Mon Ami Gabi

I gave this place a 3 stars because of the incident that occurred during my lunch. My table all ordered coffee and when our waitress went to refill my mom’s, the cap to the pot fell off and coffee spilled everywhere. It ended up spilling on my mom and my aunt. The coffee was pretty hot but luckily it spilled on my mom’s jeans, which were thick enough to protect her from burning (though they did bring out some ice for her). The waitress must have been in shock because she only apologized once and then acted as if nothing happened. Of course, she gave us a new table and food but she didn’t seem as apologetic as she probably could’ve been (we know it wasn’t her fault but it seemed like she didn’t care or was annoyed). The manager was great though — she picked up our tab and have my mom and aunt give cards for the next time. Needless to say, it might be a while till we go back.
Other than that, the food was great. I recommend the French onion soup! We also got the turkey and Brie sandwich and a Cobb salad.

I had a really handsome waiter named Eric who made lunch very enjoyable. The service was amazing. He was super strong, and able to carry multiple plates at once. The food was a four star in my option, but the service was 6. I would recommend eating here, especially if you have Eric as your waiter.

Well above expectations with price, quality and impeccable service. They have an amazing variety of steak frites which are all very good. The filet Minot is of a quality that could easily fetch a much higher price.
There is also amazing service and ambiance at this restaurant. If you’re around for a weekend, the brunch is second to none.

Mon Ami Gabi in Vegas — 4 stars.
Mon Ami Gabi in Reston — 2 stars.
Your burger was subpar. Your Benedict was subpar.
Your free French bread and butter were awesome!
So, based off my experience, this is what you should do. Go there, get their free french bread, and enjoy! That is great bread. Warm, fresh, crusty. And their butter was soft, just the right amount of salt, crisp flavored… Yeah, great bread and butter.
The rest of their stuff… yeah, not so much.
Want a burger, go to Melt.
Want a Benedict, go to pretty much anywhere else around.
Want the best free bread in Virginia, come here.

Been here several times for brunch, lunch, dinner and it’s always good! The food is cooked well and tastes very good. The service is always attentive. Their Bloody Mary mixing bar is so fun and I love being able to mix my own drink with all of their different options. If you’re looking for a good Mother’s Day brunch I definitely recommend it since they do make all the moms feel special with a takeaway gift.

My food was very good. We did the breakfast bar and there was a lot to select from. The only downside is the cooks aren’t very helpful and look miserable or seem to be impatient. Although it might be because I’m so used to California friendliness. Otherwise it’s a great place for brunch

First time back here in 5 years. Not by choice more by design, because I do like the place. Went there for New Years Day PJ brunch… which is probably one of the best kept secrets. They give you gift card equal to the next $ 5 value of the price you pay on your bill.
Service was a bit slow… probably cause everyone was partying hard last night. I couldn’t complain.
The food was a bit saltier for my taste. For a place with a french flair… there was a bit too much salt.
I really like the fact they give you a baguette!

We decided to hold our friend’s surprise birthday dinner here and boy did we pick the perfect spot. Everything from start to finish was amazing. The host/​management were so helpful in the planning of the surprise. Our server, Tep was absolutely phenomenal. It is one of the only times I’ve had an experience that exceeded my expectations (and I plan events for a living). Thank you for making this such a special night for us!

Bottom Line: Good Food, Good Service.
Service was pretty good despite it being lunchtime. Food was exactly how I ordered. I ordered a steak sandwich and frittes, and it was terrific.

This was our 1^st time here… I don’t really write reviews, I just like to eat hahaha. I decided to do one for this because some of the service seemed like night & day comparing to the other patrons.
4=food
3 & ½= service (details on that @ bottom, we felt age discriminated)
Overall food was good (might consider coming back, not sure)
Service we were a bit disappointed.
I had made reservations by phone for yesterday (Friday) on Wednesday. The woman who answered was sweet. I told her I wanted reservations for 2 for a special occasion. She took my info & asked what’s the special occasion… My Fiancé at the time & I were getting married right before our reservations there. She does what almost every girl does gets excited & congratulates me. Now it’s Friday my husband & I are in great/​giddy spirits being just married just an hr before. When we got to Mon Ami Gabi, I told the hostesses that we have reservations. the hostesses were friendly, one made a comment that I had the best name because it was also hers. I did not mention that we just got married that time. We were promptly seated in a booth then our waiter came by. This is when things somewhat felt a little awkward. The Waiter introduced himself & gave us menus then walked away to tend to another table. He comes back asked if we wanted drinks, I looked at the menu but decided no. The waiter somewhat seemed annoyed by this. My hubby & I are an easy going couple & don’t want to cause trouble, we ignored his attitude. I assumed he was annoyed because we didn’t order drinks & it was crazy busy. More on the service after the food…
Now to the food: We ordered our meals, my husband got the French Onion soup (which we really liked), I ordered the escargot (this was delish especially when you spread the garlic on the baguette they give you) for our appetizers. our mains hubby had the Scallops & I had the Skate Wing. Both mains were good but out of the 2 my husband & I recommend the Skate Wing. Both mains were nice & tender. I only ate half my meal & had them box it because I was saving room for dessert. Dessert was a special a chèvre in a cute jar topped with fruit & granola. Husband had the cappuccino. This was a good ending to our meal.
Now back to why it was awkward. Throughout our experience we noticed how the waiter treated other patrons over us. The others were older in age & or had families & probably seem like they have more $$$ more than we do. My husband & I are in our early 30’s but look like we’re still in our 20s. The waiter seemed to be a bit more friendlier to the others then us. Working for that tip… I also noticed I’m assuming is the manager or a hire up walking around asking the other patrons how their meals were when they were close to finishing. When we were close to finishing with our desserts (there was not as many people now) I was hoping to have a manager or a hire up ask how our meals were. None came even though I saw them go to the other tables around us. Our waiter did eventually get friendlier when we got to dessert & when it wasn’t as busy… Even though the service was a bit awkward we still tipped our waiter the reasonable amount, thanked everyone & went our way. When we got out of Mon Ami Gabi my husband & I looked @ each other & asked each other @ the same time «Did that seem awkward?»… I thought I was imagining the weird service so I didn’t bring it up to my husband during dinner. My husband & I asking the same question @ the same time now I know I wasn’t imagining the awkward service. Either way it was a special day for us & we weren’t going to let weird service rain on our parade.

Complimentary baguette was a bit on the stale side. It’s really tough to chew and break apart. I showered a bunch of crumbs all over the table and myself. The frisee salad was fresh, but lacked some seasoning.
Steak frites au poirve was tender, but it’s a pretty thin steak and also, oddly enough, quite flavorless. I did wish that it was served a bit hotter, as it was a bit lukewarm when it arrived.
For a more upscale chain restaurant, it’s a bit lack luster. Service here is pretty sporadic and the timing of the kitchen is pretty off too.
Pretty popular weekday business lunch place

If I’m being 100% honest, I’ve only ever tried their Eggs Benedict. That being said, I’ve had a steak, smoked salmon, and jumbo lump crab version of their Eggs Benedict and have never been disappointed… Their beer and spirits menu are great albeit pricier, and their bread, butter, and jelly is really enjoyable and makes you feel at home.
Also, I think this place gets harsh reviews because people see French food and automatically expect a «crème de la crème» experience… That is misguided and this is not that kind of place. This is a nice little spot, but it is more French eatery inspired than fancy French restaurant… I think people don’t realize that when they show up and are disappointed… it is more akin to La Madeline; It’s more nice French Café than elevated French Cuisine… they might have a few specials here and there that push the envelope on standard fare, but their prices are great for a nice traditional rustic meal.

I used to love their good but I am disappointed with the new menu.
We were back for a birthday celebration last night, great food. Excellent service.
Very happy with the crispy fries

I got the French Onion Soup, Salmon & Spinach Salad, and Bananas foster.
The Onion soup was awesome, crave worthy– when I saw the cheese, it reminded me of the traumatic cheese blob incidents of the past at i.e.: Applebee’s. Basically the French Onion soup cheese blob was created to murder the patron in two ways 1) Choke on the cheese, or 2) Swallow the cheese past the choke point and wait for it to harden inside coronary artery. But THIS onion soup proved that Gabi is INDEED MON AMIE! The gruyère cheese was soft and tearable, with the onions and bread forming a nice flavorful bulk in the yummy broth. It was the most pleasant and tasty french onion soup I’ve ever had. Now I’ll be dreaming of bread mopping up this soup all day long!
The salmon & Spinach salad was good but nothing outstanding. I could have made this thing in under $ 3. So yeah. $ 19 is a monstrous profit on this. But hey as long as there are bozos like me ready to pay $ 19 for a goddamn salad, it’s here to stay.
The bananas foster was pretty good– I mainly liked the caramel sauce, but the crêpe was a little hard and the ice cream was meh. I could have made it at home for around $ 2. But that’s how my Asian mind thinks.
All in all, I would go back for the French onion soup!!!

*This review is just for happy hour*
I’ve been meaning to try the HH specials here, but it’s always crazy busy every time I’ve come. Fortunately, with good timing, we were able to get seated.
Tip: Tell the hostess that you are here for Happy Hour. I think the seating is different for it, so we ended up at the outdoor patio on the right side of the entrance instead of where she was originally going to put us.
They first served us a French baguette with very creamy butter on the side. The baguette itself was alright, kind of on the tough/​hard side. Not too much longer, our food came out! (We came around 4:45PM on the Wednesday though, not sure what the wait is like when it’s more busy)
–The Housemade Gaufrettes with Bleu Cheese Dipping Sauce: I’m usually not a fan of blue cheese, but this was my favorite! The gaufrettes are basically super crispy potato chips and they are great with the dip.
–The Mussels: Small and not very juicy, but the sauce is creamy and delicious! I ended up dipping my baguette in it.
–The Prime Beef Sliders: Pretty normal, served with a pickle!
–The Escargots: Super salty.
As for the drinks, they don’t have a huge selection of cocktails, but the prices are pretty good.
Overall, I thought the HH specials were good and that it’s definitely worth a try!

Unless you can camp out here around 3 pm, stopping by for happy hour is not recommended.
Happy hour food specials were mostly salty, some almost inedible. The frites were good…
Servers seemed frazzled and rather cold.
Mon Ami Gabi is popular with the after-​hours crowd. I see the appeal… sort of… But if comfort and taste are important to you, then seek out another location of Mon Ami Gabi or go somewhere else in RTC.

This is by far one of the best brunches that I have been to. We made a reservation ahead of time because I had heard that this is a popular place for brunch. Fortunately enough, we were able to get a table on the outdoor patio. They have these large umbrellas that provide some shade from the sun. We had a waiter, who looked exactly like Johnny Depp, and he did a superb job making sure that we had everything we needed.
When you first walk in the door, there is a table full of blood mary ingredients and you are able to make your own drink. I am personally not a fan, but the rest of the party that I was with were very, very excited about this. It was really a challenge to choose something from the brunch menu because I wanted to try everything! I ended getting onion soup and the blueberry french toast. I know, really weird combination, but they both sounded so delicious. I was so happy that I made that decision. The onion soup comes out in a decent sized bowl with a plentiful amount of cheese on top. Then, the french toast comes out and it is huge! There was a lot of blueberries and then a healthy dollop of whipped cream on top. I think the french toast was almost too sweet, but still delicious.
This was a really great brunch. The food was amazing and the service was spot on. I will definitely come back here for brunch, so that I can try some of the other menu items.

After passing by Mon Ami Gabi in Vegas awhile back, I had been meaning to try this place out.
Since I never got a chance to try it out there (too full from the buffets… lol), I was excited to discover that there was a location in the Reston, VA area.
Came here with S and had a great time. We took our time eating and never felt rushed. Our server Hernan was excellent. He was patient with us as we figured out what we wanted to order. He checked on us during our meal and was friendly. He made excellent suggestions. The gentlemen and lady who made sure our water cups were always full were very friendly too. Thanks friends, we do drink a lot of water! The complimentary birthday dessert was a wonderful surprise. Thanks for making a gal feel special.
Our meal was excellent. Their complimentary whole baguette, creamy butter, and carrot slaw is greatly appreciated. What a wonderful and filling way to start your meal. I highly recommend the Onion Soup Au Gratin, Bone-​in Ribeye w/​Frites, and Warm Chocolate Cake. Deliciousness all the way. The Caramelized Pineapple Crêpe was also well prepared. The crêpe had a delicate consistency with a beautiful chew in the middle. Topped off with caramelized slices of pineapple, vanilla ice cream, and warm caramel sauce. Yum!
Good food and great company, I couldn’t ask for more.

Had the opportunity to try this place and enjoyed it quite a lot.
The service was very friendly and professional. Our waiter seemed a bit busy, so someone who I assume was a manager ended up coming over to take our order. He was very friendly and answered the questions we had about the menu and made recommendations.
Based on his recommendation I tried the Croque Monsieur which is basically a dressed up grilled ham and cheese sandwich topped with a creamy cheesy sauce. Also served with fries. The fries were a bit greasy for my liking so I didn’t eat much of those but the sandwich was very yummy. My husband ordered a steak, which was huge and he liked very much, but he said he liked my sandwich more!
It’s a very rich sandwich as the sauce on it is almost like Alfredo. And it’s quite messy so I recommend eating it the French way; painstakingly with a knife and fork.
They brought us a little complimentary dessert as it was our first time there. Just a simple cream puff stuffed with the most amazing vanilla ice cream topped with a chocolate sauce. While simple, it was so yummy! I would go back for that alone.
While their dress code is «casual» pretty much everyone there — on a Tuesday at lunch — were in business casual — so my husband and I felt a bit under dressed in our spring wear of him in a button down, cargo shorts and flip flops and me in a maxi dress and flip flops. We will probably go in business casual next time!

I have been to Mon Ami Gabi several times now since my initial review and remain content with the food, but have experienced a mixed bag when it comes to service.
I do like MAG though; and I think it’s a solid option for lunch or dinner in the area.
It is moderately priced Americanized French Bistro food and is A-​OK with me.
They also have a fun Pajama Brunch every so often, so I would recommend signing up for their emails if you are interested in such a thing.