I C.
Yelp
First time at this NEW RESTON LOCATION YAYYYYYYYYY! Having a Matchbox in Reston is an awesome thing. Locating it at the Reston Metro Station is a good way to keep Founding Farmer's on its toes and looking over its shoulder. I hate it when a restaurant feels like it has the upper hand, holds all the cards and acts like it's the only game in town. A little competition never hurt anyone (especially the consumer).
This was our first time to Matchbox Reston and, honestly, they're still working out the kinks a little bit but I'll throw them a mulligan and give this new Reston loc the benefit of a doubt with a 4 Star rating off-the-bat because I'm a Matchbox fan (having been to the Chinatown, One Loudoun and Mosaic locations many times over many years) and I know their menu, the potential of what it CAN be and I have faith that it WILL eventually live up to its reputation.
Party of 3, we made Open Table reservations same day but truthfully, we didn't need to. There was plenty of seating available when we arrived for dinner around 730PM on a weeknight.
Nice setting, nice interior decor and sufficiently large inside. They have a pretty darn impressive covered outside dining area (see my pics) as well as, just inside the front entrance, a huge-@ss bar area with tv's all around which looks like it'll be a cool place to sit, hang and watch some games once the place gets rolling.
The menu, if you're not familiar with Matchbox's, is typical American fare - think Sweetwater, Jackson's, Clyde's. A step up from (and pricier than) Glory Days, Chili's, Friday's. A step down from Founding Farmer's (you'll get out of Matchbox for less tho and feel just as satisfied imho - especially in the beer/cocktail department where, at Founding Farmers, you'll get price gouged (plus FF tacks on an extra 5% "Restaurant Recovery Fee" on your entire check (!)), so buyer beware!).
We ordered a couple wood fired individual pizzas and the Nashville Hot Crispy Chicken Sandwich. All 3 mains were fine....just "fine." Except: skip the side salad for $5. A salad kit at Safeway is 10 x better than their side salad! No appeal whatsoever - bland, mostly lettuce, croutons were huge and hard as rocks, dressing was non existent. A waste of 5 bucks. Also - the 3 donuts we ordered for dessert were so disappointing. Thank goodness they were complimentary as a promo to get us in the door. $7 is highway robbery for what you get - just walk across the plaza to Founding Farmer's and pick up a $1 glazed or $3 Jefferson Filled donut instead. Matchbox, if you're trying to compete with Founding Farmer's donuts, just hang it up now and admit defeat. No contest. :(
Service was....okay. Nothing to write home about. Again, I'm giving them a pass for being new and getting their sea legs - it seemed our server was new to ever being a server (at least it felt that way) but because it wasn't a busy night, we went with the flow.
Matchbox Reston, you have a ways to go to knock Founding Farmer's off its perch but it's a good goal to set your sights on. Founding Farmer's has been the only game in town there at Reston Station for years so it's going to take a slow and steady effort of killing-us-with-kindness, top notch service, pampering the hell out of us and serving exceptional and high quality fare. Not a tall order - just something we expect for the prices you're charging but very do-able. Not there yet.
Welcome to Reston and hope you have a long and happy life here!