Le Mediterranean Bistro

My husband and I came here for dinner tonight and had a wonderful time. The service was absolutely fantastic and food was delicious. I had the rack of lamb and it was amazing. I highly recommend this dish to anyone who comes here. The restaurant is very accommodating to people with gluten allergies. The menu states which items are gluten free and vegan. I cannot wait to return!

Had a lovely lunch today. Mussels were perfectly done and the beet salad was refreshing and beautifully presented. I highly recommend this place for a quieter venue. Small but varied menu. We ate 4 selections and everything was great! Truly!

My family went to Le Mediterranean Bistro for a birthday dinner but had an appalling experience with the mode of payment that turned what would have been a good evening into the most uncomfortable one. This left a bitter taste in our mouths and we will not go back.
Just when we tucked into our desserts the waiter approached as with his cell phone saying he had just received a call their credit card machine was not working and he could not accept cards for payment. Meanwhile, we had witnessed other guests paying with a card. We offered a check but he said they don, t accept cheques and he would show us a nearby ATM machine to get cash. This was late and a bit of a scary walk. Anyway when we paid this large amount in cash he took it outside the dining area and said the cash was short. We proved to him that was not possible.
He did not give us a receipt and when we asked he said the register was closed and the bin had been emptied. This was now becoming a bit scary so we left. There were very few people at the restaurant and by this time everyone else had left.
We have never experienced anything like this in any restaurant. Is this normal? legitimate?

I wanted to love this place… Ambience is great, and it seems nothing but lovely when you walk in the door. I wanted the moules and a glass of Viognier… After a slight delay in service, the waiter came to take our order and while ordering, we find out they are out of both. It would have been nice to find this out prior to reviewing the menu, or even simply right before ordering rather than as we were placing out order, but things happen. The waiter seemed annoyed that I then needed another minute to look at the menu, and told me I should have come earlier if I wanted the mussels. We re-​reviewed the menu and finally decided on a glass of Pinot Grigio, a glass of the dry rose, a French onion soup, hangar steak and frites, and seabass. Delicious bread was brought to put table. Onion soup was excellent, as were both our wines. The steak was good. The seabass was overcooked, and over spiced in such a way that the seabass flavor didn’t come through at all… It could have been cheap tilapia for all I know, because you could not taste it at all. Just salt and cumin. We never let the waiter know because he never came back to check on us, and initial interactions had been cold and stand-​offish.
Overall, really wanted to love it, but the service was so poor, and the server was standoffish during the the few interactions we had with him. This, combined with one of the two dishes bring borderline inedible, overshadowed an otherwise adorable restaurant with very good (but not spectacular) food and wine. We will not be back.

My brother raves about this place all the time, and finally last night I got to try it! I was absolutely blown away! The location is in the middle of old town Fairfax and is small and unique. I really loved the atmosphere here. It’s a smaller restaurant so it doesn’t get too packed our loud. They have a huge chalk board on the back wall with the socials written on it, I thought it was really cool!
I’m not always the most adventurous person when it comes to food, but they made it easy here. For the very first time in my life I ate snails! Whattttt? And they were delicious! We also had a eggplant salas dip and a cheesy dip that was amazing on their warm baguette. We also got a salmon appetizer that was fresh and light, so yummy!
For dinner all four of us tried a different meal and no one left unhappy! I got a Moroccan chicken dish that was chicken, wrapped in a light pastry sprinkled with sugar. It was so delicious and plated beautifully. Other dishes we had were the rack of lamb, a trout dish and scallops. Again, all good according to the 3 others dining with me.
I highly recommend this place for a nice date night out or celebration. I look forward to trying more exotic dishes here in the future!

Free parking lot across the street for when the cramped spaces attached to the small restaurant are full. Muted bistro décor with plenty of natural light. Polite service from the one person who was very efficiently working the entire front of house. Sazerac had more absinthe than a rinse’s worth, so we abandoned liquor for wine. Table bread was reasonably crusty, served with a creamy garlic chive butter.
Bistro escargots emerged in a kady bowl, tender out of the shell with two types of sliced mushrooms, diced new potatoes, lots of minced garlic, and roiling butter. Entrees were boldly flavored and cooked close or at the requested meat temperatures. Shrimp in the risotto beneath the delicate sole meuniere were almost overcooked, but overall enriched by the beurre blanc. Pork loin steak had a nice crust with a balanced amount of blue cheese in the potato mash that built into a robust aftertaste with the light moat of mustard sauce. Rack of lamb was encrusted with pistachio dust on one side, seared after slicing, and laid on a soft mound of Moroccan-​spiced ratatouille with brightness from olive jus. Bread pudding was dense and eggy, with not quite enough caramel to coat each bite, a liberal round of whipped cream on top, and ripe banana slices embedded in the dessert that were turning a little grey in places.
Three and a half stars. It’s pretty fairly priced on the moderate end for the suburbs, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for coupons. A little disappointed to see that some of the menu items I had ogled on the website menu were not available (lobster ravioli, Moroccan cassoulet, lamb tajine). We might pop in again for a French onion soup, foie de canard, or chicken pastilla.

My boyfriend and I came here on Sunday, April 27^th. What we thought would be a nice meal quickly turned into a week long nightmare. I eat out a lot, and normally don’t write mean Unilocal reviews, but this place deserves it.
First, before we can even sit down, the waiter asks if we are using a Groupon. I replied yes, to which he proceeds to lecture me that since I made reservations online, we couldn’t use the Groupon because it «won’t work» with online reservations.
Nice try — We use groupons regularly to try out new places (or to reduce the cost for some of the extremely overpriced places around here) and make reservations online all the time. It has never been a problem anywhere else that uses OpenTable.
I then informed the waiter that I DID try to call, but no one answered the phone (they don’t open until 5) so I made the reservation online. Then he says «well just this once I will cancel the online reservation and put it down that you called» Ummm wow what great customer service! There was ONE other table occupied in the entire restaurant and this guy is giving me shit about my reservation? I kind of wish he had refused to take the Groupon so we could have walked out then and there, and saved ourselves the trouble of what was going to happen in a few hours.
Our meal tasted fine, I had the scallops and boyfriend had the steak. We had wine, dessert, overall seemed like a nice meal.
Around 11:30 that night, I woke up with stomach cramps. Thought maybe my stomach was just upset.. .. Long story short, the next thing I know I am spending the next 7 hours in the bathroom; vomiting, diarrhea etc. I couldn’t even keep small sips of water down. Once I finally stopped vomiting at 8 am the next morning, I was able to get some sleep. However, I ended up missing 2 days of work and an important project for my graduate class. I’ve had food poisoning before, but nothing this severe.
Luckily, I had an annual checkup with my doctor scheduled for the next day. She couldn’t believe how sick I was. The infection was so severe that my white blood cell count had tripled, and I had to be on antibiotics and anti-​nausea meds for a week. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy, it was so miserable.
AND my boyfriend, who had about 2 bites of my scallops (the believed culprit) ended up sick himself about 24 hours later. Both of us were unable to eat solid food for the rest of the week.
The scary thing is we are two very healthy people in our early 30’s. Many of the customers here are older. If someone who already had health issues would have gotten sick like this, they would have ended up in the hospital, no doubt.
So, if you enjoy snotty people who are going to give you shit for using a Groupon AND THEN literally give you shit with their bad food, by all means go here! But you might want to wait until after the health department pays them a visit!

Visiting the desert wasteland of chain restaurants in NoVa is kind of maddening. Especially when you come from the city with a big apple. We wanted to take my Asian parents for dinner that doesn’t involve the default… Asian…Asian…buffet…buffet.
Le Mediterranean Bistro billed as a French Moroccan seems like a good choice and still familiar enough for my parents. The smallish restaurant with a quaint interior in Fairfax City. We had a reservation for 7pm but waited a bit while the table finished and needed to be set up. The host gave us a glass of bubbly while we waited. A nice touch.
The menu specials all written on the blackboard. We started with the escargot which my mom loved in Paris and the anchovies. My parents got the hangar steak and Bouillabaisse. While we got the lamb chops and whole grilled branzio. The escargot was a bit over cooked and rubbery. The steak was slightly more than medium and the lamb chop more medium than rare as ordered. But the meat was tender and well seasoned. I like my grilled branzino which was fresh and stuffed with full of herbs and spices. The bouillabaisse was a bowl full of seafood and the sauce was great for dipping.
We opted for the crème brulee and bread pudding. My parents definitely like the bread pudding which wasn’t too sweet and moist. The crème brulee was creamy smooth.
Le Mediterranean Bistro was nice dinner in subdue setting. Service and food was all good. While it says French Moroccan, I would say it is mainly just French. There wasn’t much Moroccan on the menu when we were there which I think would be a nice addition.

What an amazing experience! Everything was just perfect for my husband’s Bday dinner. We ordered specials that our server Hamid recommended: chicken liver pâté, salad, rockfish on risotto for a hubby and scallops on a salad instead of risotto for me, cream brûlée for desert. It was delicious! The ambience is very French and fancy, perfect for a special occasion. We will be back!

One of the best place to have salmon. The pan seared salmon was just awesome. It was served with a cereal which was just amazing.
Though bit on costlier side but it is worth it. Certainly recommend this place.
There is a public parking just opposite to the restaurant.

Excellent Food, Excellent Service… The server Hamid was very Friendly and Professional… Most definitely coming back soon :)

Very cute place. Amazing service with excellent food. The waiter/​host was so attentive and polite. Every recommendation was great. I just moved from NYC to VA and have to say this place is a restaurant you would find in SOHO. Also would make a great date spot.

Came here last night for my dad’s birthday dinner. The restaurant was pretty empty so we basically had the restaurant to ourselves. At first before we walked in we thought they might have been closed since the lighting was a little darker inside… Mood lighting I suppose.
We decided on 3 appitizers:
The Bistro Esgarcot, pâté de canard and the Mediterranean Tuna with corn relish.
The bistro escargot was a bit on the burn side… so it was hard to see what you were eating… Escargot or just burnt garlic. Nothing too wow about it.
The pâté de canard wasn’t horrible but it didn’t wow me either. it lacked an umph. It was smooth and nicely salted it just wasn’t full in flavor.
Mediterranean Tuna… was nicely seasoned had a nice spice to it. the corn relish I think actually made the dish it was fresh sweet and sour from the vinegrette/​dressing. and as a complete bite both the tuna and the corn relish were delicious.
Entrees…
Shrimp and Scallops Provançal
Review: scallops were a bit on the tiny side… And shrimp were a bit over done. The shrimp werent juicy… they just tasted a bit dry. There was hardly any sauce on the plate. Which is a shame because we had so much bread and when the waiter described the dish it seemed like it would have some sort of sauce.
Trout Almondine.
Review: mother said it was pretty good she liked that they kept the skin on the trout… I didn’t get. To try any but I did get a bit of the lentils… They were nicely seasoned but seemed a bit under cooked… Not sure if lentils are suppose to still taste grainy but it wasn’t bad.
Hanger Steak
Review: My brother was a little underwhelmed with the steak. He ordered it medium and it ended up well done… he said he steak was a bit chewy. The fries however he said we’re pretty good.
Swordfish with fennel risotto
Review: the swordfish was nicely cooked… It had a lovely crispy seat on the outside which I love with fish. the risotto however lacked… I’m. Not sure if there were actual pieces of fennel… But something textually was off with the risotto it wasn’t very creamy in consistancy or fluffy. Flavor was good it just didn’t seem like the right texture it was like slightly under cooked rice… there was suppose to be a beurre blanc sauce but that was pretty much non existent unless it was the pool of butter under my risotto.
Overall. It was a decent meal… Nothing really wowed me except the Mediterranean tuna with corn relish. The complimentary bread was nicely toasted hot and delicious and the garlic butter served with it was delicious also. The glass of viognier I tried was okay… Slightly fruity. Although it did bother me a bit when I asked on out waiter which one was better between the Riesling and the viognier and he said I’m not sure. It’s your wine list how have you not tried any? Other then that… There is some good quality food… it’s just some dishes lack execution.

What a great place! We went on a Thursday night when the Washington football team was playing, so we were one of two couples in the restaurant. Service was very European, they came over when it was time for them to. No hovering.
The food was incredible. We had the escargot and Moroccan shrimp for appetizers, duck and lamb for entrees. Great and subtle wine list! There are some hidden gems in that list, if you know what to look for.
Loved the crème brûlée with a little orange essence. An excellent finish to a flavor parade both subtle and bold. There is a great deal to enjoy here.

Had a date night with my best friend and us gals decided to check this place out on a Friday night. The space was really small. The tables are all really close to one another which I didn’t care for and felt claustrophobic. We were sat in the corner over by the bar. My friend is tiny and barely fit in the seat.
My friend and I settled in, looked over the menu and chatted while we were waiting for the waiter to come take our order. We waited and waited and waited. We watched several other people walk in and get waited on, but it wasn’t until I signaled to the waiter that he came back and attended to us. While I understand we were chatting, that really wasn’t cool. One shouldn’t have to ask to be waited on. Once the waiter came over, we placed our order. I ordered the rack of lamb for 27 dollars and the french onion soup as an appetizer. The French Onion soup was good, it had a hearty beefy broth, but I thought the cheese was a tad overcooked and not gooey like I prefer it. I probably could’ve said something, but since we had already waited forever, I ate it. It was ok, but nothing to write home about. The rack of Lamb came out and it was really tasty, however I was disappointed that was only served with a veggie ratatouille and no rice or potato. The dish was presented beautifully, and tasted good, however the portion seemed really small for a 27 dollar plate. For dessert I ordered the tiramasu, which was light, flavorful and delicious.
I’d like to give this place at least 3 stars but quite honestly, the place wasn’t that great overall and when combined with the meh food, the meh service and the price paid, I’ve had much much better.

Came to my friend’s birthday party being held here last night. He had been excited about trying it after many times passing it on his drive to GMU. After seeing the Unilocal reviews, I was looking forward to it too. Sadly, I didn’t get the highly positive experience that I expected.
I would like to start by saying that I was very impressed with their long list of half price bottles of wine. Most restaurants will offer a handful of bottles with that deal, but Le Mediterranean had around 20 just in the red category. The only down side is that they don’t offer a single bottle with an original price under $ 40, so it’s still not that amazing of a deal.
The cheese plate on special I found to be pretty appetizing. The smoked gouda, manchego, and blue were very nice. The accompanying bread, chopped walnuts, 2 blackberries, and what I assume was raspberry coulis were all disappointing. The bread was ridiculously dry, the coulis would have been better on ice cream, and the crumby walnuts looked cheap on the board.
I chose the Steak Frites for my main. The steak itself was cooked nicely medium-​rare, but the salty sauce topping it didn’t allow for any enjoyment of the meat. The frites weren’t any better either. They were all rubbery and sitting in a pool of oil on my plate. Not good.
I’m sad this little restaurant failed in such a big way. It appeared so promising at first. Guess I’ll have to keep looking for dinner spots in my work and school area…

Landed up at this place on a thur with my buddy. Had the anchovies and the rack of lamb. Expectations were a little high based on the 4 star review. However when the food came it was more like a 3. The food was good bit nothing to come back for. My friend had the merguez and the sole meunière which he also rated as average.
In summary, good food but nothing special.

We just finished a delicious Restaurant Week 2014 meal at Le Mediterranean Bistro and were delighted overall.
It’s always nice when a restaurant adheres to their general menu for RW because it gives you a real idea of flavors, level of ingredients, as well as portion size. The entire menu was open for the choosing. I selected the Bistro Escargot for a starter and the Steak Frites as my main. The escargot were buttery and delicious. The spices and mushrooms lent a superb richness that you would expect from a traditional escargot dish. The Steak Frites which I had spied making it’s way to another hungry diner looked scrumptious. It was made of hanger steak topped with a complex sauce (it is French after all). The bloody steak mixed well with the salt-​and-​pepper fries to provide an array of vast savory flavors. I genuinely tried to finish the spot-​on entrée, but I just couldn’t.
After all, you have to leave room for dessert. The options were Blackberry Cake, Chocolate Cake with Ice Cream, and Crème Brulee. We tried both the Crème Brulee and the Chocolate Cake (really a molten lava cake). Both were delightful. the Crème Brulee was infused with Jasmine, according to the waiter, but it was not an overwhelming taste.
Our service at the table was very good. Our server was attentive even though it was a busy Friday night. Unfortunately, they have next to no space for waiting for a table. This is likely not a problem in the spring or summer, but a chilly winter keeps a group huddled just inside the door. This issue is aggravated by the lack of a busboy. The hostess wears two hats as she tries to seat people in addition to clearing tables. Of course, it was also our bad luck to arrive with about 10 other restaurant-​goers to the intimate bistro.
It was certainly a treat. Rarely do you find such authentic French cuisine in the area.

So this weekend was «Haircut Weekend» when I drive back up to my parents and go to the salon the next day. Since I am making the drive up after work we are always looking for options that are 1) close to my parents 2) good food, and 3) a place where I can show up in jeans after a 100 mile drive and not feel out of place.
This was my 1^st time at Le Mediterranean Bistro and it hit all three of my criteria. I started with lamb sausage over lentils and while the sausage was good it was the simple lentils that blew me away. Oh man were they good! They were mixed with garlic and slightly spicy. I would absolutely have this again! On the specials board they were featuring the bouillabaisse and it did specify LOBSTER. Well, if you know me you know my kryptonite is lobster (or fried pickles (or bread pudding)) This dish came with a lobster claw, fresh bass, scallops, mussels, clams, and shrimp. OH MY! The server mentioned the lobster stock in the dish and I am sure that is what pushed this over the edge. I used the fresh bread to sop of every bit of the soup. If I wasn’t in public I would’ve licked the bowl.
But that’s not all! I finished with a piece of strawberry bread pudding which, if you’ve been paying attention, was a forgone conclusion. And what a conclusion it was! I will certainly be back the next time I’m due a haircut.

A recent opening in old town Fairfax City, this bistro styled establishment serves french-​morrocan fares. The venue is cozy and intimate with touches of modern french theme décor. Daily specials are displayed prominently on the wall in chalk. The service was attentive and expedient.
The appetizers are varietal. I had the clams and chorizo which was very good. As well as the escargot with mushroom. Use the excellent bread to dip into the butter and sauce. so decadently delicious. The country pâté was well balanced and savory.
My entrée was a lamb tajine that was falling off the bone goodness. The couscous was wonderful accompaniment to the meaty lamb.
The crème brûlée was the only ‘off’ thing from the meal. The custard was decent and had a hint of lemon but the dish was luke warm. Obviously, it was not prepared a la minute.
The wine list has a bit of everything so there are plenty of choices to pair with the meals. I had the La Plagnotte Bellevue St Emilion which had prominent structured tannins and chewiness. A good pairing to any meaty dish.
Overall, this is a welcomed french restaurant to the area. There was certainly a scarcity of french cuisine in the local area after the demise of La Rue 123.