The Market Lunch — Restaurant in Washington

PATRONS BEWARE -- since seating seems to be a territorial thing and common sense doesn't at all, seem to be common.

Woke up this am, drove to Eastern market all the way from Mt. Vernon, because I had a craving for their fried green tomatoes. Stood in line 45 minutes. Got almost to the ordering station and we found seats. My son and I went to sit, as my partner was next in line to order. All of a sudden this loud man (presumably a manger) older gentleman with white hair starts yelling and telling me to get up and that I can't sit here if we're not paying customers. Other customers were also taken back by his demeanor and tone. I was appalled to say the least, but kindly let the man know (after standing for 45 mins) that we're next in line. He still tells me that we cannot sit down until after we've ordered, and until we have food in hand. At this point I'm over him yelling at me in front of my son and offended that he thinks this is customer service. If we didn't wait in line for 45 mins and weren't next, we would have left. And to top it all off, they were OUT of Fried Green Tomatoes. The food is good by not stellar. We ordered pancakes and some sides. You can make better breakfast at home. Never in my life have I spent $50 anywhere in hospitality and been told with my child no less, that I can't sit down. And if it reeks of discrimination to you, it likely was! I was so offended and embarrassed that we got our food to-go, and didn’t bother...

Had a great time and nice lunch at The Market Lunch after a short time browsing around the street market just outside on a Saturday.

The Market Lunch offered a wide array of breakfast and lunch foods. The line was pretty long, though this is no surprise given the quality of the food we received. We were waiting for approximately 30 minutes before placing our order, but only a further 5 to receive what we requested. Some of the menu items were no longer available due to high demand, specifically the soft crab, but nothing else appeared to be out of stock.

The food itself was delicious and made for a mostly filling lunch. The prices were a little high for a simple pair of fish sandwiches (rockfish & flounder) as well as a side of fries, but it's an easy matter to reconcile.

The place was heaving given the large queues but we didn't struggle to find a place to sit. It appears that the line moves slow enough for other customers to be finished with their meal by the time you are served.

I'd recommend visiting this place on a quiter day. While you're here, you can always browse what else is on offer in the...

What’s the appeal to this place? I’m only going to give this place two stars because I feel like the food you get is so grossly overpriced for what it is. I got their seafood plate with a side order and a drink which ended up being like $27 and it was a paper plate with a few small pieces of fish, a bready-crab cake on it and a side and it was fairly lack luster. The grits were ok, the fried green formatives were ok, but everything was just.. well ok. If it was $10 or $12, I would say it’s a great deal. But almost $30? Are you kidding me? They have been written about in Tripadvosor, yelp, etc. and receive 4 Stars by many people. But the fact that they have four stars is exactly why I am often very skeptical of public reviews, rather than reviews from organizations like the Washingtonian, or the New Yorker with legitimate food critics. This place would go out of business in a month in NYC and only survives because some people think it’s ok and there isn’t anywhere near the competition that there is in NYC. I’m not saying that the food is terrible, it’s just ok, but for what they charge it’s totally...