Jayne's Restaurant Review - The Living Room
I recently dined at the DC Ranch location wine restaurant called The Living Room. Years ago this place was name Armitage but the new place has a nicer look and feel.
With my two friends, we had hoped to sit in one of the comfy seating areas but since there were only three of us the manager made us move to a bar table. Disappointing as that was one of the reasons we arrived early and selected this restaurant.
There was a large private party which consumed half of the indoor restaurant seating. We considered sitting outside but weren't sure about the temperature, which in hindsight was silly, because all of the doors were open and it was probably the same indoors or out.
As we arrived with ten minutes left to spare in happy hour, two of us shared a bottle of wine for $20, which was a great price and one ordered by the glass. The server was very attentive but our table was so small and we were three hungry women, so it was a constant battle to squeeze food and drinks into the limited space.
We started with the cheese fondue. I enjoyed this except for the fact that the roasted cauliflower was ice cold. I'm not sure when it was roasted but it appeared to be fresh from the freezer. That was a major flaw. It's fine to blanch the cauliflower and then finish it at the last minute but don't roast it and then serve it ice cold. My other problem was that the menu claims it includes apples, pretzels, roasted cauliflower and ciabatta but we never got the ciabatta.
My friend tried the bruschetta, which she enjoyed but it was only two pieces for $9 which seems a bit pricey for what she got. For dinner they both ordered the chicken cobb salad and I ordered the pepperoni flatbread. Their salads came out and it was several minutes before the chicken showed up. Apparently they forgot to put it on the salad! My flatbread was so hard I couldn't cut it and for $10.50 there were only two small pieces cut into quarters. I expected something a bit more substantial. Worse my pizza was barely warm.
We finished our meal with the warm pizza cookie, which I must say was by far the best part of the meal. Hot with melting vanilla ice cream and about a million calories of yum.
For a Saturday night, the restaurant had a good crowd, inside and out. They had a DJ playing music which was only slightly too loud and made us have to repeat ourselves for a conversation. It had a nice atmosphere but I wouldn't go back. Not allowing us to sit in the section where there was no one seated for at least an hour (but no reservations for that section), cold food and menu items left off, price versus quantity, and too loud are all too many strikes against it. With so many places to choose from you have to have a really good overall experiences and The Living Room didn't have enough to stay in the running for a future dining spot.
I would only give this place 2.5 forks out of 5.
Remember to always tip your bartender and server and drink responsibly.
Happy Dining,
Jayne
Visit Leslie's website
Menu for Murder
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With my two friends, we had hoped to sit in one of the comfy seating areas but since there were only three of us the manager made us move to a bar table. Disappointing as that was one of the reasons we arrived early and selected this restaurant.
There was a large private party which consumed half of the indoor restaurant seating. We considered sitting outside but weren't sure about the temperature, which in hindsight was silly, because all of the doors were open and it was probably the same indoors or out.
As we arrived with ten minutes left to spare in happy hour, two of us shared a bottle of wine for $20, which was a great price and one ordered by the glass. The server was very attentive but our table was so small and we were three hungry women, so it was a constant battle to squeeze food and drinks into the limited space.
We started with the cheese fondue. I enjoyed this except for the fact that the roasted cauliflower was ice cold. I'm not sure when it was roasted but it appeared to be fresh from the freezer. That was a major flaw. It's fine to blanch the cauliflower and then finish it at the last minute but don't roast it and then serve it ice cold. My other problem was that the menu claims it includes apples, pretzels, roasted cauliflower and ciabatta but we never got the ciabatta.
My friend tried the bruschetta, which she enjoyed but it was only two pieces for $9 which seems a bit pricey for what she got. For dinner they both ordered the chicken cobb salad and I ordered the pepperoni flatbread. Their salads came out and it was several minutes before the chicken showed up. Apparently they forgot to put it on the salad! My flatbread was so hard I couldn't cut it and for $10.50 there were only two small pieces cut into quarters. I expected something a bit more substantial. Worse my pizza was barely warm.
We finished our meal with the warm pizza cookie, which I must say was by far the best part of the meal. Hot with melting vanilla ice cream and about a million calories of yum.
For a Saturday night, the restaurant had a good crowd, inside and out. They had a DJ playing music which was only slightly too loud and made us have to repeat ourselves for a conversation. It had a nice atmosphere but I wouldn't go back. Not allowing us to sit in the section where there was no one seated for at least an hour (but no reservations for that section), cold food and menu items left off, price versus quantity, and too loud are all too many strikes against it. With so many places to choose from you have to have a really good overall experiences and The Living Room didn't have enough to stay in the running for a future dining spot.
I would only give this place 2.5 forks out of 5.
Remember to always tip your bartender and server and drink responsibly.
Happy Dining,
Jayne
Visit Leslie's website
Menu for Murder
Twitter Instagram Facebook
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