Yelp Washington, DC

29/12/2016

Great/fast service!  No appointment necessary. I noticed a slow leak in my tire.  I originally went to Jiffy Lube first because it was closer to my house and they told me they couldn't patch nor plug my tire and tried to convince me to buy a tire so I left. The following day on my way home from work, I stopped here and they plugged it immediately and I went on my way..

29/12/2016

I travel in and out of town and have been watching for Lena' s to open since the first sign went up so it was nice to see it had finally opened when I arrived back. Stopped by on a walk home from old town had a beer and ordered a pizza and the wings (suggested as excellent) to take home for our dinner.
The bartender and staff were all very friendly and service was good, my order came up fast and I headed home.
So here's my opinion on the food for what it's worth, the pizza was decent (no such thing as "bad" pizza) it was pretty light on the toppings (built our own) for the $, the…Read more I travel in and out of town and have been watching for Lena' s to open since the first sign went up so it was nice to see it had finally opened when I arrived back. Stopped by on a walk home from old town had a beer and ordered a pizza and the wings (suggested as excellent) to take home for our dinner.
The bartender and staff were all very friendly and service was good, my order came up fast and I headed home.
So here's my opinion on the food for what it's worth, the pizza was decent (no such thing as "bad" pizza) it was pretty light on the toppings (built our own) for the $, the wings had almost no flavor and were more pigeon than chicken sized at 6 for $10 this is a definite no for the next visit. All and all we will go back again and support Lena's for pizza as it is in the neighborhood and in close walking distance to the house, we hope that they will only get better with time and not slip the other direction as so many places do as they get comfortable with their position in the community.

We signed up for the birthday/email list, not even a happy birthday email but lots of promotion advertising! Same with the Majestic....

29/12/2016

This is more like a 3.5 rating, but I would rather give more than less. Believe it or not, my favs were the complimentary bread and the first two drinks on the cocktail menu. Right underneath that would be the braised chicken pasta, however it definitely needed more chicken.

Overall their dishes have some quite unique flavors, especially for a D.C. restaurant. However, some of the dishes were salty and a bit too heavy (ex- farro pasta).

I also was not impressed with the menu. It only had one vegetable, which were the fried Brussel sprouts, and lacked seafood/chicken/steak dishes. It…Read more This is more like a 3.5 rating, but I would rather give more than less. Believe it or not, my favs were the complimentary bread and the first two drinks on the cocktail menu. Right underneath that would be the braised chicken pasta, however it definitely needed more chicken.

Overall their dishes have some quite unique flavors, especially for a D.C. restaurant. However, some of the dishes were salty and a bit too heavy (ex- farro pasta).

I also was not impressed with the menu. It only had one vegetable, which were the fried Brussel sprouts, and lacked seafood/chicken/steak dishes. It was mostly a carb menu with a couple of pork items.

Our waiter was really nice but also really busy, so our experience was a lengthy one. He did send out a complimentary dish for us to try, so that was really sweet.

I can see why there's a hype about RL, given the different flavors some of their dishes entail, however I have lived in DC for almost 20 years and have had much better food at many other restaurants that don't have crazy lines and that are not highly rated by magazines.

I would go back for a cocktail, bread, and the braised chicken pasta. That's about it so far.

29/12/2016

The cocktails were okay, but the service was great. I came here with two of my friends on a Tuesday night and we were seated at a cute little couch/cushy chair area. The music was a little loud, and was mostly rap and hip hop, which was kind of strange for the ambience, but not bad. The Spirits Library room is very cozy and pretty, and for the most part not too loud. None of us is particularly gifted in terms of our knowledge of spirits, so we had a lot of questions. Our server, Alex L., made it clear that he was happy to answer any and all questions! He was super friendly, helpful,…Read more The cocktails were okay, but the service was great. I came here with two of my friends on a Tuesday night and we were seated at a cute little couch/cushy chair area. The music was a little loud, and was mostly rap and hip hop, which was kind of strange for the ambience, but not bad. The Spirits Library room is very cozy and pretty, and for the most part not too loud. None of us is particularly gifted in terms of our knowledge of spirits, so we had a lot of questions. Our server, Alex L., made it clear that he was happy to answer any and all questions! He was super friendly, helpful, professional, and heavy with descriptions of the cocktails.

For our first round of drinks, he suggested that I order the This Is Not a Rosé; my friends got the Corn Maiden and the Harvest Cobbler. When he brought out my drink, I was disappointed because the serving was so small -- it then became clear that this was not a drink I was going to consume in large gulps! It is very strong (or, as Alex described it, "spirits-forward"). I did not like it much initially, because the grapefruit oil gave it a really bitter taste. However, as I drank more of the drink, I liked it more. I think that the grapefruit oil settled on top a little, which was the reason for the first bad sip. My friend described it as a "perfectly-balanced drink".The Corn Maiden was a decent egg-white drink - most egg-white drinks tend to be pretty similar, and this was no exception, but the spices that they added gave it a unique flavor. The Harvest Cobbler was good, but very sweet. I love the smoking cinnamon that comes with the drink.

A few minutes into round 1, my friend knocked over her Corn Maiden. We asked Alex for extra napkins to clean it up, an in addition to those napkins, he brought her a replacement drink free of charge! He was so consistently smiley and the new drink was much appreciated.

For round 2, I ordered the Flip Noggin, and my friends got the Manhattan Project #4 and the Westerly Currents. Honestly, I was dumb in ordering the Flip Noggin (or just not an experienced Christmas drinker) because it did not occur to me that this would be an egg nog drink...I hate egg nog. I'm sure it was a very good drink for people who like egg nog, but it was too sweet for me. However, when I told this to Alex, he whisked away my drink and brought me a new one instantly. Seriously - what great service! That was the second drink of ours that he'd replaced, free of charge. I instead got the Westerly Currents, which I thought was the absolute best drink of the evening. It was refreshing and had a crazy flavor profile - every sip had a beginning, middle, and end taste that was different! I loved it. The Manhattan Project was very whiskey-heavy, but also quite good.

All in all, I would have given the drinks three stars - I thought for the most part, they were good, but not exceptional (except for the Westerly Currents!). However, Alex's consistently great service elevated the experience to four stars. I have never gone out and asked for two replacement drinks - I hope we weren't the worst customers ever! He was unflagging in his cheer and his helpfulness with describing the drinks and picking out ones he thought we would like. If I go back again, it will be more for the wonderful experience of drinking here that the service and ambience provide than for the cocktails themselves.