Farrah Olivia

2 Reviews on “Farrah Olivia”

• Tpwalt2

  Major Disappointment. My wife and I were fans of Farrah Olivia when it was located in Old Town Alexandria frequently stopping in for dinner on the way home from work and were disappointed when it abruptly closed due to a lease dispute. We had heard that it had re-opened as part of another restaurant, Kora sort of an odd concept and were interested in trying it, hoping it was as good as it had been. We decided to cancel reservations in the Tasting Room of a 4 star restaurant in Old Town for our anniversary and give the new Farrah Olivia a try.It was literally a disappointment from the moment we walked into Kora. Although we had made our reservation well in advance and could easily have been notified, we were informed that the space allotted for Farrah Olivia had been taken over by a private party. We were instead seated in the main room of Kora. Now, that would have been fine if we were there for pizza, but it was our anniversary and we were interested in fine dining. The tables were rustic, i.e. beat up, with no table cloths, and the area itself is wide open with very high ceilings and a high decibel level, a very non-romantic setting. The folks at the table next to us were dressed in t-shirts and cutoffs, and the woman had one leg extended onto the chair next to her, her sandaled foot within touching distance of our table. My wife ordered a Kir Royale and instead of the classic French cocktail she got something that resembled Kool-Aid mixed with flat sparkling wine (Im sure it was not Champagne). We opted to order a la carte since the waiter told us that under the so-called make your own 5 course tasting menu, we could not order more than one item from each course so much for make your own. Unfortunately, the food itself was very uneven. The Super White Tuna was as tasty as we remembered it, with bonito replacing escolar, and my grilled quail was quite good. My wifes luck was not nearly as good, though. While her beet salad was excellent, the fritter that sounded so good was mushy and mediocre, and she had to send back her salmon entre because, despite heavy spices on the outside, the fish itself was void of taste. She opted for the cheese course for dessert and found it unmemorable.Towards the end of our meal, an assistant manager stopped by the table to ask us if we had enjoyed our evening, and was appropriately appalled when we expressed our dissatisfaction, and agreed wholeheartedly that we should have been notified about the changed in venue, especially since they were aware that it was our anniversary. He assured us that GM/owner would contact us the next day to make things right. That was three weeks ago, and we still have not heard from her.

  September 1, 2012, 3:40 pm

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• Tmalyutin

  One of the best in DC. As some reviewers said this place is unique in any aspect of fine dining. Absolutely AMAZING and unusual combinations of flavors and textures. Very creative ways of presentation, impeccable service and wonderful ambiance.It is pricey but worth every $ you spend. You won’t understand how PRICELESS this experience is until you try it. Warning to lovers of BIG quantities on the plate: this place is not for you. This doesn’t mean that you’ll leave hungry, but your criteria of good food won’t be satisfied.For all the Foodies: HURRY to try this place, you won’t be sorry.P.S. We visited this place again recently and had a Restaurant week menu. We were VERY pleased with our experience. Amazing flavors, wonderful service and ambiance and a great value with RW prices. I wish they would have a choice of 3 course Prix fix menu on regular basis. It would make this restaurant much more affordable for many people who’d like to visit it more often but can’t because of expensive and only choice of 5 course PF.

  April 28, 2012, 11:03 pm

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