Neutral ground Bar And Kitchen

We were generally pleased by our first visit to Neutral Ground, but this isn't a place I'd expect anybody to want to eat at regularly.The menu is too limited and the food too heavy (and the dining room too loud -- we kept asking our poor waiter to speak more loudly so we could hear her).If you read these Yelp reviews looking for what to order, know that the menu changes seasonally. i.e., today's THE FISH might not be the same dish as last month's THE FISH. Same with THE PASTA, etc.Our table had fish (rockfish), bird (chicken), pasta (rigatoni), and several types of salad. The salads were big and shareable, and not as exciting as the lists of ingredients would suggest. The bread basket was lame. The main courses were all interesting, rich with butter, and fairly mildly flavored.Well come back. Neutral Ground fills a niche in McLean, but it's definitely not a destination restaurant.

Disappointing. Food was unremarkable and service was amateurish. They were out of rockfish for The Fish dish and substituted flat fish option was a poor decision. The Bird (chicken milanese) was a schnitzel buried under a salad. Other dishes we tried have already been forgotten.Service was a shocking combination of unapologetic superiority and confusion. I entered as my party was being seated passing by two servers who were making negative comments about members of my party. Food and drink delivery always began with the question "who has the such and such?" As more tables were seated the service level declined.Really, truly, hoped for better.

Family-style worked out well with my three friends. Two dishes from Seconds, two from Thirds, and one from Don't Think Twice were enough to make us satisfied. Our favorite was the Fish, aka a branzino. The potato puree underneath it was amazing. You just got to watch out for the small bones in the fish. We finished off with the Sea Salt Pavlova for dessert, which was fun to chisel at and was a great combination of flavors. The restaurant was busy around Saturday dinner time. I'm not sure if that slowed down some of our service or the speed of our food coming out. Reservations are recommended! Lovely and bright decor as well.

Came here on a Friday night and the place is very loud, even with their sound dampeners. The food was ok, but this place is expensive. The tuna was really good but everything else was ok.

This restaurant has been only open since June and the food and service is on point like an established place. Great, friendly service from beginning to end. We started with the bread service and pimento cheese. The pimento cheese reminded me of being down south in Savannah, truly delicious. The pork chop was perfect. May have been the best pork chop I have had in many years. My wife enjoyed the crispy chicken and was impressed with the entree and would order it again. The restaurant was packed; however, the server made us feel right at home. If you are looking for great food in a casual atmosphere in McLean this is your place!

We were eager to try this place since we're fans of Bayou Bakery, David's other restaurant, but unfortunately, this one didn't quite hit the mark.Like others reviewed, it looks like an Anthropologie store inside. Cute decor and ambiance. A bit too bright IMO. I'd say darken the resto a bit. Tuna Croquetas: The batter was nice, but the filling was too mushy--tuna and potatoes just turned into a bland, unappealing mix. It could use more substance inside and a side dipping sauce to enhance the flavor.Crawfish Pasta: The celery in the sauce was overwhelming and masked the overall flavor. The crawfish chunks were good, but the dish needed more seasoning. I asked for red pepper flakes, but they didn't have any, which was disappointing.Wood Oven Roasted Oysters: Quite enjoyable. The Parmesan butter was a nice touch, and the bread for dipping was delicious.Lemon Icebox Dessert: The flavors complemented each other nicely.

The food was excellent. The service was good and the proprietor and chef were very friendly. I will be back - alot.

Had a very good experience at this McLean eatery. The town is in need of more upper scale eateries like NG, and the food, service, and ambiance didn't disappoint. We sat outside on a lovely evening so perhaps avoided the din that many speak of here. Our server, Alicia, was terrific and the bussers were attentive and friendly. The menu isn't too extensive but has something for everyone. We ordered a mix of things and split amongst us -- the fries (very good), a spinach and mushroom salad (excellent mix of shrooms), the pasta (interesting flavors) and bone-in pork chop (delicious). A nice mix of cocktails and ample selection of wines, too, which we enjoyed. A little on the pricey side of the spectrum but for this type of quality experience I'll gladly support this newcomer to a McLean restaurant scene in need of some class!

I overall enjoyed this place. But the service is terrible. I would definitely come back because I liked the vibe and I liked the food, but they really have a few serious areas of improvement.I started with the Dogwood cocktail, which was fine but a little more lemony that I would have preferred. The cauliflower appetizer was also fine--the sauce was good but it overall just tasted like eating plain cauliflower. The Bird, on the other hand--Oh. My. God. it was good. That sauce, WOW. I was licking my plate. And the panna cotta dessert with figs was really solidly yummy.Our waiter was pretty present and perfectly fine at the beginning of the meal. But a food runner brought us our dinners, and we never saw him again. I wanted to order a glass of wine but he wasn't there. He didn't ask if our meals were ok or if we needed anything else. So we finished our meals, and flagged down another employee to try to order wine and dessert. He returned to take our order, but couldn't give us any recommendations on the dessert. Then 5 minutes later came back again and said he had forgotten which dessert we wanted. Just not a great ending to what could have been a pretty good experience.

Really enjoyed a night out at this relatively new spot in McLean Rate the apps really highly and the portions large enough that you could get three or four plus one entree and be quite full. We enjoyed the cauliflower and the burrata special. The burger was fantastic as well. A bit like Le Diplomates.