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My review of Bond 45 at National Harbor and ETA: a question
So, I've been to the Bond 45 in Manhattan and I loved it, and maybe I was setting myself up for diappointment... but our experience at Bond 45 at National Harbor was not great.
DH and I had my MIL watch the kids so we could have a date night. We got dressed up (I even bought a new dress - fun!) knowing that we'd probably be slightly overdressed for the restaurant, but not really caring because we wanted the special "make it a dress up occasion" feeling.
We had never been to National Harbor, so we got there about an hour early thinking we'd walk around and maybe have a drink somewhere. It was a misty/rainy/cloudy day, but it was still a nice stroll up the main avenue to the Gaylord Hotel. We wanted to check out the lobby and yep, it's pretty unusual. Almost like being in a mall. We had a cocktail at the seafood restaurant in the lobby, so that was nice.
We strolled to Bond 45 for our 7:00 reservation, and the minute we walked in I got nervous. It was really loud. The ambient noise was loud loud loud. So I see that we're entering through the bar, and I think "oh, OK, this is the bar area, of course it's loud." We are seated two dining rooms away from the bar, and I think "Oh good, we're far enough away from the bar..." but it never got better. The place is just LOUD. I could hardly hear my DH across the table from me. The waitress had to bend over to talk to us and she had to repeat herself several times.
So we're sitting there, making the best of it, saying "maybe it's just a night of large groups dining" giving the benefit of the doubt, but disappointed that we're not having a very intimate date. We get the menus and the wine list and I'm a little shocked by two things - the prices on the menu were basically the same as Manhattan. Entrees in the $35 - $60 range. Just for the entree. And sides are a la carte, so those are like $15 each. OK. Then the wine list - so limited! Basically a bunch of California reds. And while I know they're billing themselves as a steak house and most diner would order red, the white wine selection was extremely meager, and almost all domestic. Boo.
We had sort of anticipated that it was a pricey place, so we're thinking OK - just order and hope the food is really good and really worth it.
It wasn't. It was just good. It wasn't stellar and it wasn't good enough to be charging THAT much money. I had scallops, DH had the shrimp scampi (the scampi at the NYC location is out of this world). We had parmesan potatoes as a side, and they were very average. And we paid $41 for a bottle of wine that was a CA white that we didn't really enjoy - it was just... fine.
All in all, I would say, it's not a good date night place... but even beyond that, it just wasn't worth the money. It really wasn't. DH said the atmosphere felt like Macaroni Grill, and the food was just - average. Had we paid in the $20 range for the entrees, fine, but when you're going to drop over $250 for dinner for two (wine/appetizers/entrees - no dessert)- it all fell flat.
I hate being disappointed!!
ETA: What do you guys think I should do? The more I think about our experience there - how our waitress also seemed a little checked out, and it was supposed to be a wonderful splurge - the more disappointed I am. I went to their Facebook page and posted that I had a disappointing experience there and I'm seeking contact information so I can tell someone about the experience. (I didn't trash them - just said "disappointed" and asked for info). What more should I do?
Re: My review of Bond 45 at National Harbor and ETA: a question
I thought it was loud when went there as well. I agree, the food was ok, but not exactly what you would get price wise.
I can say that our server was wonderful