THE GRILL — Restaurant in Washington

Although our initial experience was short of perfection, it was quickly redeemed by our server Brandon! Still, I don’t think it’s fair to give 5 star for less than perfect service, I would give this place a 4.5 but, I am doing it! So at first we were wanted to sit outside and were out on a waiting list, we sat at the bar while waiting, and the young Hispanic (I think?) Bartender greeted us with menus and then brought us waters. He then told us he would be back to grab our drink orders to which he then took more than 10 mins to return for our order, the bar was not busy from what we could see and we didn’t really see the server station filled or getting drinks set on it for the restaurant side. So when he finally came to us, he thanked us for our patience and grabbed our drink orders. I ordered an espresso martini with no baileys, the drink order took another 15 mins, in which that time, the hostess came to let us know our table was ready, but we had to wait because we needed to pay for our drinks as well as get them. We finally got our drinks and mine was awfully sweet! I just switched it out to a Chardonnay and went to our table no problem or a fuss. Here we were greeted with menus and waters on the table waiting for us, Brandon greeted us, we gave our order, and seamlessly got aquatinted to our server who gave amazing insight and suggestions on food items and drink preferences! It was so helpful. He was amazing at checking in with us as well as making sure our waters and drinks were filled (even though we had a water pitcher on the table) as well as making sure we had extra plates for sharing, AND fresh silverware for the main course and dessert. Not only that, our table light went out TWICE, and he noticed as well replaced them both times very passively! I wanted to grab a port or grappa to compliment the dessert but, in conversation, we talked about my earlier experience with the espresso martini, and Brandon insisted I gave his version of an espresso martini to recover from that dissatisfaction, and he did justice with it! We even discussed how it could be improved to make it best for people like myself who prefer a less sweet espresso martini! Either way Super smooth with his entire demeanor and we very much appreciated the quality of service he provided to our anticipated dinner outing. We had set on a place down the wharf already but decided to walk around to see other options while we waiting for our reservation, and wound up here instead. I can speak for the both parties in the group in saying that we are happy to have dined here and most of all grateful for the hostess (sorry forget her name she was wearing a beautiful blue dress and blown short hair with a darker complexion). Young man bartending has some things he needs to learn for the type of establishment he is serving in, specifically his guest anticipation of service, but he had a kind disposition. I would absolutely be back, and will be sharing this review in other platforms. I didn’t get but a couple photos because the food was honestly perfect! We ordered one of the specials they had which incorporated a sample of all their appetizers, two side salads, two proteins, one side (we got the baked potatoes), a small complimenting salad with the protein, a dessert to share, and we ordered an extra side(creamed spinach). Everything was SO FREAKING GOOD I didn’t have time to care about photos. the spinach, the potatoes, the bacon wrapped dates & the grilled cheese were my favorite! I will say, it would have been nice to have been served some warm artisan bread, but just a thought. I did manage to get a photo of their massive pineapple upside down cake which was an option in addition to their chocolate cake. We both took a couple bites and couldn’t stomach anything else, so we finished our drinks and went about our merry way. Really appreciate the amazing food, service, and ambiance! Will be sure to recommend this spot to friends,...

I attended The Grill restaurant (at the D.C Wharf) recently in Aug 2023. This review will be the entire review with my disappointment in this restaurant. When I attended The Grill, the food (I got the shareable) was good. The customer service was good until the end of the night. Here comes my disappointment in the restaurant… I requested the check. The check was brought to me by a different waiter than the waitress that assisted with our order. When I saw the check, I noticed that the waiter left off the mandatory tip, which would have been about $30(about %18). Which didn’t matter to me because I was going to give a tip of $40 because I thought the waitress did well. Here is where my disappointment lies, I returned the proposed check with my card to the waiter. Then I saw the waitress (who assisted with the order) come over and argue with the waiter who made the mistake. Which again, I knew it was a mistake. But I believe in paying what people are owed if they give good service. I thought the waitress would have come over and communicated the error in the check and then charged my card. BUT NOPE! The waitress then took my check and card to the front of the building and processed it for the bill and $30 (%18 tip). The waitress brings me the check, she does NOT say anything! Other than here you go, and walks away. Plus to boot, she did not return the original receipt!

Now, I reviewed the receipt and saw the receipt, plus I have a witness to what happened. We talked about it in real time of what we knew should have happened but didn’t. I maintained my cool.

I took the new check and my card to the front to discuss the matter. I asked for the manager. A part of me felt like I was being blown off by the staff. After explaining what had happened and that before you run someone’s card(my card) you are always supposed to tell the payee the amount of money or show some kind of written verification before you charge someone’s card. Especially when an error was made. OR IT IS FRAUD! What I authorized was not what was originally charged. So someone should have spoken with me. And if the waitress would have come and explained what happened, I would have told her, I know and okay. Charge my card.

Which got me thinking, what if I were drunk… she might have charged my card anything… she wanted to. Like let’s be real, when people are intoxicated they may pay less attention to the price. That’s scary! We trust that the merchant will tell us the correct cost before charging our cards, but I feel like my trust was broken by this visit to THE GRILL in DC.

Long story short, I spoke with the manager and told him what happened. He was receptive to my feelings. Also, damn near all waiters and waitresses came over to see why I was upset (more so to be nosey), do you know the actual waitress NEVER came over to discuss the matter. She listened from a far. The waiters and waitresses were reporting back to her what was being discussed. Personally, if she came over to discuss the matter with me, at any point, I would have forgiven the situation. But she NEVER DID! I simply felt wronged.

At first I wasn’t going to write this but I think people should be aware of what happened to me, to know this isn’t...

My fiancée and I recently came to the grill to celebrate her birthday. It was a horrible and underwhelming experience that cost over $259 for two people without alcohol. One would think that a STEAKHOUSE that sells $68 ribeyes and fillet mignon would have 1. Knives sharp enough to cut the steak 2. Have the ability to consistently cook steaks to the requested temperature 3. Properly season the steaks so they don’t taste like natural meat with a small hint of salt. However, sadly, the grill did none of them.

The steaks my fiancée and I requested to be cooked to between rare and medium rare came to us black and blue with a deep red/purple color in the center. It was so undercooked it had that raw toughness of raw meat. I felt like a wild dog ripping meat off a carcass. Making matters worse, our steaks were cold like they sat in the window for too long. Undercooked and cold steak that was $70 a la carte? Ridiculous!

Since the steaks come a la carte, we had to order sides, which were good. However, since I had to send my steak back to actually be cooked, I was left to eat more than half of my sides so they weren’t cold by the time my steak came back. When the steak got there, I asked the server if she could bring my fiancée and I knives that were actually sharp. The knives the grill has don’t have any serration, so they need to be routinely sharpened. Your assume the manager would know this. Guess not! They were not sharp. A butter knife would have worked just as well, which is not at all. The server’s response when I asked for sharp knives was “I’ll do my best but I can’t make any promises.” Admittedly, that was just her trying to keep things light. It wasn’t said in attitude and wasn’t taken that way. I think she was also frustrated that a “nice” restaurant couldn’t even be bothered to give their customers proper knives to cut the expensive steaks they sell.

When the steak came back, it was not only now overcooked, but it was somehow still cold. It went from cold and undercooked at black and blue to cold and overcooked at medium well. My fiancée opted to take her steak to go and just finish cooking it at home as leftovers, which I did as well after trying to choke down the dry, overcooked $70 steak they gave me.

Do yourselves all a favor and don’t come to the grill. It’s a steakhouse that doesn’t know how to cook or season a steak and doesn’t provide the proper utensils to eat the steak.

The only reason I didn’t give 1 star is because of the server. Do better Grill. I will never come...