Ketchup: Put A Fork In It!

We here at EyeSPyZ (did you notice I said we? catch my next post) don't just review the hottest clubs in the city we also hit the restaurant scene up. Let's face it, you gotta eat right? <--Checkers can you pay me for the free promo? Anyways, I'm an avid watcher of MTV's The Hills, well just about anything MTV airs. On a few episodes I caught Lauren and her friends eating at a spot called Ketchup. You know the restaurant that Ashton Kutcher, Tara Reid, and a few other celebs invested in. Since I love food I did a little research and found out that they were opening one at the National Harbor. Well, I waited about a year for it to open and was finally able to go the first week it opened. Let's just say Ketchup was not worth my wait! Be prepared for a long review...I'm going from decor, to service, to the food...Let's GO!

My aunt and I went on a Saturday around noon and there was a 20 minute wait. Now the restaurant wasn't busy at all..but we had to wait because there wasn't enough waiters/waitresses' ...a big NO NO! While we sat and waited in the hard, plastic, backless, ball shaped chairs I noticed the horrible decor. Did I mention these chairs are only big enough to fit one butt cheek in them? Back to the decor...the restaurant looks like it's all white plastic and red neon. The tables have comic style prints with cheap plastic tops, and the lighting is a pale yellow, UGH! So the service has to be better right???...NOT!

It took about 15 minutes for a waitress to wander over and greet us. She started off with, "We just opened, please bare with us as we are all new!" My aunt and I both raised an eyebrow. She took our appetizer order and brought back our water and their signature homemade ketchup sampler. This is what threw me...unless you order the "threesome" (french fry sampler) you will be looking at 5 different ketchups until your meal comes out. Why wouldn't they bring out something to try the ketchup up with? Kind of like how other restaurants bring out complimentary bread and butter! This brings me on to my next review of the food.

So I ordered the turkey burger and fries which were HORRIBLE! My burger was tough and it tasted like a turkey cutlet! The fries were over cooked and taste the same as a bag of Ore Ida frozen crinkle cut fries that you buy in the freezer section of your local grocery store. Now for a restaurant named Ketchup you would think a side dish such as fries would be the main focal point. I expected them to be so much bigger, and not as greasy or mushy as they were! Nevertheless..we tried to finish our food even though it was nasty. We asked for our check and was just about to pay when I noticed that they overcharged us for the appetizer. After we waited another 15 minutes for her to come back to the table, I pointed out the price on the menu and the price we were charged. She said she would take care of it. She came back with the bill, and we paid for the meal. This is where it gets BAD! Now I was expecting 9 dollars and some change back. But, she came back with a 10$ bill. I told her she gave me too much money. She said, "We don't give change." Apparently, it's was policy that they don't have change because on their bills they "round up to the next dollar." Really?!?!?!? Needless to say I will NEVER go back there. If you decide to take a chance on this restaurant, PLEASE email me your experience! I give this place NO STARS!

~EyeSPyZ