Bonefish Grill

I’ve been to this location five times now and I’ve never been disappointed. The Bang-​bang shrimp will make a shrimp lover out of even those who can’t stand shrimp/​seafood. Honestly, the stuff is crack. The rest of the food is excellent as well and if you give the bartender a chance to be creative, you won’t be disappointed! And the staff are pretty attentive and friendly. As I live in Pentagon City, this has become one of my go-​to dinner locations when looking for a step up from Nandos or Noodle and Co.

I ordered the «filet mignon» tacos and they were awful. I know, why did I go to a seafood place and order meat? I’m allergic to sea food and it was a goodbye party for a coworker. The meat was tough and hard to chew and every other bit of the taco was subpar. The tortillas aren’t fresh made which makes a big difference in a taco. My coworkers agreed that their food wasn’t good either (they ordered sea food). I would avoid this place as the food feels generic and poorly prepared, if you like sea food you can probably get a better dish at one of the neighboring restaurants.

My family and I tried Bonefish grill for the first time last night. It was a pleasant experience and we are open to trying it again. the customer service was pretty good. we had the bang bang shrimp as a starter. definitely would order again. I had the lobster bisque… ummm it was ok, but a little too thick for my liking. my daughter had the chicken tenders from the kids menu, it was a good portion and the taste was good. my husband ordered the kobe burger, not a good choice. it tastes exactly like a burger king flame broiled burger (exactly). i ordered the fish and chips and it was delicious. it was so fresh and crispy. lastly we tried the doughnuts with sea salt caramel sauce. they were pretty good. In the future we will stick to their seafood dishes.

Thank you Wilson… your recommendations and customer service warrant 5 stars. The wood grilled Chilean Sea Bass Oscar style, lobster tail, truffle mac n cheese and asparagus was delish and the mule with bullet Bourbon, ginger beer and candied ginger was on point. We will definitely return.

After dealing with the crowds at Pentagon City Mall, I decided to grab a glass of wine and some appetizers at Bonefish. While this was not my first time at a Bonefish Grill, it was my first time at this location.
The restaurant was fairly empty for a Sunday at 6PM, and there were less than 6 people at the bar. Just for the ease of it, I opted to sit at the bar and eat/​drink. The bartenders were nice enough and were attentive, but not so much that it felt overwhelming. There were plenty of times, though that a refill could have been offered that was neglected. I wasn’t overly thirsty, so it wasn’t that big of a deal, but nonetheless there is a reason why I didn’t opt to eat at Champps. Overall, the service is 3.5 stars.
I ended up ordering a glass of Kendall Jackson chardonnay, tuna sashimi, and a cup of the lobster bisque. The tuna was good, but it could have been better. WAY too many sesame seeds on the outside of the tuna, and the slathered some kind of sauce on top that completely took away from the taste of the tuna. The tuna did taste fresh and was cooked at the right temperature. The lobster bisque was good, but it didn’t leave me wanting more. The consistency was good, but the taste was a bit bland. And, as unfortunately expected, the amount of lobster in the soup was very scarce. The only time I have ever had a crab or lobster type soup and had more fish in it than expected had been at up-​scale restaurants. Overall, the food receives 3.0 stars.
While I wasn’t blown away at the service or the food, this place isn’t one that I would avoid, and I don’t regret going to. BUT, with the cost of the items I feel that there are a few things that could be done differently to make this place great.

I listened to the bartenders talk about how they needed to stop drinking so much when they went out together. They seemed to care more about their conversation than the customers seated at the bar. Questions I had were answered quickly, so that they could get back to their conversation.
Came here for Happy Hour (HH) only to learn that they had no food items on the HH menu. Not even appetizers!
We ordered the Bang Bang Shrimp and was grossly saturated in oil; to the point that it started to upset my stomach.
For my entrée I ordered the Chilean sea bass with gratin potatoes. That dish was amazingly good. I loved the sea bass (my favorite fish) and the potatoes were so scrumptious. I think the food was not worth the price, in my opinion. I paid way too much for such small portions and lackluster service.
I don’t think I will be back.

Julliet? Very unprofessional manager.
I ate here yesterday and while the food was ok, it was not worth $ 20-​$ 25 per plate.
From the moment we got to the restaurant it seems out of order. The front revolving door doesn’t work.
We wanted to see the football game while we ate so we sat at a bar table. The cook brought us our menus and when I said «thank you» he said «yea» and walked off. Very awkward to say the least.
So we ate, got our check, out server was not too bad. We left and all mutually decided the place was ok but we all said that we probably wouldnt go back as there are tons of places in Pentagon where you can get better food for $ 20 per plate.
Btw bonefish is from the owners of outback steakhouse and its nothing but a glorified chain restaurant.
So it turns out today I cant fine my Credit Card. Last place I used it was Bonefish, so a quick phone call should figure that out right? Wrong.
Mind you, I used my business credit card so this was pretty important to me…
I called and someone name Juliet answered the phone, I told her about the card and she said she would go look. 10mins later, still on hold a lady answered as if it was a new phone call.
I told her I spoke with Juliet about my card and she said «ok well shes outside let me go get her.» 10 more minutes on hold so I hung up and called back.
When Juliet again answered the phone I asked to speak with a manager. Juliet claimed she was senior manager and so I asked whats taking so long for the credit card. She then said «WHAT CREDIT CARD?» I said «the one I just talked to you about… Green MT bank business card…» She then claimed she had no recollection of talking to me. Simply crazy.
With all the options in Pentagon, do yourself a favor and avoid a Chain fish restaurant.

Bonefish Grill has become one of my favorite places to eat. I’m not a huge seafood fan, in fact i prefer to avoid it, but Max likes a good fish here and there. It’s one of our go-to’s for a good date night because they have a great variety of dishes and desserts.
With any of their main courses you can get a salad or soup added on for around $ 3 – 5. The caesar is a great way to start off, but the Bonefish salad adds some olives and mediterranean flavors that are nice. The service here is always 100%, I never wait long for additional water or between dishes.
I usually go for the chicken dishes here, today going with the Lily’s Chicken or Teriyaki Chicken. This trip I wen with my friend Lily. The Teriyaki Chicken comes with a mango salsa that I was just not feeling at the moment. The dish was perfect, and lightly salted — the way I like it. I would much rather have a lightly salted dish that I can add to, than one thats already too seasoned.
I would suggest getting two dishes, an add on salad, one appetizer, and a dessert. For a date it’s perfect, you can split the salad and dessert and both have your individual meals.
If you’re looking for a great place to go for date night, where it’s intimate even when it’s crowded, and had a great selection of food and drinks I would suggest Bonefish. It’s a chain but the flavors are fresh and seasonal, and the service is exceptional. I’ll see you there soon.

First visit here. Harmony was our server, and a delight. She deftly took our orders while playing the perfect foil to our banter while making our decision on drinks and appetizers. The ceviche was pleasant, with shrimp, scallops and a mild whitefish. The lobster roll was nicely done with a tangy mustard sauce. The fish and chips were hot straight from the fryer; nothing earth shattering, the fish tasted farm raised and the tarter held no surprises, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Everything was filling and enjoyable. And did I mention our server was wonderful? We will definitely be back to try it again.

I like Bonefish and don’t think it’s overrated at all! Service is always fresh and friendly and I feel like everytime I go, they are «accidentally» overstocking appetizers to give to lucky patrons:) The food is good for what you pay for and the drinks are fantastic. I’m surprised ratings are so across the board!

VERY generous three stars here. This Bonefish is in my neighborhood and I want to see it thrive. But for the love of Jesus the staff needs some training. From the hostesses to the cooks, the whole place needs some direction. Each time I’ve come in something has gone wrong. Host/​hostess is clueless one time, texting the next. Heaven forbid you have a special order– that can’t be done. It’s getting to be an inside joke… we bet on what’s going to mess up with each visit.
I keep going back and anticipate this so whatever, I put up with it. But I’m sure they won’t last long.
So here’s the thing– you’re a chain. You literally have to just color in the lines. Bonefish is not a failing company so I know there hope here. Please, just read your Unilocal reviews. Your key to success is written by many patrons on here.

Much improved since my first visit. Service is very friendly but also very slow. The Cobb salad is excellent. Fish tacos were just okay. I was amused to see a «no guns allowed» at the front door.

I had never been to Bonefish Grill, but had heard that I needed to try the Bang Bang Shrimp. This being their signature item, I ordered the appetizer without even looking at the menu. The verdict: not for me. I understand why this item (fried shrimp smothered in a creamy siracha mayo sauce) is so popular; breaded, deep-​fried, and creamy play well for many people. But for me it was a little too much.
In addition to the appetizer, I tried the Lily’s salmon. It was a juicy, flavorful, grilled salmon filet topped with goat cheese and artichokes. It was good, but not out of this world.
Bonefish is a fine seafood chain, think a dressed-​up Red Lobster. Decent food quality at a pretty good value. I wouldn’t object if I was out with someone who really wanted to eat here; but at the same time, I wouldn’t go out of my way to return.

Bonefish is fine, if a bit… plebeian. I would give it an A+ for value — what you get for what you pay is very impressive, as it is very reasonably priced, both for food and for alcohol, and I thought service was acceptable and that the ambiance was very nice. That said, this is a national chain, designed for general audiences, middle class, reasonably priced, and its menu and preparation reflect that. Which means that this place is great if you’re married with kids and looking to take your family out for a nice dinner without breaking the bank. But if you’re a single snobby foodie urbanite from DC who is willing to spend a lot for cutting edge gourmet made with all fresh, wild caught, local organic foods (which I am) you’re going to find it very, very meh.
The wine selection tells the whole story. It was all decent enough wine at very reasonable prices, but none of it was challenging. It was a wine list for the La Crema crowd — people who like smooth, sweet, buttery chardonays. A wine snob who likes robust, challenging, complex multifaceted wines with dryness, minerality and intensity would probably cry a little.
Basically it’s slightly fancy but within-​reach seafood for the masses. Seafood for people who like Network television and pop music.
I’d put it on par with Legal Seafood in terms of taste and quality, and maybe a bit ahead of Legal for price and ambiance. Behind McCormick & Schmick on quality, but also more affordable. Not even comparable to my favorite seafood places in Boston, nor is it on the same spectrum as Old Ebbitt.
Getting more specific about our food — my friend and I split the two lobster tails entrée for something like $ 28 — these were large Maine lobster tails, so good value. They came with snap peas and golden fried potatoes, and drawn butter. She then got a side salad with avocado and arugula and I got the coconut shrimp appetizer. The snap peas, potatoes and salad were all really, really good. The coconut shrimp was OK — the shrimp were large and tasted fine, I thought the coconut preparation and chili dipping sauce were bland and compared to the 8,792 other restaurants where I’ve had the exact same dish maybe stood out for shrimp size but not flavor.
I was unimpressed with the flavor and texture of the lobster — after all, you get what you pay for. I thought it was a bit flavorless and overcooked. It was probably frozen at some point. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the tail meat was rubbery, but it was definitely not moist, succulent, light or velvety, or any of the traits I have come to associate with good lobster. And the drawn butter was… something was off. To me it tasted kind of cheesy, and I considered that it might have gone off or something.
Anyway, I probably ordered wrong — I shouldn’t have expected lobster tails to be more than mediocre in a chain restaurant at that price. I bet that if I had ordered a woodgrilled piece of fish, prepared very simply, or the shrimp pad thai I’d been eyeing for, like, $ 13, I probably would have been more satisfied.
Anyway, to conclude, I recommend this place if you’re looking to take out your family somewhere that has the trappings of a special occasion but isn’t ridiculously pricey, if you’re just hanging out casually in the area and feel like treating yourself to a reasonably priced meal at a real restaurant instead of Chipotle, or if it’s date night with your long-​term romantic partner and you want to go somewhere ambient but still keep things easy and casual. I would not recommend this place to impress a first date or a business associate — especially if that person is a food or wine snob — or if you’re otherwise looking to go gourmet.

Ate at the bar, great service by Dougie, delicious food. I had the filet mignon, cooked medium perfectly. The Tropical Heat and French Martini were awesome! We had the pot stickers for a starter and they are so flavorful!
The donuts for dessert were incredible. Caramel and fresh whipped cream topped them off.

Walking through the revolving door on a nice bright sunny early afternoon, I like the dark setting with overhead table lighting. To your right as you enter is a long bar complete with matching bartender pouring drinks of your choice. There’s a Flat screen up above behind the bar. Down the center are tables and to the left you have traditional booths.
There’s another larger room to the place on the other side of the wall adjacent to the booths, equipped to seat a bunch of folks with traditional tables.
The staff is neatly dressed, fairly friendly, and the place wasn’t crowded so it’s hard to judge the responsiveness but the service was better than adequate.
The food was nicely presented, the fish, flaky light and seasoned just right without a fishy flavor which means it was pretty tasty. The mango salsa was delicious.
Not bad for a late lunch and will surely visit here again.

First time going wanted to check out the bang bang shrimp everyone raves about. And it was actually delicious! Best thing i had there. For my entrée, i had the Basil Fettuccine and it was so bland and disappointing.
I did enjoy the red sangria and our server was very pleasant and attentive.
I would go back just for HH and the bang bang shrimp

Better than I remembered Bonefish ever being, so this location is solid. We came in with a bunch of gift cards from the holiday (lol) but were impressed.
Service:
Host was good, and server was good, except he did something wrong and we got two sides of mashed potatoes instead of a side of asparagus. He fixed it and we got our steamed asparagus afterwards. He was also nice.
Atmosphere:
Dimly lit, cool environment. Don’t sit by the revolving door in the winter though… It was a bit drafty, but the host helped move us when we said it was cold.
Food:
* Kate wild north Atlantic haddock — the breading was nice and crispy, the fish was juicy and well textured, and I loved the mashed potatoes. It also came with some of the best prepared spaghetti squash– very interesting ginger flavor.
* Whole grilled Mediterranean branzino — delicious. The fish came whole and crispy with a tasty sauce/​dressing. Was definitely fresh.
* Wood grilled Alaskan king crab legs — Yea were were feeling the hunger, so we ordereda third main as our «appetizer» … These king crab legs were pretty awesome. Except as I mentioned before, there was no asparagus at first, but this was rectified. It also never came with the butter… We weren’t going to use it anyway, but I felt like each item should come as advertised.
My biggest complaint was the bread (as other people mentioned). We didn’t get our bread till we were 90% done with all our food. I loved the bread and dip though. I think it’s the exact same dip at Carrabba’s. We like to call it crack dip… We finished the whole loaf of bread and all the dip haha.
All in all, for a chain, Bonefish really delivers. Makes it a good go-​to.

Service must have improved since the earlier days? We had a 6:30 pm reservation on Saturday and got there 10 mins early and was seated rightaway at a booth by the bar (per my request). The hostess wished me a happy birthday as I noted it’s my bday on the reservation. Our waiter was very nice and friendly. At one point we had to send back a martini as we didn’t like it, he was very nice about it!
It is strange they ask if you want the free bread or not. It’s one of my fav at bonefish, don’t need to ask! Bring it on!
The food is just as good as the other Bonefish, really if you’ve been to one you’ve been to all. Cocktails are different at every bonefish it seems, which is why we tried some new ones and didn’t like one of the ones.
Overall the point of this review is to say they have improved their service and I would come back with no hesitation! Parking at Pentagon row is annoying as usual. It would be nice if they validate parking.

Thankfully try #2 at this Bonefish location went a lot better and we had a much more positive experience. Following my first time at Bonefish Grill, Bonefish reached out to me and sent me a gift card to try them again. I also spoke at length with the individual who is in charge of the Bonefish Grill locations in this geographic area and she said that she was going to pass on my comments to management so they could improve. Based on my latest visit, they had corrected a lot of the issues we had with our first visit. Hopefully this is a sign that this new location has moved beyond its initial opening issues and this is the service that will occur during future visits!
We had made reservations and were quickly shown to our table when we checked in. Our waitress Carly was wonderful and was a HUGE improvement over the waitress we had last time. She was extremely attentive and friendly and checked on us numerous times throughout the meal. When we asked for boxes at the end of the meal to pack things up, she brought us containers for the bisque, boxes for the sandwiches and a bag to carry it in. Thankfully it didn’t take 3 times like during my last visit to try to get boxes that could fit what we wanted to take home with us, Carly was on top of everything.
Throughout the meal, our water glasses were promptly refilled without us having to flag anyone down to get more water. Dishes were quickly collected from our table after we finished our appetizer and our meals.
As I stated in my last review, I really like the food at Bonefish Grill, which is why I’m so happy that my second trip to Bonefish went so much better service-​wise. I got the lobster grilled cheese that comes with a cup of lobster bisque and a side salad. My friend got the seared NY Strip Bowl which she loved. While I teased her about getting steak at a seafood restaurant, she said it was delicious and one of the better tasting pieces of meat she’s eaten in the area. Sadly, they no longer offer the seasonal s’mores flatbread that I was looking forward to trying, but they did have a pumpkin crème brûlée that we shared for dessert and I highly recommend if you love pumpkin and want a perfect Fall dessert. Keeping with the Fall theme, I ordered the Fresh Apple Martini that consisted of Fall apples, vodka, a touch of honey and was topped with cinnamon. It was delicious!
Thankfully I can now say that I recommend going to this Bonefish Grill location for both the food and the service!