Finn & Porter, Alexandria and Downtown

[treznor]

This should give you a start. Also in the Mark Center itself is Finn & Porter which I've found to be quite good, though I've really only had sushi and other seafood dishes there, I've never really tried the Porter side of the menu.

[Sthitch]

This should give you a start. Also in the Mark Center itself is Finn & Porter which I've found to be quite good, though I've really only had sushi and other seafood dishes there, I've never really tried the Porter side of the menu.

I wish I could say something as positive about Porter and Finn. My wife and I have been there about a half dozen times, and every time it just got worse. Amongst other issues we have had a raw artichoke (blamed on a new cook), less than fresh sashimi, and an over-cooked and greasy lobster tail. And that was all the last time we ate there. The only place I can think of worse in the Mark Center area is the Clyde's, but I will save that story for another time.

[treznor]

Wow, not sure if you've gotten unlucky, I've gotten lucky, or what. I won't claim the seafood is the greatest thing in the world when I've gotten it, but it's typically been fine and the sushi has been pretty decent, though we typically stick to maki and a little nigiri, as my GF rarely want's to venture over to sashimi. I definitely wouldn't go out of my way to go there but since it's just around the corner from me I go every couple months or so.

[Sthitch]

We had high hopes for this as we live a couple of miles away. Our first visit, not long after they opened, was quite positive, however it just spiraled downward from there, and there are just too many other places to try before I go back to a hotel owned restaurant.

[catharine]

Wow, not sure if you've gotten unlucky, I've gotten lucky, or what. I won't claim the seafood is the greatest thing in the world when I've gotten it, but it's typically been fine and the sushi has been pretty decent, though we typically stick to maki and a little nigiri, as my GF rarely want's to venture over to sashimi. I definitely wouldn't go out of my way to go there but since it's just around the corner from me I go every couple months or so.

I've been very pleased with the sushi I've had at F&P the dozen or so times I've eaten there. We also typically do nigiri and maki, but I've never had a problem with the fish there. I will say that I was unhappy with the risotto I ordered there, and when I spoke up the dish was taken off my check with apologies. The steaks/seafood, salads, soups and apps. have also been high quality. I've always had good service, and I stand by my recommendation from the other thread. (I wouldn't recommend the buffet brunch, however. Nothing bad, just not worthwhile.)

In addition, if you head over to the strip where Seminary Road intersects with Carlin Springs (?) - where the 7-11 is on the corner, there are a few Ethiopian spots. I've gotten decent takeout there before (but the places are always too smoky for me to eat in.)

[Sthitch]

I've been very pleased with the sushi I've had at F&P the dozen or so times I've eaten there.

Other than the off sashimi, the sushi has never been offensive, but nothing any more special than what you can pick-up at Whole Foods, you would be much better off getting your Sushi fix at Kyoto which is not that far from Finn and Porter.

I will say that I was unhappy with the risotto I ordered there, and when I spoke up the dish was taken off my check with apologies.

So this is the height of service that you are looking for? That they apologized for a substandard dish and did not make you pay for it? I know that mistakes happen in service, but other than my first time there, they have never not happened. Maybe it has improved, but they lost my business about 8 months ago, and I stand by my statement that there are plenty of places yet to try before returning to a soulless hotel Hilton owned restaurant.

[catharine]

Other than the off sashimi, the sushi has never been offensive, but nothing any more special than what you can pick-up at Whole Foods, you would be much better off getting your Sushi fix at Kyoto which is not that far from Finn and Porter.

So this is the height of service that you are looking for? That they apologized for a substandard dish and did not make you pay for it? I know that mistakes happen in service, but other than my first time there, they have never not happened. Maybe it has improved, but they lost my business about 8 months ago, and I stand by my statement that there are plenty of places yet to try before returning to a soulless hotel Hilton owned restaurant.

Yikes. You feel very strongly about this. I'm sorry you have so much anger about the subject.

I like Finn and Porter (not Porter and Finn, as you wrote above). Actually, I like it a lot. That's my opinion. You're entitled to disagree.

Respectfully,

Catharine

[Sthitch]

Yikes. You feel very strongly about this. I'm sorry you have so much anger about the subject.

I am not sure why you think that I have some anger towards them. They are what they are, the Paris Hilton's of restaurants.

[Escoffier]

I am not sure why you think that I have some anger towards them. They are what they are, the Paris Hilton's of restaurants.

I'm not piling on here, but I agree with Steve. The sushi we ordered that never came, the OLD, OLD sushi that did come we saw sitting at the edge of the serving area for over 15 minutes while our server did something else (took a break, I think), the steak that was ordered medium rare that came almost well-done and cold...I could go on but why? The coffee however, was pretty decent.

[DonRocks]

At the attractive bar at Alexandria's Finn & Porter, the beer list is poor enough where I felt lucky to escape with a Tsingtao. Having just ordered a mind-blowing end-of-season ama ebi from Kaz Sushi Bistro several nights before, I thought I'd try an order for comparison, along with sake belly ($5.50 each). Unlike the fresh, glistening, sweet Maine shrimp I was served at Kaz, these were dry, skimpy, and tasteless. I knew the salmon belly wouldn't be special as soon as I saw the sushi chef unwrapping the plastic - it tasted like any other non-fatty salmon you'd find at a generic sushi bar.

Finn & Porter needs to train their sushi chefs before turning them loose. Although the rice was pleasantly decent, the tasteless fish was plunked on top (and in one instance, dropped, then picked up, and plunked on top again), there was no wasabi on the nigiri, and the chef had no idea where to put things on the plate. After the relative struggle placing four pieces of sushi onto the plate, he picked up a mound of pink ginger, and fumbled around trying to figure out where to put it - I suspect this may have been his first day on the job, but who knows. The sushi sat there after being made, waiting for the unalert bartender to notice it.

I toyed with idea of ordering the Finn & Porter Fish & Chips ($15), which the menu described as a "fresh Atlantic cod fillet, ale battered, hand cut fries, tartar sauce." It reads pretty well on the menu, but after $11 for four mediocre bites of sushi, I decided to cut my losses and head on down the road.

Cheers,

Rocks.

[weezy]

Let me start by saying that I wasn't expecting greatness from this place. However, The office holiday dinner was held here this past weekend. We ate here for the 2009 Xmas dinner party as well. In 2009, it had pleasant but non-whelming food & drinks. Both times, we had the same private room and it was a nice space for the group and the service was very personable but much better executed in 2009 than 2010.

This time around, the waiter was a likeable guy but English wasn't his first language and there was at least one disconnect somewhere in the chain and possibly more. For cocktail orders, he got only half of them right on the first try (rocks instead of up, tonic instead of soda, white instead of red, etc.). We ordered several different appetizers to share among the table and those were okay. The calamari was nicely fried although the sauce with it was unmemorable. Dumplings were standard frozen gyoza that I can pick up at H Mart (but I like those, so it didn't hurt my feelers). Cheese plate that was supermarket quality cheeses, although the fig jam was very nice.

When it came to the entrees, though, things really fell apart. They didn't have the lamb at all. Everyone who ordered pork chops was disappointed because they were terribly overcooked, dry and stiff. Ribeye ordered, strip steak arrived. One person ordered a filet mignon medium with lemongrass rice plus bernaise, and got a horrible hash-marked thoroughly gray hockey puck that probably was a piece of top sirloin from the looks of the grain of the meat , and it sided by plain, watery rice all topped with a sauce that was a shade of yellow not seen since the late '80s discos. Sent back, of course -- it never should have left the kitchen, let alone gotten on a plate. Potato rissole arrived as mashed potatoes. Salmon overcooked. Filet ordered "blue" arrived medium rare. The sides in general were underseasoned and I suspect all frozen stuff because they had that lack of flavor that comes from not being cooked from fresh. Oh, except the broccolini, which was a very odd shade of green-verging-on-black that was incredibly tough (unpeeled) and very, very bitter.

Desserts were pre-packaged stuff, nothing of note. The best part of the evening (other than the company and someone else picking up the tab) is that the coffee was quite good and actually decaf as ordered, so at least I wasn't up until 3 in the morning.