DESCRIPTION: Stick to the buffet, it a good deal and good. The people sitting next to us ordered off the menu and the food was not value plus it was cold and had to be sent back.
DATE: 2001-02-27
FOODRATING : 6
SERVICERATING : 6
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 6
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Cajun shrimp.

An incredible selection of ordinary food
DESCRIPTION: My SO and I went to Phillip's on a Saturday afternoon. We arrived at about 2:20pm...still in time for me to try their brunch buffet. They offered a nice selection: pancakes, waffles, bacon, blintzes, eggs benedict, potatos, creamed chipped beef, biscuits...but timing is everything. The bacon was cold; the eggs benedict were shrunken and dried out; the pancakes looked stiff - so I didn't sample any of these dishes. The blintzes were ok; the creamed chipped beef was pleasant enough (I appreciated that it wasn't salty, as is usually the case when I order this out). The potatos were tasty, but a bit soggy, and barely warm. My SO made the wiser choice and opted for the lunch buffet. He tried several dishes, including crawfish, creamed spinach, jambayla, and a couple of other items. He pronounced everything "ok; not bad, but ordinary." We both visited the dessert station. I opted for the peach cobbler and the cherry cobbler; both tasted like heated canned fruit topped with packaged crumb topping. Himself chose cheesecake and chocolate cake. The verdict: ordinary. When I walked around and checked out the variety of offerings, I was impressed by the sheer quantity of items that were available. Several looked quite good, and the atmosphere of the restaurant is such that we might consider going back when we're in the neighborhood. The real surprise during our visit was the service. Himself had been to Phillips before, and his experience had been that the service is really bad, that he'd had to wait too long for a drink order or anything else that he asked for. Given this experience, we decided to eat at the bar. Our bartender was quick, friendly, attentive, responsive and she made a great Cosmo. Phillips has a wonderful view of the river (Himself says watching the lighted boats at night is delightful), it's clean, it's charming (I was startled to discover that some of the tables in an adjacent area had bases made from antique Singer sewing machine pedestals). It gets crowded quickly when the tour busses arrive; there is plenty of off-street parking. It's not a good deal for weekend brunch or lunch ($21.95, as opposed to $18.95 weekdays), but it's reasonable for dinner if you want to eat a lot of ordinary food.
DATE: 2003-06-12
FOODRATING : 4
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 8
OVERALLRATING : 6
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Creamed Spinach, Brunch Potatos

Not Gonna Last
DESCRIPTION: Service was of the poorest I've seen here in D.C. Left the restaurant at 11:30 after being seated at 8:00. Waitress was very young and inexperienced (and kept wiping her nose!). When asked what Cabernets were available, she responded that they have a large selection of Merlots. She took our wine order before even bringing us dinner menus. We had four rounds of bread before the very tasteless, but "beautiful" (according to wait staff), appetizer even showed. Bottle of wine was finished before dinner made it out. Dinner was a la carte - entrees come with nothing more than the item listed on menu (if you order fish, that's all that will be on the large, naked plate). Steak was drowned in too much seasoning/sauce, fish was very fishy and greasy. They forgot to bring our 12 dollar side item. Service was unbelievably poor after opening only three months ago; I do not expect that they will be around much longer.
DATE: 2003-09-29
FOODRATING : 4
SERVICERATING : 2
AMBIANCERATING : 8
OVERALLRATING : 2
RECOMMENDED DISHES : NOT the fish!

Wow!!
DESCRIPTION: Absolutely beautiful restaurant. The bar is a top see and be seen hot spot. The view of the Capital is inspiring. The menu is a food show. Took my father for a steak, and think I m good for a few years. He still hasn t stopped talking about it. I could spend years going through the wine list with the Sommelier. When you need to impress.
DATE: 2004-02-14
FOODRATING : 8
SERVICERATING : 8
AMBIANCERATING : 8
OVERALLRATING : 10
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Just about anything

mmm mmm Goood
DESCRIPTION: From beginning to end, the experience was wonderful. The Lobster just melts in your mouth. Menu is a bit hard to interpret...so dont be afraid to ask questions... PS. Check out the wonderful knife shapeners at your table when you arrive.
DATE: 2004-02-17
FOODRATING : 8
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 10
OVERALLRATING : 8
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Lobster

Something Missing
DESCRIPTION: This place has most everything to rank in the big leagues of steak restaurants nationally EXCEPT a decent wine list - very unexceptional, not a single Spanish wine, a number of adaquate offerings but little of any excitement. Moreover, in more than a half dozen visits I've never encountered anybody who is knowledgeable about wine. Unfortunately I now know that I can't get everything I want from a blowout steak dinner at Bobby Vans. And what a pity because I love their Porterhouse.
DATE: 2003-10-08
FOODRATING : 8
SERVICERATING : 6
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 6

Great steak, but otherwise a disappointment
DESCRIPTION: My husband and I loved both our steaks. However, that was the only thing we loved. And that was after I sent my steak back to the kitchen because it was undercooked. My baked potato was like the ones served in school cafeterias and my crabcake appetizer was absolutely horrible. At $16, it is way overpriced. There were crunchy pieces of shells in it, and it's not even lumpmeat crab! In addition, there was an extremely loud and obnoxious group seated right next to us. I know this is a tricky situation for restauranteurs, as they do not wish to offend either party, but seeing as the restaurant was not even half-full, they should have offered to move us to another table. Bottom line, if you just want a piece of meat, go here. If you want a side dish, good service and decent choices for wine to go along with it, skip this place.
DATE: 2005-02-08
FOODRATING : 4
SERVICERATING : 6
AMBIANCERATING : 2
OVERALLRATING : 4

Overpriced and Disappointing
DESCRIPTION: The service was terrible. It took them 15 minutes to shuck 1/2 dozen oysters. Steak came, but didn't see waiter again, for 20 minutes to ask for sour creme for potato. When going to the bathroom I was almost run over by an overzealous kitchen hand with a laden aluminum cart. The steak was good, but nothing exceptional. I would not recommend this excuse for a restaurant. If you're going for steak, try somewhere else.
DATE: 2005-05-05
SERVICERATING : 2
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 4

An unpleasant experience
DESCRIPTION: I recently went to Kinkead's with a friend of mine. We are college students who enjoy trying different places around DC. We went in late one evening for drinks and desserts. We were told only people who ordered full meals could eat in the diningroom and that we should sit at the bar. The bartender was very unwelcoming. We felt like we were major inconveniences to him. We left feeling totally upset with this experience. Never before at the many restaurants we have been to were we treated so poorly or left feeling so unhappy. The only reason we could come up with that he would have treated us that way was because we are young and perhaps felt that we weren't worth his trouble. Shame on him. I don't recommend other young people try this establishment. It's not worth being treated like second class citizens.
DATE: 2004-02-25
FOODRATING : 10
SERVICERATING : 4
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 2

Consistantly good -- no bull!
DESCRIPTION: During the work week, Bullfeather's is packed with Hill staffers and their friends. On weekends, it becomes a neighborhood treasure, where good food and good service go hand-in-hand. Rod and I live just around the corner, so when we've had a day full of errands, we often walk the few paces necessary to find good food quickly. Also, when we have friends visiting from out of town, it's a great place to take them to give them a real flavor of Capitol Hill. Bullfeather's never disappoints. Rod was unexpectedly surprised by the prime rib and he waxed poetic over the seafood cakes. I'm more predictable. If I'm in Bullfeathers, I order the Bull burger. Even on busy nights -- last night, the kitchen got an order for 30 steaks just before our order got submitted -- it's fresh, cooked to perfection, and loaded with all the goodies that make it the signature house burger. We like the Danish onions so much that we often order them "to go" when we're cooking burgers or steaks on our grill at home. Service is always top notch...special kudos go to Mara; we generally just sit at the bar to eat, and she gets it right and does it well each and every time. I dislike packed, noisy places, so we stick to weekends, but folks who like to rub elbows with Hill staffers will really like weekday lunches, happy hours and dinners here. Note: There is no smoking in the restaurant during lunch hours.
DATE: 2003-05-04
FOODRATING : 8
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 8
OVERALLRATING : 8
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Bull Burger, Seafood Cakes