Lincoln — Restaurant in Washington

I really want to give this place a 3.5 star but I definitely don't want to give it a 3 start so I'll go with 4.

The food here is really good and the atmosphere is fun but the music is way too loud. The acoustics in the bldg makes the sound almost unbearable. You can't have a conversation with the person you came with and I can't imagine having group discussions. Everyone is yelling to talk over the music and the other people when if they would just turn the music down some, everyone's voice would also go down and it would be a bit more enjoyable.

I have only been here for brunch a few times and I like to visit a place a few times before I write a review although this year I'll start writing first impression reviews and then follow up reviews

Omelet was made perfect but they didn't have any non-pork meats to put in the omelet :-(. I wanted some type of beef, turkey or chicken sausage or shrimp or crab meat but non of that was an option.

Chicken was good and tender even though my first serving was obviously sitting there for a while because I did get in just before they stopped seating at 2pm on a Sunday. The second batch of chicken that was more freshly cooked was fantastic. I'm not really a chicken and waffle kind of guy but I'm a bottomless mimosa kind of guy :-).

The waffle was also good. The batter had some sweetness to it but that didn't stop me from putting syrup on it.

Although it's very noisy and free parking isn't always easy to find, I will be back again because the drinks are made with a good mixture and the food was good. I've probably go more often if the music would be turned down some.

• Old Review ** I've only been here for Sunday brunch once. The atmosphere was good, the DJ was great (9/20/2015), the food was just ok. I called ahead to find out if there were any meats on the breakfast bar and was told yes. When I get there I was told there was no meat on the breakfast bar so I ordered chicken and waffles (I was going to order the steak but it was only 6oz and I need something bigger than that.). The chicken was so tender and the meat tasted really good but I didn't care for the seasoning of the skin. The "gravy" they provide did help the taste of the skin of the chicken but most of the skin fell off anyway which was good for my chicken experience but not so good for my waffle experience. I at them separately and so when I went to put syrup on my waffle and eat it there was small pieces of skin in the way which I did easily move. The waffle was just a waffle, nothing to write home about and the syrup wasn't anything fancy either. The bottomless mimosa (which is why most do Sunday Brunch in DC anyway) was not properly proportioned. Way too much champagne which is fine if you're trying to get turned up fast and have an upset stomach soon there after but not if you're trying to enjoy breakfast after church before walking around the city taking photos.

I really wanna give it 2.5 stars but since I can't I rounded up. Given the other brunch options I probably won't be back. There are too many other places to try to even make it back in a year before hitting 52 other brunch spots (there are more than 52).

I ate alone and my...

Stay away and don’t waste your money!

The chicken and waffle that my daughter ordered was cold and nasty. The server George was professional enough and recommended that we get the waffle and omelette stations. It’s advertised in the menu that it is unlimited waffles and omelettes, but it does not state that the omelettes are meatless and egg whites not readily available . This is a rip off…for $31 there should be more than a veggie omelet and it should be known that egg whites are not an option. The first omelette we ordered we were able to get egg whites (off to a great start) but when my husband went to get a second omelette, he was told that they were out of egg whites. George, our server said “that’s not good let me go check”. He came back and said “I don’t know what happened because yes he ran out of egg whites let me get the manager”. The manager, Olivia Stepaniuk, came to let us know that they only have mix for waffles and standard omelettes (what is a standard omelette?). Olivia was very aggressive in her approach, came to defend yet asked no questions. Once I told her that we were in fact served 2 omelettes with egg whites only, she looked stuck. Instead of asking the question “ How can we make your experience better” or “what happened” she came ready to make the client feel as if we did or requested something unreasonable. She gave me what seem to be the run of the house speech “ If you need a special omelette, I suggest next time you order off the menu”. Instead of me, going back-and-forth with her and appearing aggressive and confrontational like her, I simply asked for my check. I did tell her that I would never patronize this restaurant again, and I will be leaving a bad review in hopes that it is seen by the restaurant’s owner. This was not my first visit to this restaurant, but it surely will be my last. The quality of food and the restaurant standard have declined. My suggestion for Olivia, please take a training class or two around client experience and do better, you are there for the customer and without us there would be no restaurant. Truly a $170 waste, I could’ve received a better...

Pre-Meal My husband and I got to the restaurant about 30 min before they opened. So we decided sit out on their patio and have a conversation. About 5 or 10 min before the restaurant opened, our soon to be hostess Brandy asked us if we wanted to come inside a little early. It was a little chilly and rainy outside of course we agreed. Brandy was a phenomenal waitress. She was lively, knew the menu well, and was a joy to have some small talk.

During the Meal We both ordered appetizers, I had the crab deviled eggs and my husband ordered the shrimp hush puppies. We both enjoyed the appetizers but a little more crab and shrimp would have been nice. It didn’t take away from the taste. So of course we cleaned our plates.

For the main course, I had the shrimp and grits, my husband had the waiygu burger. Both meals were healthy portions. I particularly liked that the shrimp and grits had a good amount of vegetables in the broth. I love that!

The drinks were excellent! I had an old fashion and a Manhattan, my husband had a few Lemon Drops and we both enjoyed them. I could definitely see myself coming back just for the bar and some appetizers.

Service Brandy was great! She helped us get acquainted with the menu. She made sure to check back in every 10-15 minutes. Our drinks were never low. And she asked a few times whether the food was to our liking and it met the mark. Although we were the first customers there and we were only only table for a while, as things picked up her service did not drop off. Thanks Brandy!

Ambiance We went for brunch but from the way that the dining room was divided seemed like it was more designed to a dinner spot. They about 3 separate spaces not including the bar are so if you like high tops or low tops, patio, or far from the door, there’s something for everyone. The noise level was pretty minimal, we didn’t need to raise our voices even as more customers started to fill up. Generally, the restaurant was clean and had flare like pennies in the floor.

Recommendation. Lincoln has our vote. We would go back again for dinner if we didn’t have plans at another place. It’s definitely...