The Inn at Little Washington

This review is only for the restaurant. The food was very good, the presentation was also fine, sometimes amusing. They are careful about food allergies and preferences.
But the server was arrogant, and made the experience a bitter one at the end. If it was a diner, I would not mind that much, but at a high end place like that, arrogance makes the whole experience memorable in a bad way. After dinner I ordered coffee with cream, my coffee was delivered after waiting for a while, but no cream, and the server did not even make eye contact, just left the coffee at our table and immediately moved away. then after another 20 minutes I finally got a chance to ask another waiter for cream, again I waited and the cream appeared, and the coffee was cold now, but I could not ask for a refill since the waiter again just left without making any eye contact. This place cannot make excuse that they were busy, they know exact number of guests and how to serve properly. But I think, because it is all prepaid, the servers do not care, or they think that the customers are lucky to be there. We paid $20 for that stale coffee, and I left with a bothersome experience. I have dined in other Micheline start places that are actually better in service and as well as food.

Service: 1

Disappointing Experience at The Inn at Little Washington. I had high expectations for The Inn at Little Washington, but unfortunately, my experience fell far short. I came to celebrate my birthday and was very excited. I heard many good things about this place. The service, which should have been impeccable at a restaurant of this caliber, was surprisingly careless.
First, our server spilled wine on the table and didn’t even bother to change the tablecloth, leaving us with a damp and stained setting for the rest of the meal. Then, to make matters worse, I found a hair in my dessert. When I brought it to the server’s attention, the response was shockingly dismissive—just a casual “it happens” because of the brush they use to paint the dessert. No apology, no effort to make it right he didn’t even offer to replace desert.
For a restaurant with such a prestigious reputation (and price tag), the lack of attention to detail and professionalism was unacceptable. I expected a world-class dining experience, but instead, I left feeling frustrated and unimpressed.

Service: 2

Food and drinks: I found the food was ok,
It was a set menu, everything was cold once it arrived to the table,
I had to keep asking for bread and butter,
Yes,the quality of the food does not excuse their cost.also they parade a pig just for fun,was not given to the guest.
I did not experience michellin star food,or service.

Noteworthy details: Nice looking restaurant.

Service: 3

A beautiful hotel and dining experience.

The tasting menu and wine pairing with taxes and tips are about $1000/person, but I do think it’s a little bit overpriced.

I would give 4/5 for the food, but 100/100 for the dining atmosphere.

Service: 5

With people desperately trying to source water around the world you decide to sell it for $95 a bottle?

Service: 1

I have to say, our experience was truly underwhelming. This is a 3-Michelin-star restaurant, which we expected to exceed our visit to the 1-Michelin-star restaurant Unforgettable (Turin, Italy) and Jean-Georges in Philadelphia (which is not Michelin-starred). Unfortunately, it fell far short of expectations.

We drove 4.5 hours to dine here for a special occasion, but we left extremely disappointed. The portions were small, and the amuse-bouche was underwhelming. At both of those restaurants, they served a delightful selection of multiple small bites, each unique and memorable. Furthermore, the overall experience here felt overly commercial and impersonal, detracting from what should have been a refined and intimate dining experience.

Most of the staff seemed barely engaged and rarely smiled, which felt unwelcoming. Their demeanor was robotic and lacked the warmth and attentiveness one expects at this level—unlike the other two restaurants, where the impeccable service and fully immersive staff enhanced the entire evening and left us feeling truly amazed and delighted.

Sadly, this fell far short of the standard expected from a 3-Michelin-star restaurant, and we won’t be returning.

Service: 1

Tearful Wedding Night Experience at The Inn at Little Washington

I am absolutely heartbroken by my experience at The Inn at Little Washington on what was supposed to be one of the most memorable nights of my life—my wedding night. My husband and I are avid diners who have celebrated milestones at fantastic restaurants like Minibar, Alinea, and Jean-Georges. The Inn had been a long-anticipated destination for us, saved for a moment as special as this. It fell far below my expectations of a Michelin-starred experience.

We booked a Sunday-Tuesday package, intending to enjoy dinners at both The Inn and Patty O’s. Instead, I found myself driving 2.5 hours back home on my wedding night, disappointed and frustrated.

My main complaints are around allergen negligence and poor service. We reported both my food allergies and my husband’s alcohol restrictions to The Inn over a month in advance of our stay.

As someone with a *severe* shellfish allergy, I expect any fine dining establishment, especially one with The Inn’s reputation, to handle allergens with care and precision. Upon arrival, we were delivered tea service to our room that included unmarked lobster rolls. Had I not noticed, I could have ended up in the hospital on my wedding night.

Adding to this, my husband, who does not drink, was offered unmarked alcohol twice. For the welcome cocktail, it was not a major problem to clarify that he needed a non-alcoholic option, but despite this, a "complimentary" beverage left in our room after dinner which turned out to be an alcoholic aperitif—again, completely unlabeled.

Our dinner at The Inn was, frankly, underwhelming. While the food was fine, in my opinion, it lacked the excitement and innovation we’ve experienced from restaurants of this stature. The service, which should have been seamless, was disjointed with many servers waiting our table. We had to repeatedly explain my husband’s sobriety to multiple servers—a detail that should have been communicated between staff. In addition, the table was never brushed for crumbs and a requested non-alcoholic cocktail for a specific course wasn’t delivered until later.

The detail that I thought was insulting was a celebratory drink offered to my husband for our wedding— a glass of Martinelli’s apple cider—the kind you can buy for $3 at any grocery store. My husband was offered a taste test of the bottle for his approval similar to when fine wines are offered. This felt thoughtless, especially given the price point of the experience. There were multiple sparkling NA options on their menu, but this bottle of cheap, off menu cider was brought out instead.

I kept waiting for the “wow factor”, but after the main course was finished, I was disheartened. When dessert arrived, I was so upset I was almost in tears and left it largely untouched. The night I’ve been envisioning for years was a bitter disappointment.

Lastly, there has been no follow-up. I expressed my concerns to a manager that evening and asked if we could leave that night. I was encouraged to stay for breakfast, but I did not want more of the experience I’d had so far. After I decided to leave, I felt rushed out by the staff. I was assured someone would contact me the next morning, but as of now—well past the promised timeframe—I have heard nothing. I’ve called the manager’s number and emailed both the manager and reservation desk to no response. This level of unresponsiveness has deepened my frustration.

This was my wedding night. A night I will never get back. I left feeling devastated and unheard, and I am now out nearly $4,000 for an experience that was not only disappointing but frankly, potentially dangerous.

I am still waiting for someone to contact me. Until then, I can only advise others to think twice before trusting this establishment with their most important moments.

Rooms: Even

Service: 1

Food and drinks: Unbelievable

Service: 5

Rooms: Clean!

Safety: 10/10

Walkability: 10/10

Service: 5

The best birthday celebration a woman would as for at 3 Michelin star restaurant and Hotel! Grateful for this gift and experience! Everything was perfect!

The Inn at Little Washington, located in Little Washington, Virginia, is a quaint little place that time seemingly forgot. The whole surrounding area seems to be this way and is magically nostalgic.

From the carefully curated cuisine to the beautifully landscaped gardens and the display of farm animals this place is like something out of another time, perhaps out of an old novel that you can't wait to turn the page and explore.

The dining is absolutely exquisite and quite tasteful.

The staff is extremely pleasant and courteous to visitors' needs.

This location isn't specific to one building, but rather, it is a whimsical little place that is settled upon four corners of a road in the middle of nowhere. All of the surrounding buildings and businesses are suited to such add a touched by something old worldly and perhaps a bit magical.

Nearby activities: There are absolutely gorgeous gardens to behold, delicious dishes at neighboring restaurants, or specifically catered to within the inn itself.

There is a luxurious wine and chocolate tasting place almost next door.

This location isn't specific to one building, but rather it is a Whimsical little place that is settled upon four corners of a road in the middle of nowhere. All of the surrounding buildings and businesses are suited to such add a touched by something old worldly and perhaps a bit magical.

Service: 5

Update: I just had dinner at a different 3-star Michellin restaurant and feel compelled to update my review. Especially in contrast, The Inn is a severe disappointment. Who knows what Michellin stars actually mean, but with certainty I can say that The Inn is nothing special, doesn’t deliver at the price they charge, and you can see this same criticism pop-up occasionally on the reviews of it.

Our experience at The Inn restaurant (didn’t stay overnight) was a disappointment. The restaurant did not perform at 3-star Michelin level, or even at any sort of elite rating system. It certainly does price at 3-star level (>$1000 for 2 people including a wine tasting menu). It is simply a restaurant designed to extract dollars from the local people of NOVA and the DMV who probably don’t know any better and think that the amount they spend necessarily correlates with the quality they are getting. All you have to do to learn the truth is dine at a variety of places in the same supposed category.

Food (2/5): Generally ok quality, but only a couple menu items of note. Dishes tend to have subtle flavors. Style is definitely ‘classic’ French fine dining with an accent of southern USA. Course design is conservative, and you wont find many unusual flavors (more adventurous fine dining places will have menu items that excite some and scare others). Dish presentation/aesthetics was overall very good. Everything was cooked/prepared well, but the menu was boring. The dessert is a great embodiment of this: ‘good clean fun’ —> an edible bar of soap with subtle regular vanilla flavor.
The numbers of courses was small (maybe 7 small plates) which is less than other restaurants ive been too at this caliber. Make sure you get plenty of bread or you will leave hungry.

Wine (4/5): Wine pairing was excellent and the only notable thing from our visit.

Ambiance (2/5): The Inn is ok, but outdated and nothing really unique about it. We were stuck in the patio area which is clearly something they put in in order to expand the number of guests they can serve at once. I would much rather have been in the main dining area which is much nicer.

Service (1/5): Service was poor and not even Michelin level. They forgot to give us bread and I had to hail over the goofy cow cart to get some. And thank god I did because it was the only thing keeping me from being severly underfed, as opposed to moderately underfed. The dinner felt rushed. We were in and out in less than 2 hours which is shocking for something of this supposed caliber. Waiter/tresses were not attentive. The one positive here is that the sommelier/waitress was able to explain the wines very well.

Overall: 2/5 is generous. I went to The Inn because it’s close to where i grew up and figured I needed to go to the local renowned area for that reason. I would definitely not return and proably encouraged others to avoid unless they significantly up their game. The restaurant gained accolades decades ago and feels like its riding on its old coat tails but shifted towards monetization and high-throughput rather than quality and giving a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience. Hard pass: there are countless exciting restaurants in the DC area to try instead.

Service: 1

This place is magical!

Service: 5

I initially hesitated to write this review, but I realized that every restaurant, regardless of its reputation, deserves honest feedback. My wife and I dined here for our anniversary, hoping for a memorable experience. Unfortunately, while the food was good, it didn't quite live up to expectations. My wife's entrée, a prosciutto-wrapped tenderloin, arrived lukewarm at best, which was disappointing.

However, the main reason for this review is the unsettling feeling we left with. The waitstaff's demeanor made us feel as though we were a burden or had unknowingly offended them. We spent part of the evening and even the next day questioning if we had done something wrong. The only explanation we could think of was that we were among the last seatings of the night, and perhaps the staff had already mentally checked out.

When I spend nearly $1300 on a dinner, I shouldn't be left wondering if it was my fault that the service was subpar. In contrast, the previous night we dined at Three Blacksmiths and left with a sense of joy, eager to recommend it to friends and family. It was less than half the price, yet the service was far superior, and the food quality was on par. I've had better service at places like DC Prime or Morton's.

Maybe I don't fully understand what a 3-star Michelin rating signifies, but based on this experience, it didn't seem to offer anything extraordinary. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this restaurant, as it did not feel worth the money.

Service: 3

40th Anniversary was made so special by Patrick's amazing staff. Felt like royalty. Our second visit but not our last.

Food and drinks: Incredible. Look at the pictures. Words don't do it justice.

Service: 5