Terrible experience with my team trying to eat there for lunch on a weekday afternoon. I understand it was busy, but we were seated as soon as we walked in so it couldn't have been that busy.First, we had no server. The hostess said to scan the QR code to order and pay. Fair enough. It would have been nice to have an option but oh well. All five of us had our orders in the system within 2-3 minutes. In about 40 minutes, one of us got her plain grilled cheese sandwich. In another 20 minutes, one more sandwich arrived and a cold grilled cheese. So we'd been there an hour and 3 of 5 orders had been delivered. The last two orders never made it. An hour and twenty minutes in and we had to leave to get back to work. Of course there was now a long line of customers doing the same thing and waiting to get refunded.There are a LOT of restaurants at National Harbor. Do yourself a favor and choose a different one. The only positive from this experience is now that I've tried eating at Public House, I'll never have to try again.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Bill Macchione
This new business model of self service is terrible. They never help you at the table and want tips for doing nothing. Could not get water or ketchup with a hassle
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Angela W
Service......what Service?!?! I can't believe no one waited on me and they expected an 18% tip! As much work as I did ordering my food, you should have tipped me.The shrimp and grits were fabulous! 30 bucks is kinda expensive though.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
Benjamin Pierce
What a strange place this was.The layout of this place really gives off the vibe that a member of Gen Z designed it.Service was almost non-existent, since ordering good and drinks is done via scanning a QR code with your phone to access the menu and payment. They do ask for a tip BEFORE you get your food and/or drink, which I personally really dislike.Aside from those negatives, when the food and drink was ordered it came out pretty quick, and it tasted great.I guess I'd give the place a four overall, because the service was quick and the food was good. Still, the place was kind of off-putting to me.I don't know man.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Public House Burger
Jessica H.
Maya was super nice and helpful! Seated a party of 12! Everyone around us denied service with a 3hr wait. She went above and beyond to make us feel welcome. The food was so delicious! We will be back!
C Thompson
Unfortunately the bartender was sick. Couldn't stop coughing and a coworker had to bring her some hot tea which sadly didn't seem to help. Must be understaffed as it seems she could have used some time off. Obviously this made some customers uneasy.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Tracey Cherny
They have a QR menu which is fine, but you really don’t have anyone to ask questions to unless you flag someone down which was not easy to do. We were unable to order drinks until we placed the entire order. I really don’t like this setup at all. It’s like self checkout at Walmart. Our appetizer came out 30 seconds before our meals. The food was fine but nothing special. The service definitely lacks. For the price, I want proper service and someone toActually check on us while eating.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Waffles
Rashida Waters
Good food , nice DJ on Friday nights and good drinks.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Duane Girard
We sat two non-rush hours and saw the waitress twice. She didn't even take our order - someone else did that when I finally stopped them and asked what was going on. Ended up ordering a drink four separate times before it showed up.By far the worst experience I've had in the DMV so far.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
A C
Spent a week in National Harbor for a work conference coming from Massachusetts and loved coming here for a drink and light meal when the days were done. Service was quick and friendly, good pricing, and the drinks were excellent. If only I lived nearby!
honestly, this was the worst dining experience I've ever had. not sure how this place gets so many good reviews. I am all for technology but when I have to order everything on my own with no waliter interaction while 6 staff members stand at the hostess table - and then have all the food for our party come out at different times. not to mention, paying over $100 for cafeteria grade food and then be prompted for a tip for no waiter. It was awful. never ever again. Avoid if you are in the area. spend your money at a place with good food and actual waiters.
David Coleman
The people that work here are very nice and attentive. The food was pretty good - I had a grilled chicken club. The environment is a little austere - definitely could be warmed up a bit. And the electronic ordering is ok for a beer or anything else standard, but if you want something else, what a pain. I would really prefer having a waiter take my order. Enough of a pain for me to try a different restaurant next time around. Hope the $$$ saved was worth having me shop around a bit.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Quenterra C.
The waiter was not fast pace. He tried to remember the order and was having issues remembering rather than writing it down. The food was not hot. There also aren't kid friendly cups for toddlers.
Cj C.
Very disappointing experience. Went here with four colleagues just for a drink after a few days of taking a bus full of college guys on tour. We were told Public House was open until 2am. It was 10:45pm and we just wanted a drink and maybe a snack, so this fit the bill. Soon after we arrived they announced the kitchen would be closing. We got our food before we got our drinks. The drinks came eventually. But about 11:10 we heard "last call".. did they really just say that? Not that we wanted more, but what? 10 or so minutes later, and to a restaurant that was half full, not loud, but just people enjoying a drink, they announced- we're closed- finish up and leave. Huh? Never have I experienced a restaurant kicking customers out that had already purchased food and drink, bizarre and very unwelcoming. But they meant it- I was able to have half of my $17 Manhattan, and so we closed out our tabs on the app, took our coats and left. Really poor taste, I won't be returning, and I would warn others that this establishment is not about the customer. 2 stars instead of 1 because our waitress was nice enough and did her job just fine.
Terrible experience with my team trying to eat there for lunch on a weekday afternoon. I understand it was busy, but we were seated as soon as we walked in so it couldn't have been that busy.First, we had no server. The hostess said to scan the QR code to order and pay. Fair enough. It would have been nice to have an option but oh well. All five of us had our orders in the system within 2-3 minutes. In about 40 minutes, one of us got her plain grilled cheese sandwich. In another 20 minutes, one more sandwich arrived and a cold grilled cheese. So we'd been there an hour and 3 of 5 orders had been delivered. The last two orders never made it. An hour and twenty minutes in and we had to leave to get back to work. Of course there was now a long line of customers doing the same thing and waiting to get refunded.There are a LOT of restaurants at National Harbor. Do yourself a favor and choose a different one. The only positive from this experience is now that I've tried eating at Public House, I'll never have to try again.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
This new business model of self service is terrible. They never help you at the table and want tips for doing nothing. Could not get water or ketchup with a hassle
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Service......what Service?!?! I can't believe no one waited on me and they expected an 18% tip! As much work as I did ordering my food, you should have tipped me.The shrimp and grits were fabulous! 30 bucks is kinda expensive though.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
What a strange place this was.The layout of this place really gives off the vibe that a member of Gen Z designed it.Service was almost non-existent, since ordering good and drinks is done via scanning a QR code with your phone to access the menu and payment. They do ask for a tip BEFORE you get your food and/or drink, which I personally really dislike.Aside from those negatives, when the food and drink was ordered it came out pretty quick, and it tasted great.I guess I'd give the place a four overall, because the service was quick and the food was good. Still, the place was kind of off-putting to me.I don't know man.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Public House Burger
Maya was super nice and helpful! Seated a party of 12! Everyone around us denied service with a 3hr wait. She went above and beyond to make us feel welcome. The food was so delicious! We will be back!
Unfortunately the bartender was sick. Couldn't stop coughing and a coworker had to bring her some hot tea which sadly didn't seem to help. Must be understaffed as it seems she could have used some time off. Obviously this made some customers uneasy.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
They have a QR menu which is fine, but you really don’t have anyone to ask questions to unless you flag someone down which was not easy to do. We were unable to order drinks until we placed the entire order. I really don’t like this setup at all. It’s like self checkout at Walmart. Our appetizer came out 30 seconds before our meals. The food was fine but nothing special. The service definitely lacks. For the price, I want proper service and someone toActually check on us while eating.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Waffles
Good food , nice DJ on Friday nights and good drinks.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We sat two non-rush hours and saw the waitress twice. She didn't even take our order - someone else did that when I finally stopped them and asked what was going on. Ended up ordering a drink four separate times before it showed up.By far the worst experience I've had in the DMV so far.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
Spent a week in National Harbor for a work conference coming from Massachusetts and loved coming here for a drink and light meal when the days were done. Service was quick and friendly, good pricing, and the drinks were excellent. If only I lived nearby!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
honestly, this was the worst dining experience I've ever had. not sure how this place gets so many good reviews. I am all for technology but when I have to order everything on my own with no waliter interaction while 6 staff members stand at the hostess table - and then have all the food for our party come out at different times. not to mention, paying over $100 for cafeteria grade food and then be prompted for a tip for no waiter. It was awful. never ever again. Avoid if you are in the area. spend your money at a place with good food and actual waiters.
The people that work here are very nice and attentive. The food was pretty good - I had a grilled chicken club. The environment is a little austere - definitely could be warmed up a bit. And the electronic ordering is ok for a beer or anything else standard, but if you want something else, what a pain. I would really prefer having a waiter take my order. Enough of a pain for me to try a different restaurant next time around. Hope the $$$ saved was worth having me shop around a bit.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
The waiter was not fast pace. He tried to remember the order and was having issues remembering rather than writing it down. The food was not hot. There also aren't kid friendly cups for toddlers.
Very disappointing experience. Went here with four colleagues just for a drink after a few days of taking a bus full of college guys on tour. We were told Public House was open until 2am. It was 10:45pm and we just wanted a drink and maybe a snack, so this fit the bill. Soon after we arrived they announced the kitchen would be closing. We got our food before we got our drinks. The drinks came eventually. But about 11:10 we heard "last call".. did they really just say that? Not that we wanted more, but what? 10 or so minutes later, and to a restaurant that was half full, not loud, but just people enjoying a drink, they announced- we're closed- finish up and leave. Huh? Never have I experienced a restaurant kicking customers out that had already purchased food and drink, bizarre and very unwelcoming. But they meant it- I was able to have half of my $17 Manhattan, and so we closed out our tabs on the app, took our coats and left. Really poor taste, I won't be returning, and I would warn others that this establishment is not about the customer. 2 stars instead of 1 because our waitress was nice enough and did her job just fine.
cool spot to hang out.