matchbox

We had a great time with our mid-day early dinner thanks to Dejuana (I hope that's her name). She was very knowledgeable of the menu and very kind to our party (4 moms, 1 baby, 3 toddlers). I ordered the chicken sandwich and it was good. It's not my typical food order but i definitely ate the entire thing so... it did not disappoint.

5 stars for the service; very friendly and helpful, 2.5 stars for the food and drinks. Unfortunately, the food was a bit below average for the price point. I ordered a cocktail at the bar; $14 for Jim beam a ton of ice and it was pretty sour. Just didn't seem worth it to me. Again, service was kind. We had a big party, and I really want to commend the waitstaff for managing everything so well! The peach lemonade was very sour and only had a hint of peach in it. Artichoke and spinach dip portion is pretty small, but the logistics of cutting the bruleed mozz top with a spoon was not easy. The dip and bread were fine. Arancini was decent; crispy outside, inside was a fine risotto texture, tomato sauce was chunky. Scallops were cooked ok, but the sauce was deeply overpowering. Sour; which felt like it was from a strong white wine. The sauce/mashed potatoes were one and the same so I tried to use my fork to separate the corn and bits from the sauce.

Msg to the mgmt and owners. Arrived for Sunday brunch and watched the staff walk by us 10+ times b4 asking the drink order. No real greeting or smile. Pls get them some help. I'm still waiting 15mins to put on n my order.

To Brian, the GM: Thanks for your response. I definitely intend to try again. The toppings were delicious so I'm hoping it was a fluke.

We finally got to this Matchbox...wanted to go sooner but, so many restaurants, so little time. In the past, we've been to other Matchbox restaurants including the Mosaic District, One Loudoun and the one in the Eastern Market area. In all of them, service was consistently good. This one in Reston also was good. One thing we liked about the Reston location was that the tables were better spaced than the others. For example, the Mosaic location was like eating in a restaurant in Manhattan. We were so close to a couple sitting next to us that we ended up engaging them in conversation. So...I give kudos to those who designed the one in Reston.We were here on a Saturday around 5 p.m. and the place was dead. No one was even sitting outside despite there being a large dining area that included its own separate bar. Inside, we saw one person sitting at the indoor bar.At the host station, a woman came by promptly and asked if we wanted to sit at a high top table or a regular one. We chose a regular table. She took us to an area and said to choose the spot we wanted. Our choice was a 4 top table which gave us room to spread out.I have to admit that at all the Matchbox restaurants, we end up getting the same thing --- 6 sliders cooked "pink" (as they put it) with American cheese. Plus we get a small Margherita pizza. Much as their entrees sound good, we can't resist the sliders and we know having the sliders and a main course would be too much food.Our server was prompt in getting to us. He was friendly and efficient. To drink, I had a watermelon lemonade while my husband had a lite beer. We gave our server our entire order at once. The drinks came out quickly. The watermelon lemonade didn't have much watermelon flavor, which is to be expected as the lemon flavoring is the more dominant of the two. Still it was a refreshing drink, sweet but not too sweet.One thing I have to ding them on --- both the sliders and the pizza came to the table at the same time. On other visits to different locations, the sliders always came first, then followed by the pizza.As always, the sliders were really good---juicy and flavorful. The pile of onion strings on top didn't disappoint as they were crispy and fried perfectly.The Margherita pizza looked more like a cheese pizza as we saw very little of the basil and there were no fresh tomatoes on it. In the end, the pizza tasted just fine so no complaints.We noticed that the place does a good takeout business as we saw kitchen staff more than once bring bags to the front of the place. Eventually, another couple was seated in our section. Perhaps it gets busier as the evening progresses. Definitely, we will return.If you park in "garage X", be sure to park in one of the reserved spots (which you will see after entering the garage). Hang on to your parking ticket and before you leave the restaurant, the person at the host station will validate it.

I just want to tell you David made my dayyyyyyyyyyy! I have been to Matchbox a lot. This by far is the BEST experience I have ever had. David went above and beyond in anticipating our needs. 10 out of 10! He has that special thing. I will be back to see him next week!

Made a reservation for an early dinner for 4 on a Saturday night at 5:30. It was pretty empty, so no problem seating us right away. Our waiter was friendly and attentive, and came out with drinks quickly. We ordered the spinach artichoke dip, the ginormous meatball and my son had a cup of cream of crab. The artichoke dip and fresh made chips were very good. My son enjoyed his soup. The meatball was just ok. It was a little spicy (not in the description) and had WAY too much garlic. It was also served with a large flat garlic bread.For dinner my daughter had the cheese pizza. I've always known matchbox for their pizza but she described it as "mid" (teenage speak for nothing special). My son has the chicken fettuccine and enjoyed it but he'll eat anything. Husband had the chimichurri steak frites. His review: "Good sauce but meat was dry and in pieces rather than whole steak which was not stated on menu and underwhelming."I ordered the crab cakes. The only plus was that there was no filler. The seasoning was overwhelming and took away from the taste of the crab itself. My biggest critique is the menu. It seems like the types of dishes are all over the place...is it seafood? Italian? American? I feel like they should do a few dishes well instead of many just ok. Not sure we would come back, other places to get better meals.

De'Yuana was amazing tonight! had great energy and great service. she'll treat you great

Routinely go to happy hour at this establishment. Usually the service is decent, but the ordering process is always flawed.. wrong order, order not taken correctly or mixup in the kitchen ....Thompson restaurants owns this facility and when attempting to use a gift card using the QR code (on the card itself,) it came up as invalid, forcing us to call the restaurant to place the order . But that's the thing, we've tried calling over five times in the last hour and no one is picking up. This place is going down hill.

Service was AWFUL today. Food took over 45 min to come out. Sat at the bar watching other patrons come in and leave due to no service at tables and bar. We sat with empty drinks and no explanation for the delay in service. The table behind us waited over an hour for food and ended up just walking out. Just absolutely awful service. The place wasn't busy either. When our food did arrive, my fries were cold and they weren't old bay fries like I ordered. Will never return.