Restaurant Finder

2941 Restaurant

Cuisines: American French Neighborhood: Falls Church

Based on 10 reviews.

Address	2941 Fairview Park Drive, Falls Church, VA 22042
Phone	(703) 270-1500

Rater Comments

These comments express the opinions of individual Restaurant Raters, not those of Washington City Paper.

Review by capitolfoodies on August 28, 2009

Today I lunched at 2941 where Executive Chef Bertrand Chemel, a native of the Auvergne region of France and recipient of three stars from the New York Times, is reputed to have transformed this restaurant into an earthy manifestation of French cuisine.
My lunch companions, a friend who has dined in the finest restaurants Europe and North America has to offer and her six year old daughter. Yes, that’s right, I said six year old daughter. I know what you are thinking, why introduce a kid to a menu crafted for a sophisticated palette or force her to sit still amidst 2941’s lush landscape of lake, koi pond and floor to ceiling windows?

For the record, this isn’t your average six old. Besides displaying only the best behavior that I wish some adults would emulate, this child has refined tastes and can down squid, steak and carpaccio with the best of them which is precisely what she did.

This sophisticated child started her meal with Hawaiian Red Snapper Carpaccio that featured a citrus gelee, cilantro and heart of palm. She liked the way the citrus interacted with the snapper and thought the fish was worth finishing. She did however reject the hearts of palm, finding the texture and flavor a bit odd. I agree. The snapper was fresh and full of flavor and the citrus gelee provided a refreshing burst of flavor reminiscent of a stylish civiche. While I ate the heart of palm and liked the texture it added, I didn’t feel its presence contributed to overall the flavor profile of the dish.

Her mother opted for the Chilled Pea Soup with poached shrimp, summer truffle and orange oil. The soup arrived in an amazing bowl that literally tilted downward which made finishing the last few spoonfuls of soup that much easier and more refined.

I suspect my companion liked but did not love this soup. I say this because like her daughter, she is extremely well-mannered and if she can’t say something nice she isn’t likely to say anything at all and while she ate the soup she did so without much comment. Her daughter, the brave eater, also sampled the soup and her reaction which was a mix of confusion and scowl was more telling. “What are the sticks in the soup,” she asked. Sticks? I looked at her mother who confirmed that were indeed stick-like objects in the soup that she couldn’t quite identify. I wondered if they were the summer truffles but as a huge fan and occasional connoisseur of truffles I can’t imagine them being stick-like in character or flavor. And so the sticks hidden in the soup remained a mystery one I think both dining companions could have done without.

For the main course, the kid and I ordered Veal Cheek Ravioli with tomato confit, butter poached lobster, and parmesan. The lobster was moist and flavorful, the veal cheek ravioli decadently rich, and the tomato confit’s acidity provided a wonderful balance to the dish.

The little one finished the lobster but didn’t fall in love with the veal cheek ravioli. She tried it, a couple of times, before deciding she would have preferred this homemade pasta be stuffed with cheese instead of veal cheek. Her mother and I disagreed finding the veal cheek delicious but I have to remind myself that despite being a child extraordinaire she is still a child and what kid doesn’t want cheese ravioli?

Her mother ordered the Grilled Pacific Monchong that was lightly grilled and stained with turmeric. Basmati rice, lychee and curry leaf accompanied the fish. Both the child and I sampled this vibrant dish that featured a small piece of fish swimming in a bright green sea. The fish had an almost meat-like texture and was well-seasoned and moist. The sauce burst with flavors that reminded me of one of my favorite Thai dishes, a blend of curry, coconut and basil. Why then didn’t I love this dish? It failed to come together as a whole. The fish was good, the sauce was good but they didn’t tango and that caused the dish to disappoint.

For dessert, I ordered the Raspberry Parfait with fromage blanc panna cotta, lemon balm and warm madeleines. My companions decided upon the Ice Cream Sandwich comprised of dark chocolate cookies paired with mint chocolate chip ice cream. The raspberry parfait was a delight. Imagine a soft, creamy construction paired with fresh raspberries and a perfect cookie. The ice cream sandwich fared less well. Just to further demonstrate the refined palette of this six year old, I will share with you that she opted to eat the dark chocolate portion of the dish and rejected the ice cream.

By now, you know that I am passionate about food and so my reviews thus far have either been ripe with praise or cranky with criticism. Why then does this review of 2941 seem like a lackluster endorsement (yes, the oxymoron was deliberate)?

Our lunch was good not fabulous and yet I experienced moments of greatness like the freshness of the snapper, the succulence of the lobster, the richness of the panna cotta. Thankfully, these moments are enough to ensure that I will give 2941 another try but next time I hope that all of the dishes sing.

Review by Herb on January 12, 2006

Review by jenb1012 on November 16, 2004

2941 is tucked away in the first floor of an office building on the General Dynamics campus in Falls Church. It's very close to the Beltway and other major roads, but you would never know it - the building is in the middle of a secluded wooded lot with a pond. The decor of the restaurant is warm, subdued and tasteful, but rather uninspired. However, the food is excellent and the service is very attentive and professional. The menu varies seasonally - on our late October visit, the menu featured hearty game dishes such as venison and pheasant, and harvest root vegetables. We started with the butternut squash soup, fried calamari and zucchini, and red and golden beets. The calamari was perfect - tender and flavorful in a crisp and light-as-can-be tempura batter. So many restaurants have calamari on the menu in between the quesadilla and the 'tater skins that we've become accustomed to enduring the chewy, greasy concoction that is inevitably offered to us in such places. It was refreshing to see calamari prepared as it was intended to be. The squash soup was golden, hearty, and deceptively simple, but filled with complex and subtle flavors. The beets were fantastic. I had to be coaxed into eating them -- too much of grandma's "special" pickled beets in my childhood had soured me on this peculiar vegetable. But 2941's beets were tangy, earthy, and buttery. Delicious. For our main course we ordered caramelized scallops and Chilean sea bass (aka Patagonian toothfish). The scallops were large and perfectly textured, resting on a bed of succulent mushrooms and a small portion of velvety mashed potatoes. The sea bass was excellent - flavorful without being overly fishy, which is often my complaint with that particular fish. The dessert, a "twoffle'" (two flavors of souffle in one pot), was heavenly. The service was very good - attentive without being overbearing. There was some trouble with our wine selection not being available - and then our second choice not being available either. But a third, much nicer (and more expensive) was presented to us, and we were only charged the cost of our first choice. All in all, this was a very satisfying experience, though rather expensive.

Review by SweetMer26 on November 9, 2004

Wow, scrumptious, yum - all words I would use to describe our experience at 2941. My boyfriend and I went there for our anniversary dinner and they treated us like royalty. We are both in our mid to late 20's but look younger and sometimes at the nicer restaurants we get the shoddy service. At 2941, this was not the case. Everything seemed to be well-timed and we felt completely catered to. I mentioned the anniversary when making the reservation a month in advance, and they remembered it on their own, without my prompting.

The food itself was delicious and the portions were neither overly huge or too teeny to get full. It was that nice kind of full when we were done where your stomach is completely satisfied, but you don't feel sick. I admit that the price is steep compared to some other DC restaurants, but for the food and service you are getting, it is worth much more. Now stop reading and GO!!

Review by mmanson on May 15, 2004

2941 is one of our favorite dinner destinations. But our recent visit was our best yet. The service, which has occassionally been spotty in the past, was flawless. And the food, as always, was delicious.

Review by JonDes on May 4, 2004

This place is gorgeous, stunning visually with a beautiful lake, fountains and amazing views from the dining room. The food is excellent as well and the chef/owner is a great local guy in his 30s who comes out to the tables to talk and see what he can do for the cutomers. Amazing, one of the best in the area and a very different atmosphere than most DC restaurants.

Review by The_Bat on April 27, 2004

My boyfriend and I anticipated going to this restaurant for weeks before we were finally able to get a reservation (advise - start seeking reservations at least three weeks ahead to secure the exact time you want). We were not disappointed. The food was excellent and the service was friendly and professional. I am a huge fan of poultry - and I was not at all disappointed by the pheasant breast and truffled mousse leg. My boyfriend was especially happy to find a dessert made of Quince (a dessert "soup"). I would recommend trying an appetizer - the combination of tastes in our seafood and pureed chive potato was awesome (although small in portion) - the waitress also brought out one single order in two separate plates which was nice. Finally - we were pleasantly suprised to have complementary fresh candy brought out to us - I think it was at the discretion of our waitress.

There are only two downfalls of this restaurant - as far as I could tell. The first is that it's a bit hard to find. It's in an odd place - sort of hidden behind some woods and a large parking garage. The second is that it's expensive and the portions do tend to be on the smaller side. I would suggest going to this place if you want fantastic food and atmosphere, and are willing to pay for them!

Review by sillygirl1011 on April 16, 2004

The interior of 2941 is beautiful, with very high ceilings and huge windows which overlook the lake. The view, however, is missed once it becomes dark and the large windows make it very chilly (unless, I imagine, you are seated at the table by the fireplace, which we were not). Although we showed up under-dressed, and without a reservation, we were seated immediately. The meal ends with a daily flavor of cotton candy, along with homemade marshmallows and cookies, which was a nice treat (best cotton candy I've ever had!). Also, each of the four of us was given an entire loaf of bread to take home - which we were quite excited about, until the next day when we found the bread had gotten rather hard.

Review by hm212 on December 21, 2003

It is a very pretty restaurant, but the portions are tiny, the prices are sky high, I have never seen such a tiny wine list with so few choices. The bread was great, but overall not worth it. Very disappointed.

Review by jpamco on December 5, 2003

Jonathan Krinn brought a little New York City higher end dining experience to a terrific lake view setting.