauce was so unbearably thin and couldn’t even stick to the noodles. And not to mention no more oil and bread… it wasn’t even a paid option because I would’ve paid for it if it was an option. This is nothing like that restaurant I fell in love with la bicicletta. Now I’m hungry and sad. I let the bartender know and he was very sorry but it wasn’t his fault, maybe it was just a bad night. But truthfully if you aren’t a college student looking for a night out I highly do not recommend coming here for dinner happy hour brunch or anytime. Sad to be making...

Extremely Disappointing Experience

I am writing to express my extreme disappointment and frustration regarding my recent visit to your place. The level of rudeness and unprofessional behavior displayed by both the manager and the workers was absolutely unacceptable.

Upon entering the premises, I immediately noticed that the staff members were talking loudly, disrupting the ambiance and causing discomfort to the customers. As I was in the middle of an important meeting, I politely requested them to lower their voices, explaining that their loud conversation was disturbing our conversation. Instead of acknowledging the request, they responded in an incredibly disrespectful and confrontational manner.

In an attempt to find a quieter spot for my family, I moved a little further away from them. However, to my disbelief, the staff began shouting at me, insisting that they would only take orders from the table. Their tone was abrasive and entirely uncalled for. It was evident that they had no regard for the basic principles of customer service or common courtesy.

To add to the already unpleasant experience, I experienced discomfort with my shoe, and for a brief moment, I took them off to address the issue. Rather than assisting or offering a solution, the staff members once again berated me, threatening to expel me from the restaurant if I did not immediately put my shoes back on. The lack of empathy and understanding shown by your team was truly appalling.

This entire encounter was not only embarrassing and unprofessional but also left a lasting negative impression on me and my family. As a customer, I expect a minimum level of respect and professionalism when visiting an establishment, which unfortunately was absent in my experience at your restaurant.

I feel compelled to share my unfortunate experience with others in order to prevent them from enduring a similar ordeal. It is disheartening to witness such a lack of customer service and basic manners in a supposedly reputable establishment. I sincerely hope that you take this feedback seriously and address the issues within your staff to prevent future customers from encountering similar...

Ok, so my wife and I have been to Emissary numerous times. It is easily one of our favorite places to go in the DC area for coffee or an afternoon glass of wine & light meal.

Yesterday we patronized Emissary again and sat outside for the first time (usually inside in the cafe portion). It was Sunday and Julio was our server (going by the name on the receipt).

While my wife was in the bathroom, Julio was trying to sell me on the idea of a happy hour bottle of wine for ::only:: $28 (the menu says happy hour is Monday through Saturday). I asked about glasses of wine and he stated, "get a bottle and take the rest home". Something about our exchanges were already leaving a strange vibe.

My wife gets back at the table and again prods Julio about the possibility of a happy hour glass of wine, to which he says they offer now.

We then have a perfectly delightful meal (arancini and grilled chicken salad accompanied with two glasses of wine). When it's time for us to head out, Julio comes over and takes my card and scans it on his palm POS device. He never hands the device to me and gives my card back with a quick "thank you" and jets off. I found this odd, so I checked my card account and was surprised to see a higher charge than I originally thought.

While originally I thought that Julio had charged us for a bottle of wine, he actually overcharged for the arancini ($2.10 more than the menu) and also decided to give himself a 25% tip.

He gave us a "free" small wine refill before we left (and before I asked for the receipt), which further prodded me to ask for the receipt.

We noticed that many other tables around us never got to input a tip amount, either, save one guy.

Summation: Emissary is still one of our favorite places, but I am going to be very cautious of the bill and tip amounts in the future (and...