matchbox Penn Quarter

matchbox Penn Quarter reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Review summary

1. A

   A

   Atlanta11 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 7 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 4

   Nice server but never came by to see if needed anything including more water
   

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2. J

   Jennifer

   Columbus11 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on 22 March 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   We had a nice time. Friendly staff. Food was good. We loved the arancini!
   

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3. K

   Karen VIP

   San Francisco43 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on 22 March 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Great good before the Caps game. Did a good job of setting up a table for 7 as we had reserved. Great server too.
   

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4. C

   Christian

   Raleigh2 reviews

   1.0

   Dined on 22 March 2025

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   It was my wife's birthday. With an event nearby at 4:30, I reserved for 3:15 at matchbox. At 3:04 pm, my friends check in for our reservation. The hostess says our 6 person table isn’t ready. Wait at the bar. At 3:11 pm, I'm texting my friend. Table isn’t ready. I arrive. I see my friends at the bar. Why aren't they at our table? I wait. The hostess talks to other guests. I call the restaurant. Easier than pushing to the front. The hostess says, "You aren't here, we gave away your table." I say, "I'm standing right in front of you" and start to wave at her. She sees me. Says, "We contacted you. You didn't respond." FALSE. I walk up to her to try to get a table. She continues blaming me. You didn't respond. I show her my phone. I responded AND they responded with "Great! We'll see you shortly." She says, "We called." At 3:21 pm, 6 minutes after my table was supposed to be ready. I texted them at 3:22! My friends were at the bar. Why didn't she get them? The manager walks up. “We gave away your table. You should've responded to the text.” I show him my phone. He doesn't apologize for wrongly accusing me. He says, "We gave away your table. You have to wait." My friends at the bar come to the hostess stand. I explain the hostess gave away the table. The hostess lies and says my friends WANTED to sit at the bar instead of getting our table. They clearly just didn't want to seat us. “You didn't respond to the text,” comes again, but you can't fake facts. Did they keep saying this to make us seem irresponsible to the people waiting around us? Maybe they were treating us this way because I'm a young black man and my friend who checked us in is Puerto Rican and Iranian? I assume this shouldn't matter in 2025, but it's hard to know seeing they were treating everyone else nicely. Another “You have to wait 30 minutes." With our event being at 4:30, I explain to my wife the situation. We frantically search Google to find a new place and leave. Worst part of our day.
   

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5. R

   Rob VIP

   Washington DC48 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on 18 March 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Matchbox is our main "go to" place in Penn Quarter in downtown Washington DC, especially before an event at Capitol One Arena or one of the nearby theatres. Good food at a reasonable price with good service.
   

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6. T

   Toni

   Tampa3 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on 17 March 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Both times I’ve been the pizza has been delicious, the service is good and the music is the best playlist!
   

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7. B

   Benjamin

   Pittsburgh1 review

   5.0

   Dined on 14 March 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Excellent staff with excellent food across the board. Will be recommending this place to my friends who happen to be stopping by in the DC area!
   

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8. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Nashville4 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on 9 March 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 5

   Our service was not good. We had 5 people at a 4 top which I didn’t mind but I had to ask for a plate and silverware for that fifth seat. No attempt at clearing appetizer dishes to make room for the entrées was made. We had to ask for every drink refill. We had to look like we were leaving to get the check picked up. On the positive side the appetizers and entrées came fast once we ordered. We had pizza crabcake sandwich and two chicken salads, one of which had twice as much chicken as the other. Overall, the food was great. I suspect maybe they were shortstaffed and our server had more tables than she was used to. It is expensive with fountain sodas at $4.50. Our total for 2 adults and 3 teens was $180 and very little food left over. Knowing these things I would go there again but not on a capitals game night.
   

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9. D

   Daneesha

   Washington DC1 review

   5.0

   Dined on 25 February 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   My server was an old coworker of mine. Her name is Joya she is the best.
   

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10. S

    Stephanie

    Atlantic City17 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 17 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5

    Service was great! All of our meals were delicious! The waitress was great with my dietary restriction!
    

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