Firefly
Nov 21, 2004
(Humph)
I'm sorry everyone. I was really hoping to go to Firefly, have a great time with Amy, and write a really positive review about it. That's not gonna happen though.
I made the reservation for Firefly pretty far in advance on OpenTable, which I have to say is a great service and allows you to make a reservation without having to talk over a loud dining room. I don't know why, but for some reason I was anticipating Firefly to be a swanky restaurant, so Amy and I dressed up a bit. It turned out that we were overdressed - which is a good and a bad thing.
We had a reservation at 8:30. We were almost late because the police decided to close down Mass Ave for Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit. Our cab driver got so confused he froze up and didn't know what to do. We sat there in the traffic for about 5 minutes before Amy spoke up and asked the cab driver to find another way to the restaurant. When we walked in at 8:30 exactly, the hostess told us our table "wasn't quite ready yet", so we walked over to the window where you can observe the chefs preparing the meals. About 15 minutes later, a table opened up and we were seated. The restaurant was ridiculously crowded - pretty much standing room only.
After we sat down, it took a little while for the waitress to come over and ask us if we wanted a drink. That didn't really bother me too much, but what did bother me was the fact that Amy and I were practically having to yell across the table at each other. The noise level in the dining room was almost unbearable (Yes. I am exaggerating a bit, but seriously - loud). When the waitress came over, she could barely hear our order. I'm amazed she got our order right, she has better hearing than I.
Prices were usual for a restaurant of this type. Entrees range from $18 to $27 and appetizers range from $8 to $10. Looking around, I was spying the dishes that other people were ordering. They all looked pretty good. I saw a lot of people ordering the lamb minute steak which I almost ordered myself. I opted, instead, for the pork tenderloin ragout. Amy went with the roasted chicken with yellow tomato compote. Appetizers looked pretty good as well, but we just decided to skip them - opting for the mac and cheese and polenta as sides instead. BIG MISTAKE. I'm wishing I had at least tried the yellow squash soup, which I saw a lot of people ordering and seemed like it would have hit the spot.
Once the food came, I noticed right away that the food looked better than it actually tasted. My pork ragout could have been excellent, but the pork was overcooked and dry and the tomato sauce was just missing something. Amy's chicken had some interesting ingredients like yellow tomatoes. However, that did not mask the fact that it didn't taste as good as the roast chicken that we order all the time at our local Cafe Deluxe for $5 less. The mac and cheese was...mac and cheese, but there was nothing really special about it and I wished I had ordered the squash soup instead. Amy's polenta was just plain polenta. There was no seasoning in it, that I could taste. Again, at $3.50, this was not a huge loss, but it left me desperately wishing I was eating the Polenta Tartufo at Cafe Ole for a couple dollars more.
The glasses of wine we ordered were OK. I had a glass of zinfandel that I enjoyed and Amy had a glass of sauvignon blanc that she didn't really care for. She could barely finish it because it was too sweet. We probably should have sent it back and ordered something else. At $9 and $10 a glass, the wines were a bit overpriced. I can understand why some upscale restaurants charge this much for a glass of wine. I mean, at Galileo, you'll pay as much as $20 for a glass of wine. I just have a problem with paying that much for a glass of wine. It just seems a bit extravagant when you can buy a really good bottle of wine for $20. I probably shouldn't be talking though since I'm no sommelier.
For dessert, I tried the pear crisp. Amy didn't even want to bother (I could tell she wanted to leave), but I wanted to give it a chance. I should have listened to Amy though. The pears were undercooked in my opinion. For me to not like a dessert with pears in it says a lot. I love anything with pears.
The final bill came to $106.15 without tip. I looked at the bill, sighed, and got out my credit card.
Firefly
1310 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 861-1310
Map
Hours:
Sun - Sat: 7am-10am
Sat - Sun: 11am-2:30pm
Mon - Fri: 11:30am-2:30pm
Sun - Thu: 5:30pm - 10pm
Fri - Sat: 5:30pm - 10:30pm
Closest Metro Station: Dupont Circle
Dress Code: Casual
Reservations: Taken
Valet: $5
Don't just listen to me. See what other people have written about Firefly:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=mozclient&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&q=firefly+DC
That's so disappointing when the noise level is unbearable in a restaurant. If I wanted to holler at my date, I'd take him to a ball game, you know?
Posted by: Coleen | Nov 23, 2004 at 01:42 PM
My friends and I are horribly dissappointed in our latest trip to Firefly. We had been several times and always had great experiences. Not this time! We were talking up the rissotto to our friend who had not eaten there so much that by the time we sat down she did not even want the menu. Turns out they were out of the critical ingredients to make the dish that three out of the four of wanted. As if that weren't enough they also weren't serving the pork tenderloin that the fourth person wanted. The waiter left us with empty glasses looking around wanting a drink. Did he not want a tip? A table of four booz hounds should be a waiter's dream. The order of fries as an appitizer did not come. Two people got their salads two did not. Finally one person got their drink but not the rest of us. The edge of the table which was a drop leaf kept falling onto my friends lap. The remedy was disruptive and embarassing. A buss boy came with a roll of electrical tape, lifted the table cloth, ripped of the old tape, wadded it up put it by a salad on the table while he "fixed" the leaf. We called the manager over and explaned our experience thus far. In an attempt to please us he brought a bottle of champagne and with our meals when they finally arrived came and I quote "the dish we did not order" which was the pork raguot that was "as delicious as the tenderloin". None of the food was up to snuff but the "delicious" pork was anything but. The bill came with a pork dish and a bottle of champagne charge. We all thought the entire meal should be a house charge but instead had the two items that were clearly intended as peace offerings removed. We are not difficult people to please. All members of the crew at Firefly found a way to remove their establishment from our favorites list.
Posted by: Rhonda Key | Nov 29, 2004 at 12:20 PM
Wow. Sounds like your experience was a lot worse than mine. The service wasn't an issue with us We were mainly underwhelmed by the food.
Posted by: Jason | Nov 29, 2004 at 12:33 PM
Wow, these poor reviews don't match my many firefly experiences at all. I have been blown away by nearly everything I have ever ordered there, I love to sample the interesting things the chef puts on the ever changing menu.(right now they have an amazing cauliflower soup, and i don't even like cauliflower at all.). I have always had great service at the bar, where you can order the entire menu, and in the dining room. The bartenders and waiters really know a lot about wine,and can recommend a glass to go with any course.
I've never been on the weekends or Sundays, which can make most resturant's food and service go way downhill.Perhaps this was when the unhappy reviewers were there.
Try it on a Tuesday or Wednesday, still busy with regulars, but not as noisy, and better, more relaxed service.
Posted by: dupont circler | Apr 01, 2005 at 03:53 AM
"Poor reviews"? I'm sure you didn't mean that the way it sounded. I'll have to try it during the week like you said, but if a restaurant can't perform on the weekend, then they're gonna get leukwarm reviews.
Posted by: Jason | Apr 01, 2005 at 08:17 AM
I thought Firefly was decidedly oh-hummm, I just really couldn't recommend it...
Posted by: pat | Jan 11, 2006 at 08:20 PM
I remember being there a year ago. It was my first restaurant experience in DC (I come from France).
You are not exaggerating about the noise level. I left with a headache. The service was ok though. But I wasn't impressed by the food...
Posted by: Lalilala | Jul 08, 2006 at 10:50 PM