Oohh's & Aahh's — Restaurant in Washington

I recently visited this restaurant and had an absolutely terrible experience that night, and for the following few days.

I was visiting from Texas to the DMV and then traveled to DC to experience the nightlife and try your restaurant. We arrived Friday night to go out and ended our evening at your restaurant at 3:30 AM. Immediately was noticed It was very unorganized but the food smelled great so we were excited to place an order. The staff was yelling at everyone to decide what they wanted before they came to the register because apparently people were moving a little slower than they liked. After placing our order, we stepped outside with our ticket. Close to 4 AM we went back inside the restaurant gave them our name and were handed a tied plastic bag that looked like it had containers of food inside. We accepted our bag and drove back to Virginia. When we are arrived we were excited to dive into our meals we ordered which were fish and grits, and an order of wings and macaroni Along with a strawberry cake. Receipt #369 ( I still have the receipt from payment and the ticket on the bag)

We sat down and opened our bag, and we instantly felt the blow of disappointment. We received our strawberry cake and one order of catfish and Mac , which was not what we ordered. The catfish seemed a little older and dry, maybe because it was 4am. Because it was long after 4 when we made it home, we knew the restaurant will be closed so we shared the one plate and planned to call as soon as the restaurant opened the next day.

We called into your restaurant and explained the situation, and they immediately asked us if we took a picture. I said no I did not take a picture of the incorrect order but I have my receipts. I told him I’m not looking for a refund and that I’m here from out of town and I really just want to experience the food that I paid for. Donald and Tony both advised me after multiple calls that while they have made mistakes in the past, they are not taking responsibility for this mistake because they do not believe I actually did not get my food. Of course, instead of telling me this directly, they made me a call back for three days in a row, asking for a manager and telling me that they would be in contact with me later, after speaking with a general manager, with whom I never heard back from. Each time I called I was met with push back and comments that circled back to me not taking a picture. A few times I called a young lady answered sounding extremely intoxicated and yelling at other people in the restaurant. Each employee/member of management basically said I was lying about my food and refused to take responsibility for their mistake.

Fast forward 2WEEKS: A week after this incident, I sent an email to their official email address posted on their website. I was contacted by two people who claimed to be owners of the business. One was very apologetic and assured me she would take care of this issue and make me happy, but she never responded after that and then another Tony, emailed me and spoke about being in contact with me about the situation and also never reached back out. To this day, I’ve heard nothing.

I love supporting black businesses and I want to continue, this is the prime example of why I move with caution. I spent $50 on food I didn’t not receive, what I got tasted old and No one wants to take responsibility or even have the decency to follow up with me. I feels scammed and taken...

Catching up on reviews. I stopped by early in the morning on Sunday, 06-26-22. After having a lackluster experience somewhere else, I wanted an early morning "snack." I try to hit a good soul food spot when I travel, so I was judging DC by this choice.

It was 1:42 am when I took the picture of the outside of the restaurant. There was a line, but it was moving. I ordered the veggie plate with cabbage, mac and cheese, yams, & lemonade, I believe strawberry. The person handing out orders didn't have my drink when he gave me my food; had to wait longer for it. I also had the sweet potato cake. The cabbage was aight; needed some seasoning. I agree with another reviewer. The "yams" seemed to be sweet potato pie filling vs real yams. I'll let the mac & cheese pass. I'm biased when it comes to soul food; if what I'm paying for isn't as good as what I'd cook myself, I'm not going to be a happy camper. The lemonade was ok, a little pricey. Thought there'd be some fruit included. Worst of all was that sweet potato cake. What you see in the picture was all I ate, which was that fork full. The cake was dry & I don't know what was going on with that icing, but that wasn't it. I do bake from scratch so I may be more critical, but I really wanted my money back for the cake. The icing just seemed extremely artificial with a little sugar to help the taste.

All of DC seemed to be on U Street that night. It felt good to be able to people watch; some of everything was out & about. What I didn't care for was seeing how the person handing out orders was interacting with a female customer. It was late. She was getting loud, but as a staff member, the best thing to do would've been to just ignore her & not engage; she'd already paid so her mouth running wouldn't have bothered me. Instead, they were going back & forth.

My food was better than the previous spot I was at before coming here, but not good enough for...

We came in around 8pm on a Friday night for dinner, and unfortunately, the night started off a little rocky. They were out of shrimp for the shrimp & grits and crab 🦀 for the crab & spinach dip — two items we really wanted. Disappointing, but we decided to go without them.

During happy hour, they list a few select mixed drinks (Rum Punch, Tropical Margarita, White Peach Seabreeze, etc.), but the one I ordered they didn’t have the mix for. I switched to another, only to find out the drinks were premade in pitchers. A little unusual, but I let that slide as well.

For entrées, I ordered the “2 meats for $37” deal and went with the Beef Short Ribs (3 ribs) and the Hot Honey Old Bay Wings (10). The waitress mentioned I’d get the full portions as if I’d ordered them separately, which sounded like a good deal. My partner ordered the Catfish & Grits.

The food itself was excellent.

The catfish was crispy, well-seasoned, and flavorful.

My short ribs were tender and fell off the bone.

The wings, greens, and mac & cheese were also seasoned well and delicious.

The issue came at the end when the bill was higher than expected. There were upcharges for both the ribs and the wings that weren’t explained by the waitress or listed in the menu. On top of that, a 20% automatic gratuity was added — for a party of two — with no mention of this on the menu or posted anywhere. That was a surprise, and honestly left a bad taste after what was otherwise a solid meal.

Bottom line:

Food: Great 👍🏽

Service: Okay

Pricing/Transparency: Needs serious improvement

It’s frustrating to be hit with surprise charges, especially when the food and atmosphere are otherwise enjoyable. Please do better with communication and transparency — it makes all the...