matchbox - rockville

surprising good! excellent .... surprising good!
excellent service in a very interesting and well designed restaurant. soup, salad & pizza were first rate. i agree the the prices are high but they match the quality of food & service. recommended highly. please note, we were in for brunch and there were only a few folks in theplacebut i could see how sound levels would escalate if it was packed.

ok, not great, not awful 5 out of 10. thisplacehas a nice setting and an interesting menu, the pizza was ok to sub par vs other higher end brick oven places i have eaten. the quality was on the low side, the taste was good. slightly overpriced for what you get. we also had the steak. it was cooked well but heavy on the salt, again not great, not bad. i did not rate thisplaceas like or do not like, i will go back at least one more time before i decide, but the price vs. quality being a bit out of whack i do not plan to rush back there.

horrible service. i am under the impression people of color are not welcomed. couldn't even get a table as the hostess continuously ignored me and son. waited for more than 10 minutes, standing by the door as other clients were seated.
left theplaceand doubt i will ever go back.

noisy, pricey. since this is the newplaceon the pike (or second newest place), expected a lot more from the waits that have been there. but, the waits were gone, which should have been a tip. a little pricey for what it is, and the noise level was too high for comfortable conversation. sit outside if the weather is good - the traffic is easier to talk over than the hard surfaces inside. not a badplace- we'll give it some more tries to see if we just had a less then stellar experience.

great opening. while i'm normally reticent to review a restaurant after only one week i have to comment on how well matchbox rockville has opened. i've only eaten in chinatown once and i can't compare but the rockville branch may finally break the curse of the places that have come and gone at this location. they clearly have brought some people from the other branches to help with the opening as the pizza is already properly cooked and even though they have been slammed sinced opening, the kitchen seems to be able to keep up.

i love the space, but i do find it a bit corporate, with the pf changs'splacesettings and newspapers at the bar, and the beepers given out at lunch even when theplaceisn't full. however, for an opening thisplaceis great.

surprisingly, the wine for a pizza parlor/bistro is perfectly kept, and they prove that it is possible to offer an interesting beer selection in montgomery county without ripping off their customers. (yes i'm looking at you mussel bar)

only disappointment, i don't remember the onion rings accompaning the sliders beings so salty and covered in the so called parmesean from a jar in chinatown.