Thanks to those who responded to my questions about the restaurant at the Landsdowne Resort out in Ashburn. My wife and I ended up going there, and it was fairly disappointing. They have about 3 options for dining. A pub-style place upstairs (main floor actually), and 2 restaurants downstairs- The Potomac Grille, and the Riverside Hearth. Both my wife's friends and the LAnsdowne 'flyer' she picked up somewhere indicated the Riverside was the more "formal" of the eateries, so we chose to dine there. I think the one respondant hit the nail on the head- the "ambiance" seemed institutional and the food very uninspiring. The main dinner option appeared to be the buffet, which included appetizers and deserts along with main course options on the buffet row. The desserts were very standard buffet- we didn't even bother. Appetizers non-descript with chicken-rice soup as the soup. I suppose the main course options *sounded* interesting enough, but we went up and looked, and I really didn't want to pick out my dinner from dome-topped warming cannisters, which looked like standard hotel lunch. So we opted for the ala carte menu, which offered about 5 or 6 main courses. A pork-tenderloin option sounded half interesting, although the description of "served with wilted collard greens" turned me away. We both decide to play it safe and go for the Prime Rib. - Very disappointing. Would much more highly recommend Orleans House in Rosslyn. And then there was the crying children. Now don't get me wrong, I like kids, have a couple of my own, and have taken them out to dine frequently. But at 9:00pm there was still one crying in the restaurant- not a formal atmosphere in the least. Perhaps in retrospect, we should have tried the Grille instead (given we chose to dine at the resort). We found it on the way out. In my opinion, it looked the more "formal"- black and silver and glass surrounding, a little smaller, more subdued lighting, and seemingly all adult clientele. The menu looked much more interesting as well, with numerous grilled seafood, chicken, and beef dishes which at least sounded better. The hostess in there remarked that Friday and Saturday nights they usually fill up, whereas the Riverside Hearth was much larger, and more empty than full. Live and learn.
Washington, DC