Matchbox

Our group of eight visited Matchbox for a late lunch on Saturday. The restaurant is quite spacious, offering both indoor and outdoor seating. Since they didn’t have a table large enough for our group, we were split between two separate tables. Service was on the slower side. We were seated in the back of the room, and it took a while for our server to take our orders. I opted for the Restaurant Week promotion, a 3-course lunch for $25, which was a great deal. I had the arancini fried risotto as an appetizer, fish and chips for my entrée, and a classic brownie for dessert. My husband ordered the Pig & Pineapple pizza, and my niece had the Burrata & Salami pizza. Both pizzas had a thin, crispy crust and were delicious. The pricing felt a bit steep at $19 for a 10" pizza. The 3-course lunch definitely offered better value. Overall, the food was good, but the service could use some improvement.

Matchbox Merrifield ended up being a great experience. I was a little nervous at first because it took a while for someone to come take our order, but once our server Tolin arrived, everything picked up. She was friendly, attentive, and made sure we had everything we needed. The unlimited brunch is definitely a must — the food was delicious! I was a bit unsure about the taco bar and waffle bar since no one greets you or explains how the ordering works when you walk over, so I didn’t bother with it, plus the food from the menu was more than enough! I asked Tolin if the bottomless drinks were included in the $42 per person brunch price because online it showed $25 per person. She told me yes, so we went ahead and ordered based on that. When the bill came, she then said, “Oh no, it’s $8 per drink per person.” Clearly there was a language barrier or miscommunication, because that’s not how she explained it before we started ordering. It definitely caused some confusion and should be clarified better for guests. Shout-out to Hector, who was bringing out the food — he was super nice and helpful. Overall, once things got rolling, we had a really good time and would come back.

Tulin was amazing! Attentive and kind. I will definitely come back to sit in her section soon. The food was great! Try the crab soup and the hot honey pepperoni pizza mmmm.

Last night we tasted the Arancini and mini burgers for appetizers, so good! THE BEST is the pizza, that you can choose two different flavors, toppings and etc, well done with full of flavors! It was a great surprise to see the restaurant very well decorated with a beautiful Xmas tree and lights all over the place. The manager, Eliana came to the table to check our food and drinks. She made us feel very special. Thank you!

Tulin was amazing! Even though it was packed today she still did an amazing job, even going above and beyond for my family and my Uncle’s birthday. Food was great. The cinnamon roll was dry, but other than that everything was amazing. The family style brunch was perfect for our family. We got a little bit of everything and perfect portions.

Came for brunch , & it was pretty good! My Favorite Brunch Items Were the Spinach& Artichoke, The sliders, and old bay wings! If You visit ask for Tulin ! She was so sweet and was the best server!

Outdoor seating is nice when the weather is nice. This restaurant serves brunch until 5:00 p.m. They have all you can eat brunch for $42 per person until 5:00 p.m. The steak and egg was just okay. The brunch pizza was delicious. The pig pizza is good loaded with lots of meat and sausage as well as pepperoni. It is really salty. You can order it with vegan cheese which is a great option. Unfortunately the crust was very thin and soggy. It was delicious around a periphery but towards the middle of the pizza it is very soggy at one visit but at the next it was not as soggy so I guess it depends on the day. We will come back to try other menu items.

We’ve been here multiple times and absolutely love it! The table bread is a must, it never disappoints, and at just $5 it makes for a perfect starter. The pizzas are consistently tasty and well balanced. So far, we’ve tried the Pig & Pineapple, Matchbox Meat, Spicy Meatball, and the Pig all were delicious. The Pig & Pineapple leans a little too sweet for my taste, but still very enjoyable. I also tried the Zero Proof Dragon Fruit Mojito, but since they were out of dragon fruit syrup, the server offered strawberry instead. I agreed, but personally didn’t enjoy it I probably would have preferred my usual Pellegrino. On the other hand, the strawberry lemonades are excellent. The patio seating is my favorite part, great atmosphere with nice music, good weather, and kids playing nearby. It creates such a warm, lively environment. Service here is also wonderful. S taff are attentive, always checking in and offering drink refills. At times it can feel a little too frequent, but overall it adds to the positive experience. Highly recommend for both the food and the welcoming vibe!

Matchbox in Merrifield is always a great spot, but the outdoor seating is the real highlight, especially in good weather! The patio has a unique vibe with nearby restaurants adding to the lively atmosphere--it's the perfect place to enjoy a meal while soaking in the energy of the area. The food is consistently good, with solid options across the menu, and the service is always friendly. Inside, it's huge with plenty of seating, but I always prefer sitting outside for the unbeatable ambiance. If you're looking for great food with a vibrant setting, this is the place to be!

What a disappointment. We came in for matchbox' signature double pepperoni pizza and burgers. I'm not sure what has happened to the quality of the food, but everything was mediocre at best. The pizza was worse than school cafeteria pizza. The center of the pizza was soggy and the cheese had an off putting taste that made the pizza overly salty. The pepperonis were low quality and very thin. For $18, I expected more. The burger was not bad but nothing to rave about. The best part of the meal was the ranch dressing. We ordered a $8 bowl of chili, which was more like a standard cup of soup. The chili came out room temperature and was not seasoned enough. For the price and overall quality, I would not come back. The service was on the slow side and though the inside was decorated very festive, our overall experience was not good.

Update September 2024: Park: street or garage options nearby Had reservations for 6pm on a Monday evening but didn't seem to need them, still plenty of seating. After I was sat, it took quite a bit to be greeted after being seated, only after I matched eyes with someone who ended up being our waitress did she say "I'll be there in a bit". The best part of this meal was actually the drink! I got the zero proof dragonfruit mojito! It was very refreshing! My friends got the peach and strawberry homemade lemonades but said their drinks were not chilled even if it had ice in it? Food: we all shared * pan seared salmon: very dry. We actually didn't end up finishing half of it, garnished with on it was better. * q special: thought it was kind of dry, bland, and subpar overall, wouldn't order it again * apple pear salad: I actually enjoyed this -it had good flavor but I felt some of that "freshness factor" was missing- also felt like the salad was warm For the experience and taste, didn't feel the $$ was worth it. Bill came to about $80 before tip

There is no good food in Mosaic BESIDES that little bakery, Dolcezza, and Oath Pizza. If you're there and you need something to eat, go home. I'm serious. Every time I've decided to "take a chance" on some ramen place or the Italian Store, I end up depressed because I wasted my money. The pizza tastes fake here. I don't know how else to describe it.

Great service from Ecem! Very friendly, checked with kitchen and manager about allergies. Will be back again!

I think Matchbox would be a place I could frequent if only their service was better. I came here on a Wednesday afternoon to eat dinner. I was seated by the host once walking in but I was sitting in the far back. Maybe I should have opted for a bar section but I didn't want to be in the midst of all the noise. Sometimes you just want your own peace and quiet. After seating my server greeted me and I was able to place my drink and my food order ( I looked at the menu ahead ) and was off to a good start. The wait for this took a bit as I waited half an hour or so. I understand pizza does take time to order but my server left me stranded waiting for a bit. Not sure where they went. So a few minutes more, another server comes and ask me if I have been helped yet and I mentioned that my server hasn't came back with the pizza yet. The other goes and checks on that for me and immediately brings it out telling me it's been ready for a bit now. I was so hungry that I didn't want to have a fit about it and was just delighted to see my food. The only issue is that it's lukewarm, and the pizza is cut not in equal parts. Why am I mentioning this in the review? Because you want pizza to be equal slices if you have a group to share with and it'd be weird if you had more pizza than they did. The pizza, which was Sausage + Peppers contained garlic, tomato sauce, hot Italian sausage, roasted red peppers, mozzarella and ricotta. A nice blend of ingredients for a very solid taste. You can't go wrong with this pick. After eating four slices, I waived my hand to get a to go box. My server actually came back and noticed me after so much time passed and they were able to hand me a to go box and the check. My experience was a bit disappointing and I get something may have happened but communication is key. The service wasn't there on that visit but it could have been an off day. Hopefully I can come back and expect a much more pleasant experience.

Pretty good. Great service. Food is ok. Not great. Chicken on my salad was not hot or fresh.

Ms. Leen was absolutely amazing! I went to this location with little kids and she was exceptionally patient. I really have to commend her and the greatly improved management at this location. This time I got the pesto chicken pizza and the kids options for cheese pizza and burgers were great. Thank you!

Used to love coming to this Matchbox, but after my most recent lunch here, I will never come back! The service, besides the man who brought out the food each time, was awfully slow, lazy and inattentive. Felt like they ignored us on purpose. The food wasn't great, and i'm not sure why my pizza had one, out-of-place slice that was sticking out and larger than the others, and then another tiny slice, but it threw me off - as if they stuck on an extra slices from someone else's pizza. The taste was lackluster, the sauce was almost nonexistent, and the cheese kept falling off. The fish and chips weren't crispy, either. The simple salad barely had any toppings on it, but it was fresh. The best dish was the arancini - nothing bad to say about that. On top of the dirty plates and silverware, with old food stuck on them, the atmosphere wasn't comfortable, either. Overall, I had a really bad time here and I don't know if I can trust other locations of Matchbox, now.

This is a nice spot in Merrifield overlooking what ends up being a vibrant kid's area - fun - I feel young again! I arrived first when me and the bestie had plans to do lunch, I thought it would be packed based on driving through Merrifield and passing the play area (abundant with kids/families) and getting free parking in the public lot required a bit of a search. However, when I arrived, I was able to be sat immediately, and outside which surprised me. My friend arrived shortly after I was sat. The bestie ordered a glass of wine, however after a brief period of time the sever came back and said it could not be ordered by the glass, so my friend ordered something else. No alcohol for me! After awhile we ordered food, I got the Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich, I opted for turkey sausage instead of the regular bacon and sausage that comes on it normally. The sandwich was hearty and definitely filling. I didn't like the lemon aioli that came on it, however outside of that the sandwich was fine, nothing to write home about. I do appreciate that there was a good amount of meat, eggs and cheese on the sandwich, good ratios to really get your bang for your buck. The breakfast potatoes that came with the meal were also fine. The service was just okay, are server forgot to bring things we asked for and was not readily available, nor well versed on the menu. All in all, I had an okay experience here and wouldn't write this spot off.

Ecem was great!!!! Highly recommend. She offered great selections and the food was excellent.

I got the arthichoke dip and fire and smoke pizza with one of the mojito mocktails they had for happy hour! :) the food was absolutely amazing! everything was soo good and flavorful! I would def come back here to try more things. The waiter was super nice and came around a bunch of times to ask how things were going which was super nice!! the ambiance is your typical matchbox place! a bit of a higher end pizza place, not somehwere i would wear jeans too for sure.

Best service ever. By our ginger server Ally. She was the first server we have ever had who explained to us that there was more than one sauce on their wonderful pizza. She also wrote the order down (no ego trip memory), and checked with our progress. Hispanic female manager(pregnant) Emma, also checked on our status as well. A wonderful experience with excellent food and service.(better than the McLain location).

we have been eating or ordering from this restaurant for years. The Cantonese food was always out favorite until last Sunday. We ordered stir fry rice noodle with beef and seafood tofu pot. We ordered this two dishes many times before. The rice noodle was cooked with spoiled oil which can not be eaten but trashed. The seafood tofu pot should also has some chicken meat and barbecue pork but did not。 Customer knows when you are cutting corners.

I had never been to matchbox before and had such a great experience!! Ecem was our server and was so nice and helpful! She was super knowledgeable and gave us such good suggestions. Highly recommend this place for brunch!!

My husband I came here during Happy Hour and some really good drinks. I ordered the guava margarita and a 10 inch pepperoni pizza which both were not only delicious but tasty as well. Our server was attentive and brought things out quickly as it wasn't very busy. I really like the set up of this location compared to others.

Place is nice, the drinks are great, the ambiance is welcoming and the service was fast and efficient.

Overall great experience! Our server, Maggie, was very attentive and made sure our drinks were filled at all times. Food came out hot and was delicious! The general manager, Nick, stopped by to check in and was very nice to talk to. Would definitely recommend choosing Matchbox if you're looking for somewhere to dine in the area!!!

We just held a private party in the Barrel Room for a 60th birthday/30th wedding anniversary. The space was perfect for our guest list of 42! The waitstaff was superb and a manager was on hand to address any issues...there were none. Drinks were filled without delay, food was delivered, hot and delicious, and the event space offered a cozy fireplace with soft music playing on the TV. Our guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves and congratulated us on picking the perfect venue for our celebration. Thank you for accommodating and serving us with professionalism and gentility.

I ordered a thanksgiving meal for a family of 4 and it was totally unacceptable. I have tried to reach management to no avail. I paid a lot of money and it was not real turkey but pressed turkey loaf. The stuffing was mislabeled and creamed spinach came instead so no stuffing. The rest of the sides were totally bland--canned cranberry sauce, plain green beans and some apples with topping. This was a horrendous way for my family to spend the holiday.

We went here on a Thursday for dinner. We usually try to get to restaurants early because wit three kids, we like to avoid the chaos and noise. Got there around 5:15 p.m. and it was pretty empty. The hostess sat us at a pretty cool table where we had a lot of space for our kids to move around and make noise without bothering anyone. It was perfect. We left around 6:30 and it was starting to fill up. We ordered the ginormous meatball, pesto chicken pizza, and sausage pasta. The meatball was very good, tender and the marinara sauce was delicious. Love the bread that comes with it too. The pesto pizza was also very good, just the right amount of pesto. The sausage pasta was just okay. The noodles were a little too al dente and the sauce just pop. Kids got the chicken tenders and cheese pizza. They ate almost all of it, which means it was good because I have picky eaters. This was a great spot for my family, food was good, service was good.

I really miss the GOOD old Matchbox. We've been going to Matchbox since 2013 and unfortunately after today's meal, I will have to sever my ties with one of my favorite restaurants

Sat on the patio and watched the little kids running in and out of the fountains out front. Beautiful atmosphere nice quiet setting Lena. Our server was fantastic beautiful gal very personable. Got everything right and didn't have to send anything back or get any corrections. She brought us ketchup & iced tea and waters. Everything was clean. The food was top-notch homemade biscuits, chicken breaded and fried perfectly. The sauce was amazing. The gravy was amazing. Everything was perfect and it wasn't too much. It was just right for a brunch. We will be back for sure

A swing and a miss. Walked in on a weekday evening so it wasn't too busy and sat outside. Our orders were taken quickly, but everything went downhill from there. We got calamari as an appetizer, which was bland and tasteless. It also took a long time to come out Main courses weren't better. The food took a very long time to come out and was also disappointing, especially for the price. My pasta was small and had a few tiny shrimps. I'd recommend going somewhere else.

Food was delicious Nice area , Decoration is unique Alexus is the one makes you come again Thanks Alexus

We went on a Wednesday night, and the service was pretty terrible. First the waitress spilled a glass of Rosé all over the table (which we don't really fault her for, but my friend thinks it damaged her phone). My other friend's rosé had a weird grainy substance in her glass and had to be replaced. MOST IMPORTANTLY, we saw a mouse running in and around the booth for the entirety of our meal. We let the waitress know, and she said she would speak to the manager. We never spoke with the manager directly, but we absolutely should have. We were all grossed out by the experience and will not be returning.

I went to matchbox for an impromptu happy hour with my husband and was really impressed with the food and service! It was fairly empty around 5pm and we were able to take advantage of the happy hour specials which are 4-6pm on weekdays. I had the meatballs which came with a tasty vodka sauce and my husband had the smash burger which was a steal for $10. The service was prompt and we had a very attentive waiter. The ambiance is upscale casual and it made for a fun date night! Definitely recommend checking it out, next time I plan to try their wood fired pizzas

My husband and I changed up our date night and came here for the first time. We had the table bread, arancii, chicken sandwich, and crab cake sandwich. Everything was delicious and our server, Ecem was so sweet and very attentive! Definitely recommend this place.

No major complaints stuck out to me when I revived there cob salad and famous pan skillet bread. The bread was perfectly cooked and was flavorful, however, there was so much garlic in this bread and it did not specify anything of the sorts on the menu. The bread was served with a garlic butter (again with the garlic) and a externally well done mozzarella sauce to combat the garlic flavor making the bread turn out well. The cob salad was done perfectly and had met my expectations. Obviously not the very best cob salad I have had but it was completely delicious and bareable on a cold Saturday night. No complaints with staff or the vibe of the restaurant-something you would expect a Washington nehbirhood family tavern to feel like.

Matchbox in Mosaic district has a nice outside seating area which I really like during the week; on the weekends the grass area right in the front gets packed and very noisy. The food in general is good. I mainly like their pizza. This time I ordered grilled chicken avocado sandwich .The sandwich came with fries. It could have been better, it was a little bland. The service was excellent.

Always a good spot for happy hour. Service can vary especially during rush hours. Pizzas are the best and they offer free pizza on your birthday when you sign up for Matchbox rewards

If I can give zero stars to this restaurant I would! This place is terrible on all levels. Service is poor, food is average, management is not present and prices are high. We went there for dinner. Although friendly, server took our order and promised to have the appetizer before the meal, as we requested. Well, meal came first and it came so fast that it was clear that the food was just sitting and not prepared at that time. Food was served and the server did not bother to ensure that we have utensils. We had to ask another server for them. Management did not bother to reach out and apologize. Server never checked on us at all --- we had to call her for the bill. We paid almost $100 for a meal that we could have somewhere else for less than a half. Will never go there again!

Really enjoyed the experience. We sat outside and enjoyed the cool summer breeze. We had the mimosas and they were very well prepared. The food was made well and the server was very nice and was very attentive. Definitely will stop by again.

This review is purely for the atrocious customer service that we received just now for a take out order. The lady who is up at the front really needs to fix her attitude when interacting with customers. We try extra hard to be polite with everyone so that our child can model our behavior when he grows up. So we know that her rude attitude was not because of something that we did or said. She simply was just not in the mood to be nice. We won't be coming back to this location, EVER! -Mrs. Krishna. P.S - The name on the receipt was Cassandra, not sure if it was the same person who took the order.

**UPDATED FROM BELOW** 3.5/5; Got pizza for lunch. Extra cheese, added red onion. The pizza was 100% times better the second go around. The staff was very nice and friendly. It has made up from my first experience below. 2.5/5; Went to Matchbox at the request of someone else in our party because they loved the one in D.C. We ordered a half cheese half pepperoni pizza, with extra cheese. The pizza that was brought to us was not like our previous Matchbox experience. Barely had any cheese (even though we paid for extra) was over cooked and just simply not good. On the other hand the jumbo fried shrimp was great! Perfectly battered and seasoned. Ordered the burger and added bacon. The burger was okay, but not for the price. The burger was also over cooked. In addition, I wanted to order a glass of wine but the prices were outrageous. I know when dining you're always going to pay way over what it's worth but they had wine by the glass for $16-21 for bottles of wine that cost $10. Will not be returning to this matchbox.

I've come here several times because I love the food and enjoy sitting on the outside patio when the weather is nice because it overlooks the lawn and fountains but the service knocks down the stars. Not sure if they're just understaffed or what but it always takes forever to get our food. I literally waited 45 minutes for guacamole, specifically the crab and avocado tower. Luckily I enjoy sitting outside in the heat so I didn't mind sipping on coke while people watching lol but this is not the place for a quick lunch or dinner. I will say I love their spicy tuna tartare tacos and their fig & prosciutto pizza, my usual order for dinner. The pepper honey and blue cheese crumbles on the pizza paired with the prosciutto is the best combo.

First of all, whoever the music director is needs a raise. I'm eating my dinner and the next thing I know I hear the opening chords to "Hate Dancin'" by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. I'm coming back based on that alone. Me and my daughter are grooving having a good time. The food is consistent and good too. Get the table bread.

I had a great lunch at matchbox, and our server Ecem made it even better. She was friendly, helpful, and made sure everything went smoothly. Definitely a place I'd visit again! Thanks Ecem!

Service and food were amazing! Jose G and manager went above and beyond celebrating my birthday! Thank you :)

Just WOW. Maggie our server was fantastic, friendly and accommodating. She assured me the breakfast sandwich was the best, and it was. The Bloody Mary was super spicy, right up my alley. 10/10. Nice job Matchbox.

Our overall experience was alright. Not good enough where I'm dying to bring a friend, but not bad enough where if someone wanted to meet up there I'd decline. Husband and I went here for HH but to try the pizzas. The pizza was good but the pesto chicken was a tad salty. Not bad bar food but again nothing to bring me back. Somehow spent $72 and only had 2 HH drinks.

My friends and I went during a slower time (around 12-1), so there weren't many people in the restaurant. We were seated instantly and given time to look at the menus. And we were given A LOT of time. Although the staff was very nice and friendly, they didn't really come to our table often and service was slow--for both waiting and food--the whole duration of our time there. The food itself was good. I got the salad which was huge and all of my friends got a burger or sandwich; we also got the pizza to share. I would say all of their entrees are pretty good, but their pizzas aren't worth it. Not only was it expensive but it was also not that big nor tasted THAT good. From what I've seen and heard, this place seems to be better during happy hour, but at other times, it's just alright.

Upon arrival, I had to seat myself. This was due to the host stand being empty. I'm assuming this was because I arrived closer to their end of their workday. After seating myself, the waiter came up and offered a lot of recommendations as their menu had so many options. They definitely have a very diverse menu. They also appear to offer brunch all day, which is pretty cool! I ended up getting the pizza which was very good. I had the fire+spice for half my pizza with chicken pesto being the other half. Both were super good, but the chicken pesto was my fave. Our waitress wasn't very present/available, however, the food and the person I was with made it a very pleasant first experience.

We had an amazing time enjoying an easy Saturday at Mosaic District with Matchbox's restaurant week menu. The burger was so tasty and juicy and they have the best Caesar salad! Lena was absolutely wonderful as our server. Friendly and very attentive. We will be back soon!

Ordered a 1/2 and 1/2 pizza to go. Service was friendly and prompt. We waited inside so we could eat it fresh n hot outside. When we opened the box we both looked at each other confused as to what we were looking at. This will go down as the worst, most expensive pizza I've ever come across. First off, it was cold even tho they handed it to us saying it just came out of the brick oven. The restaurant was in between lunch n dinner so there was only a few customers. Pizza looked like someone took a tortilla (there was no crust), smeared a little sauce on it and sprinkled the smallest amount of cheese on it and charged $24. My friend and I took a few a couple bites and threw the rest in the trash. We ordered the 14" but wasn't close to that size. It didn't look nor taste like a pizza cooked in a brick oven, wasn't 14", had barely any ingredients, over priced, tasted like a stale dry cracker, a complete rip off. What makes this even worse is Thompson Hospitality also owns Wise Guys pizza which puts out a great product and knows how to make various styles with great execution. This place is an embarrassment to even call pizza, along with adding such a high price for a subpar product. A $2 frozen Mamma Celeste tastes like gourmet compared to this. You can get a high quality pizza elsewhere in Masonic cooked in a wood fired oven for well below what you would pay here that is far superior in every aspect. I'd go as far to say I'm surprised they're still in business serving food like that with such a high $.

As usual...great food and service! Ecem and Stephanie were attentive from the beginning, always with a smile on their face :)

Last weekend, we had a cheers for 18 years birthday celebration at Matchbox mosaic for my daughter. She chose this restaurant because we had a great sweet 16 there in January for her sister. Once again, the food and service were outstanding! We were able to select items from the menu, and manager Nick created our own special menu. Our waiter, Henry, was friendly and did an exceptional job. I highly recommend this restaurant for all your party and entertaining needs.

Came in with a party of 9 and were seated immediately. I had the chicken avocado sandwich, my husband had steak and eggs, our son had chicken tenders and fries. The others in our party had pizza and it was delicious. The food was good, and the service was prompt, polite and fast. We were in and out in about an hour. Would definitely recommend.

Excellent experience with our server, Ecem! Extremely friendly and attentive - a 10/10 employee. We loved it!