Primrose — Restaurant in Washington

Visited this restaurant for the first time last night. The food was decent & the ambiance was great. Our hostess & waitress were courteous, personable, and polite. It wasn't until towards the end of our meal that our experienced became uncomfortable & very disturbing. I decided to order a nightcap. Service was kind of slow all night, so i didnt think anything when it took a little longer than "normal" to get my glass of wine. At some point a very curt and unapologetic employee by the name of Chris approached our table and attempted to explain (while fumbling over his words as if he was searching for an explanation) that the last call for drinks was 10:15pm, albeit i ordered my drink before that time. He stated that our waitress just approached him about the drink. I asked why was i being penalized because he just received my order. He stated that they were a neighborhood restaurant and was settling down. Keep in mind, the place had at least 20 patrons or more still enjoying their beverages. I let it go! It wasnt until i saw the table nestled in the corner with 6 or more caucasian patrons receive what appeared to be "shots". I immediatedly called chris over and requested an explanation. He explained those were desert wines they ordered a long time ago & had to be chilled. I asked him repeatedly did they order before 10:15pm. He stated yes. So i repeatedly stated that i ordered my wine before that time, and asked what was the difference in our orders. chris expressed a clear indifference to my frustration. We spent a good amount that included an automatic 20 percent tip. We were mindful & polite patrons the entire time in the establishment. The only difference i saw in the situation was the color of everyones skin. Those patrons that received their chilled desert wines at approximately 10:47pm (yes i purposely noticed the time) were caucasian and i was among the handful of Black patrons in the restaurant. chris is rude with an obvious bias for "certain" persons that spend money at primrose. SN: i chuckled when he thought he had to point out that primrose was a neighborhood restaurant. lowercase chris i am fully aware of that!!! Get this chris i grew up in that neighborhood!!!!. Lived there for over 20 years guess what else lowercase chris...i even went to Saint Anthonys 2 blocks away....can you imagine 😳. This is my first and only experience feeling this kind of discomfort in an area restaurant. I informed chris i will be sure to share my experience not only here but every social media platform/professional, networking, and social setting!!!! Don't judge people chris. We know the city is gentrified, but treat everyone fairly....especially when we are spending the same green money. Next time ill stick with Brooklyn's Finest. DC is filled with great restaurants that dont show bias or discriminate....but ill make sure everyone knows about the one that employs persons that do so willfully & cheerfully. This is not the only negative review that exposes the discriminatory nature of the employees of...

I had the privilege of visiting Primrose as a special event…. Well VERY large party. I don’t like to speak on behalf of other people but I think I can safely say the staff were annoyed by the consistent eye rolling as they milled around the tables collecting plates and refilling glasses. The occasional huff solidified their feelings.

This isn’t about the staff, this is about the food. I arrived hungry and I knew that we were in for a treat but it turned out that I was tricked!!

There were a few appetizers that were passed around. None worth mentioning except the duck confit pierogies. The duck could have been seasoned but the sauce and outer shell were so good that it was easy to ignore. Everything else was bypassed by me and a lot of my peers.

The main meal came around and I ordered the steak frites. The plating was beautiful!! The steak was perfectly med rare but… DRY! I thought I was going crazy because how can a visually med rare steak have the consistency of an overly well done one. I had to use my knife and SAW to cut it apart!! I chewed so long I chose not to swallow. I had some others give it a try and they were equally perplexed.

This did NOT take the cake!

There was Gnudi as an option! This had to be amazing! IT WAS NOT! and it’s certainly NOT gnudi. Please see photo number two. I have to tell you which cause otherwise how would you know!

We politely alerted the owner and his face turned red. He then stated that we just didn’t know what we had ordered and that Gnudi was NOT a pasta type dish (it’s a cheese version of gnocchi but…) That they make their own take on dishes and this wasn’t far from what people expect from it. He then walked away and frowned at us the remainder of the evening. He came back at one point to reiterate that we just don’t know what we are talking about. He couldn’t let it go that we weren’t pleased. Good thing he didn’t see all the other food left without being eaten.

A very polite suggestion about a dish that was very misrepresented turned into an awkward situation as the owner didn’t appreciate feedback.

For those who are new to it, Gnudi are gnocchi-like dumplings made with ricotta cheese instead of potato, with semolina. The result is often a lighter, "pillowy" dish, unlike the often denser, chewier gnocchi.

They are light and delicious. What we were given was thick, dense, heavy and disgusting. The complete opposite of Gnudi.

I can’t refer this restaurant. I can’t say the owners response warranted a second chance. I can say that I’m glad my card wasn’t swiped for this “quality” of meal provided.

Two starts cause the...

Went here to celebrate a promotion, and was thoroughly disappointed. TLDR: Food is fine for the price, not amazing. Service is subpar, especially for mandatory 20% gratuity.

My partner and I made a reservation. Upon arrival, no one greeted us despite there being only a couple other parties in the restaurant and plenty of staff. The bartender looked our way and sort of stared at us, so we eventually walked up to the bar, where a separate staff member noticed and seated us.

The staff were all dressed unprofessionally. I’m all for the casual/hipster/grungy look in restaurants that pull it off, but this place did not. We had a bit of an awkward back-and-forth with our server after asking him about wine before finally getting a recommendation out of him. He was nice, just clearly unfamiliar. It’s normally not a huge deal if someone can’t talk about their wine list, but for the price of the restaurant and a mandatory 20% gratuity, we expected more. He also spilled some wine on our table when he poured, but didn’t wipe it up so not sure if he noticed.

After appetizers, our plates were cleared but our utensils were not replaced. Once we got our main course, we were not checked on a single time. We needed a fork, as well as condiments for the frites/fries. We could see a large group of staff standing around the corner just chatting/hanging out, so it’s not as though they were too busy. Again, there were not many parties in the restaurant. After waiting and waiting (we could have finished our meal in this time), my partner finally walked over to the group to ask our server for what we needed. We hated doing this because it felt rude, but we couldn’t keep waiting.

The food was overall fine for the price point. Flavors were enjoyable, but my burger was very soggy on the bottom.

After that, AGAIN a long period of our server not returning. We had an event to get to and needed to leave, so finally managed to get his attention, grab a quick dessert and check, and left.

It should also be noted that I put in a special request on my reservation, asking if the staff could write “congratulations” on the dessert plate. I have been to other restaurants at the same price point who do this, in addition to actually saying “congratulations” (or “happy birthday”, whatever it is). Completely fine if they can’t do it, but I would have appreciated a call or heads up that it wasn’t possible. Instead there was no mention of it whatsoever, which was a let down when it...