Amphora - a mixed bag
Mar 25 '01
The Bottom Line A family-owned business with a REAL strange ambiance.
My husband and I have eaten at the Amphora Restaurant in Vienna, Virginia a few times, and each visit was progressively worse.
The first time we tried Amphora, we had a pleasant enough breakfast. The service was prompt, the food fine although not outstanding The decor is nothing out of the ordinary - imagine a darker Denny's with a bit of Greek flair. The attraction of the place - for us - was that it's in our neighborhood, it's not expensive, and it's open 24 hours.
The second time we visited it was quite late, and only one section of the restaurant was open. This section was heavily populated by smokers, and although we were seated as far from them as possible, our meal was overhung by a pall of cigarette smoke the entire time. I couldn't tell how the food was because I was so troubled by the smoke.
The third time we visited, I had a horrible meal. I had ordered eggs and corned beef hash, and the hash was inedible - great reddish clumps of sour-tasting meat mingled with potatoes and too many peppers. It was a dreadful-looking mess that took my appetite away just to look at it.
The fourth and final time we visited Amphora was actually scary. From the moment we were seated, my husband and I could both sense a peculiar tension in the air. A family seated near us was visibly and vocally unhappy with their dining experience, and something strange was going on between the largely male wait staff. I couldn't tell what the problem was, but it seemed like a fist fight was on the verge of breaking out - the waiters were snarling at each other and there was an occasional pushing match. We finally placed our order with a surly waiter, got our food and ate it (couldn't tell you what we ordered because we were both so eager to get out of there that we barely tasted our food). On our way out, we spoke to the manager about our experience, and his response was to shrug.
We haven't been back since.
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Epinions.com ID:
mrsmig
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Location: Vienna, Virginia, USA
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Professional stage actress based out of the Washington, DC area.
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