Molly Ward Gardens — Restaurant in Washington

Birthday group of 13 split between two tables and people moving around to visit accordingly ... Food and chef were great, Grumpy Old Men duo running the front, not so much ... they expected people to stay in the same seats where they started, and rather than yelling across the room, people would circulate and visit ... then having a dog running around in the dining area is odd, but when begging at the tables the whole dinner, without so much as a glance or word from the staff until someone finally gave her something, and then getting yelled at by the owner for it? The cook had been saying she gets her dinner cooked for her later using steak and halibut scraps ... the upset owner's scolding consisted of statements of the dog having a restricted diet consisting of very specialized food and feeding her table scraps could hurt or even kill her! Felt like we were in trouble the whole time we were there. Very awkward and unprofessional in my opinion. And then the 45 minutes it took to sort, get, and finally pay the bill was grueling. Granted a couple characters in the dinner group weren't the most reserved or ideal guests, I'm sure, but certainly didn't warrant the less than professional...

I made reservations a month before my wife’s 65th birthday for her birthday. Did not get a response for a week before I got a call. Conversation was confusing, she thought I needed reservations for that upcoming weekend, although e-mail stated the exact date. I called again the next day and spoke to the same person just to confirm and asked for an email confirmation. Got the email confirming reservation. On the day of reservation, I called five hours before my reservation (as soon as they opened and got someone to answer phone) to again confirm. I was told that I wasn’t on their calendar and they were totally sold out for a private party. They offered me to go leftovers. I had been to Molly Ward probably 4 or 5 times in pass 15 years, and service and food quality declined each time while prices continued to climb. No effort to make it up, just willingness to sale me left over pork tenderloin to go. Not a...

A few days ago we visited Molly Ward Gardens for the first time. The decor and atmosphere were charmingly eclectic, which we enjoyed. Our waitress was terrific, both friendly and efficient. The food was good overall, but there were some areas where it could have been better. The glass of wine I ordered was served at the wrong temperature; it was too warm and therefore the flavor suffered. The proteins (lamb and scallops) we ordered were cooked perfectly, but the polenta was overly cheesy which made it too heavy. The Fontina cheese in the appetizer we ordered was not distinctive and reminded me of a mass-produced cheese you might get at any grocery store. For the price, I don't know if I...