Founding Farmers Tysons

Reviews 3

BE

Ben Thompson

Update to a 4: Ratings for all my visits: 4, 3, 3, 1, 5. Multiple visits show inconsistency but not a downward trend like I thought before. After the visit that rated a 1, I was contacted by their marketing communication specialist who assured me the poor service experienced was not typical and they wanted to make it right so we gave them another chance. On our last visit, the service was impeccable, the food was delicious, and we had a wonderful time. Everybody has a bad day and service can break down sometime. It is the Founding Farmers ability and desire to recognize when they fall short, value customer feedback, and continually strive to improve that has made me a fan again. We really enjoyed their butternut squash soup, fig, ham and goat cheese appetizer, and their bacon avocado burger. Previous post: My first visit was a 4, second and third visit was a 3, and now last night was a 1. This place seems to be going downhill fast. Overall, service was slow. It took us 2 hours for dinner, 15 minutes to take our drink order and another 15 minutes to get our drinks. The server and manager appeared sincere, but service just failed on so many levels, even one that is probably a health code violation. Table of 11 experiences, starting with the worst: Guest 1) My brother in law ordered a steak that was 50% fat. It was 15 minutes before the server checked to see how the food was, and then he sent his manager over. She came over and very sincerely said that the steak definitely had too much fat on it and offered to bring something else because she did not want him to leave unsatisfied and hungry. He explained that since everyone was already halfway or more done with their meal, he would just take something fast, how about the crab dip? She said sure, we will bring that right out. 45 minutes later the server acted surprised it was never delivered, at which point everyone else was done eating so he said never mind, having had no dinner. About 5 minutes later a food runner or something comes and sets down a new glass of wine and runs off without saying anything. We thought oh, he was almost done with his wine and since they messed up his meal, they are bringing him another glass. My brother-in-law did not want it so my other brother in law tasted it. Maybe 5-8 minutes later the same food runner rushes by, grabs the glass of wine saying "sorry wrong table" as he runs off before we can grab him and say anything. We then watch in horror as he gives the glass of wine to another table and the person starts drinking it. That cant be up to health code to leave a drink at a table, especially for that long, and then serve it to another table. Guest 2) had to order his drink twice because it never came Guest 3) ordered a non spicy dish that was too spicy so she asked for milk, which was never delivered Guest 4) wanted cranberry juice but they were out, ordered crab cakes which were way too salty and she could not eat them Guest 5) ordered the plank salmon, which was cooked well but overly seasoned which ruined it. Plus, the bacon appetizer had some pieces that were served literally burnt, not all the pieces served were that way, just some. These were the only experiences I could hear at our table because it was so loud. Overall, Founding Farmers is very inconsistent with their menu items, their line cooks appear to be over seasoning most dishes these days, and their service is a chaotic mess.

MA

Mark Anzalone

I really wanted to like this place, I really did. Unfortunately, IMO, everything the WP review stated, as well as the consistent reasons for the low rated comments online, were pretty much spot on. At least 3 different times after food and drinks were ordered, the waiter had to return to tell us they were either out of a particular menu item, or an ingredient needed to make one of the drinks on their own drink menu. I ordered the meatloaf which I was assured by the waiter was excellent. Sadly, it was not just bad but downright objectionable - dry, crumbly and tasted almost like pure salt. Everyone else at the table agreed it was unacceptable. Now I take full responsibility for not sending it back. But I chose not to because it took so long for the food to come the first time or get drink refills, who knew how long it would take again? I would have held the others up and made the evening even more unenjoyable for everyone. My friends were unimpressed with their meals too but I did sample them and they were at least marginally better than the meatloaf. The plates were all picked up by the waiter, with no inquiry of why such large portions of everyones meals were untouched and didnt want to take the leftovers home. After a rather large bill for the evening was paid, we left wondering what it was we paid for. I actually was angry about the evenings experience for the $$ paid, feeling pretty much ripped off. What made it even worse is that 2 nights later, we went to Silver Diner and my GF ordered the meatloaf. I tried it and it was some of the best Ive had in a long time. So there you have it - if FF could have served me Silver Diner meatloaf, I would have been quite happy with my meal there. I just dont get all the buzz about FF. Like many other restaurants, they seem to survive on hype rather than a focus on the experience for the guest in terms of food or service. All of the issues we experienced point to no systems or training program to ensure consistency or accountability. There is another well known restaurant group in the area that we frequent regularly, and I am constantly blown away by the food quality and service by the management and staff. Bottom line, I always feel satisfied and happy when I leave there. They obviously have systems and standards in place and the focus is on the customer. So I know it is possible for it to be done correctly at a reasonable price point. You would think that with the amount of $$ that they have obviously put into the operation, they could focus a bit more on the reality of the product and customer experience rather than the concept. Simple and good usually wins every time over hype without having the goods to back it up. But maybe Im just not the target market for FF.

JO

Joan Burch

Very disappointing. Made a reservation knowing that they have ridiculous wait times otherwise. Unfortunately it didnt make any difference. Reservation was for a 7:15 special birthday celebration with 9 people incl my 83 yr old mother. The reception area was so crowded with others waiting for their "reserved" tables that we couldnt even stand together. Nor could we wait at the bar which was equally crowded with guests waiting. You could see that guests were annoyed and angry. After 15 min, we asked for a chair for my elderly mother. The staff complied & apologized saying 2 parties were finished & had paid their bills. Not much longer. Another 15 min..same answer. Another 15 min..same answer except this time they said something about a table w/ a beautiful chandelier. I would have been happy with a table with chairs! Ridiculous to WAIT 45 min W/ A RESERVATION. No offer of water, a glass of wine, a chair..nothing. An embarrassment as the host of the birthday party. We called another area restaurants and left to enjoy a delicious dinner. Ive eaten here several times, always a wait & the food just isnt worth it. One of my guests suggested we go there because most in my party of 9 had not tried FF. I thought a reservation would take care of the wait issues. It didnt. Before we left I asked one last time and then I let them know that we were leaving. The manager gave me her card & asked ME to call HER the next day so we could talk about coming back. Why would I consider coming back? In my opinion, the restaurant should be calling me, not the reverse. They did not deliver any service or caring about us or any of the dozens of people waiting. They are an experienced restaurant group who know how much time to leave between guests. Its been a constant complaint in their reviews. In fairness, FF did email me that night....with a generic cancellation of my reservation. Nice. Skip this one unless you have time to burn standing by a revolving door. There are better options in Tysons, McLean and Vienna.