Lobby Bar — Restaurant in Washington

It absolutely pains me to have to give this restaurant 2 stars - but it’s only fair that the number of stars accurately reflects the overall/entire experience that we had at Lobby Bar’s Happy Hour (HH).

My reservation was for 4:45PM, but unfortunately because of a lane closure on my way to the restaurant - I arrived at 4:55PM. Within the 15 min grace period given to those with reservations. This 15 min “hold” on the table is common practice in the DMV - and the confirmation email from Resy states that tables will be held for 15 minutes.

When I checked in with the host, I was told that because I was late my table had been given to another group, and I would no longer be able to have HH, as HH is only for guests seated at the bar and in a particular section of the restaurant. I was then seated at a table (opposite the host stand & the entrance) and given the regular menu.

So imagine my surprise when I saw at least three other guests checked in after me given a HH menu and seated in all the sections of the restaurant (not just the HH seating that I had originally been told). So, I asked the host for a HH menu because I saw that there were inconsistencies.

Immediately the host - Nicole, got extremely short with me, you would have thought that I was hurling abusive superlatives at her, from the way her demeanour COMPLETELY changed & she “threatened” me with getting the Manger. Of course I welcomed this idea, because she clearly at this stage was being unprofessional and also, I knew I was not asking for anything more than what other patrons had received.

The Manager was extremely professional, allowed me to explain the situation & she saw that I was simply asking for the HH menu - and we were given the menu to order from.

This clearly VISIBLY annoyed the host (Nicole), and she promptly told her manager she was going to walk out… (yes you read that right - she told her manager she was going to walk out of her shift because we were given the HH menu), and our request was accommodated for what was her mistake.

Her Manger asked her to step outside and they had a conversation- I have no clue what was said or not said, but afterwards she came back in, and resumed work… BUT continued giving me dirty looks throughout my entire meal. As I mentioned before - our table was directly opposite the host stand and entrance.

At the end of the meal, we were asked if we would like to have dessert, we agreed, and lo and behold, WHO obliged to bring the dessert menu to our table but the host - Nicole!!!

At this point, over an hour had passed by, but she still came to our table with the menus and a terrible demeanour; for me, nothing short of shockingly rude and passive aggressive. One of the comments she made was, “I know you don’t want to talk to me, but here’s the dessert menu and I hope your day gets better because clearly it’s been terrible!”. This was said VERY sarcastically and felt more like a threat than customer service/etiquette.

After this encounter/exchange, my friend and I both decided that it was getting progressively uncomfortable; and we decided to ask for the bill instead. Management was extremely professional and offered us a complimentary dessert - which was kind, but at this point we were ready to leave.

It’s a shame, because overall it was a tasty meal, but after such a hostile and unpleasant interaction this complete ruined our experience. No one should have to be treated like that just for trying to dine out. This kind of unprofessionalism reflects very poorly on the restaurant as a whole.

If management cares about their customers, they seriously need to evaluate who they’re trusting to be the face of their establishment. As we were leaving Nicole also offered to give us her last name for this review… 😂 Yes, her snarky attitude took it that far! Uncomfortable to say the least… Unprofessional to...

Food and drinks were REALLY good with two main detractors at the bottom.

1. caesar salad - phenomenal. I was fully prepared for this to be a regular degular appetizer but it was the underdog of the show. An absolute star. I will be dreaming of this caesar salad. Lobby bar manages to take it and fully elevate and emphasize the aspects that make this classic so fire.
2. the pigs in a blanket. So teeny and cute. So delicious. Unexpected magic. Impressively delicious and delightful. The sauce was fire.
3. THE BURGER. holy. Cow. Incredible. Absolute star of the show. No notes. I will be thinking about that double smashburger with cheese for the rest of my life. Absolutely incredible.

Two detractors from the meal:

4. the chicken nuggets. While impressive in their crispness and flavor, the nugs simply did not live up to the rest of the food, which knocked it out of the park. In another establishment with worse food the nugs would have stood out more. Lobby bar is just too good for them to properly shine.

Secondly, we opted to add caviar. It was 25 or something extra dollars to add it. Yet we had probably 1/10th teaspoon on each nugget. Not enough to taste it in my one perfectly placed bite. That was such an affront that it detracted even further from the impressively delicious nuggets. The total cumulative amount of caviar on the plate was probably one “bump” lol. PS i think the chicken was tenders? Not nuggets. Still delicious but again completely paled in comparison to every other aspect of the meal.

5. the ambiance. Two things were lacking about the ambiance.

One, it was CRAZY loud. Crazy. Loud. I am trying to be realistic as its a bar in name and you can only do so much about noise.

That said, if it was purely a bar, i could let it slide. However this place has AMAZING food and seating takes up the majority of the space. Lobby bar demands to be taken seriously as a restaurant (as they should!!!!!) so not being able to have a conversation without yelling/straining to hear while all other patrons are yelling and straining to hear was a major detractor. Maybe some upholstered panels on the walls or ceiling would help.

The second ambiance issue - unfortunately the bar lacks bathroom capacity to adequately support the patronage. The line was all gender and very, very long. I say this as it wasnt just a long womens line, it was everyone. Not being able to wash my hands timely before a meal including finger foods was a big detractor. Though I understand in DC in historic building zones this challenge is often...

I was genuinely excited to try Lobby Bar with my two friends after a long day at work. I made a 5:15 pm reservation and clearly noted that we were coming for happy hour, expecting to be seated in the appropriate area.

Unfortunately, things went downhill from the start. My first friend arrived and was told she couldn’t be seated until the full party arrived, yet another incomplete party was seated right after her. Once my other friend arrived, they were placed in the back, where happy hour is not available, which directly contradicted the note I included in our reservation. If Lobby Bar couldn’t accommodate us, they could’ve let us know at the host stand or via RESY or phone before seating us. I believe this remainder of this negative experience could’ve been avoided.

When we politely asked to be moved closer to the bar to participate in happy hour, we were told the only options were to squeeze into a two seater booth—and we would still have to wait to be seated there—or to sit outside in the blazing heat with no shade. While I understand space can be limited, these options felt dismissive, especially for a restaurant that is mostly bar seating and where we had made our intentions clear in advance.

At that point, we decided to leave. As we walked out, the energy at the host stand felt unwelcoming, which only added to the disappointment.

We were looking forward to supporting this new spot, especially with all the buzz around the adult happy meal which was our primary reason for picking this restaurant. I had been very excited to spend time there with my friends and share a fun experience with my social media audience, where I highlight high quality unique spots in the city. Instead, my friends and I walked away feeling like we were treated as disposable. We ended up enjoying happy hour at another nearby establishment that felt more welcoming.

I truly hope Lobby Bar takes a close look at the feedback it has been receiving. I would also welcome the opportunity to speak with someone directly about how this situation could have been...