Twist Georgetown

Definitely not worth even the Living Social deal! First of all, they don’t honor the Living Social deal after expiration. Furthermore, the food is terrible. I got food poisoning after eating there with my husband

I came here for brunch and was seated right away. She walked us around a corner and pointed at the table we’d be sitting at. We sat our things down and went to the buffet. There was sausage, bacon, chicken, fish, fruits, desserts, as well as an omelet and waffle station. The line wasn’t long at all for any. We were able to walk right up and help ourselves. Brunch included unlimited mimosas, champagne, or bloody marys. I got the mimosas and the waitress did a great job of keeping them flowing. The food was ok nothing worth going back for. The best part was the fresh waffle and omelet besides that I just kind of picked at the rest.

I got the livingsocial for the brunch buffet and unlimited mimosas/​bloody marys. Brunch started at 11 and we had a reservation for 11. We were directed by the front desk of the hotel to a different dining area, where all the other guests were standing and then around 11:05 were told to follow the man to the right dining area. We got seated quickly within 3 minutes, but the buffet wasn’t quite ready so we sat until about 11:20. We did get our drinks while we were waiting. We ordered the mimosas, which were good. The servers kept them filled up pretty well until the end of our meal, where they stopped coming around.
Once we got to the food we saw that there were two lines. One for the made to order omelets and waffles and one for the standard buffet food. We got in line for the omelets first. They had filling choices of onion, green pepper, ham, cheese and tomato. The omelet was made well, no complaints not the best I had but was good. I also got a waffle there, I was disappointed that they only had thawed frozen berries and whipped cream as toppings (no chocolate at all in the buffet :().
In the buffet section they had a lot of cold salad options: tomato and mozzarella, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, pasta salad, potato salad… I got the hummus which was really good and the grape leaves which I also enjoyed. Then they had the hot options: Mac and cheese, French toast, sausage patties, fried chicken, rice. I got the French toast, which was not the crispy French toast that would have been nice, it was all soggy, but the flavor was good. The mac and cheese I’m pretty sure was souffers (which was really good anyways) and the sausage was ok too.
They had a dessert table, they were all very similar in texture, some cake and a lot of creamy frosting, most of them were overly sweet, but the tiramisu was good on sweetness. It was a good morning brunch, not a five star brunch but was a fun time with a lot of food and drink! Wouldn’t go back, would rather try other spots.

A coworker of mine recommended Twist, so I bought the LivingSocial voucher right away. I only looked them up on Unilocal after buying the deal, upon which I said, «Ohhh no. Oh no no no.» But it was too late to ask for a refund, so I took my family there for brunch.
On its face, it’s not a TERRIBLE deal as long as you’re not expecting an upscale DC brunch. (They are totally lying about being in Georgetown. They’re in Glover Park.) The food is perfectly acceptable. I liked the waffles and omelettes. I’ve enjoyed similar breakfast buffets for $ 12, and those didn’t include endless mimosas! Their tiramisu was quite yummy, even though it was from a box.
Where it gets iffy (and this is the reason I can’t give them more than one star, even though I’d say the food is about a 2.5) is the inflated gratuity and tax that many other reviews have pointed out. I can almost understand the automatic gratuity, since there are too many cheap, entitled jerks out there who think «It’s a buffet, nobody’s serving me» without thinking of the people who set up that buffet and clean up their tables and pour their many, many, rounds of mimosas with an unfailing smile. Twist should include it in the fine print, and it really should be 15% and not 20%, but I’m not against the gratuity itself. The tax bit, however, I find completely unethical, and I walked into that restaurant ready for a fight. As far as I’ve seen, DC does not tax based on «perceived value,» that would be ridiculous. (Also, no freaking way was that buffet actually worth $ 40. I pity the fool who would actually pay full value.)
To anyone who plans to dine here, I recommend you argue with the manager about this. I did and I succeeded in being charged the fair amount.
This lie is considerably smaller than the other two lies, but: there also wasn’t any jazz band at all when I dined there. That’s three strikes. And food always tastes worse when you feel like you’ve been cheated out of something.

Total rip off. If you have bought a deal from groupon/​living social, beware there would be significant amount of extra charges in addition to what you paid for brunch. I don’t appreciate how the owner couldn’t make it clear about «restrictions». I feel like the owner only wants the volume and would careless if you return or not.
Atmosphere-​I would give a 1 for the ambience. This buildings been under construction for awhile. Don’t even try to look it up online, photos are far from the reality. When you walk in, looks better than what you would imagine because exterior is just horrible but it’s tiny and they cramped way too many tables so barely any room to walk around between tables. I literally felt like I was in an old, like ancient, smelly dungeony cafeteria.
Food– I would give 1, since that’s really the lowest I can possibly go. Selection is variety I guess I can say that since they have omelette, some veggies, grilled fish to Mac and cheese. I didn’t think any of the items went together but felt like they have such selection to attract different crowds. Omelette was the best and most fresh item you can get… There was a guy in the far left corner right by the kitchen hall way, all cramped and in between everything. He has a small table, three min pans on a portable gas thing, and stainless steel cups for pre cut veggies, cheese and etc. he was rather quick despite the longest line and managed to kept his smile. I wouldn’t be able to, I mean it was like hell. The only thing about that table was, he kept rinsing his spatula in the same dirty water each time. I mean at least throw it out and put clean water every 10^th customer. Yuck. But I had no choice since I didn’t like any of their buffet.
Service-​1… What is service? Who needs service when everything is self serviced? Why do we pay $ 17 extra dollars for tips and fees if none was provided? I now understand why they made it mandatory gratuity on this deal because no one would pay as well as I think they think they deserve. Most if not all waiters and waitresses spoke Spanish and they seemed extra friendly to Spanish speaking customers providing them with fresh bottles of champagne when we can’t even get water for first 20 minutes. Yes, I would’ve like a fresh bottle too. Thank you for not asking.
Overall I would give 1.5 but since I can’t do so I would rate them a 2 star restaurant. This is excellent if you are on a budget, looking to get hammered with your friends and not picky about food.
Anyone who’d rather spend extra 10 – 15 dollars for service, ambience, and quality of food & drinks, STAY AWAY. You shall be disappointed! Our groupon deal was $ 35 for two plus $ 17 taxes and required gratuity totaling $ 52. If you are willing spare a couple extra dollars, you can enjoy many other brunch spots nearby.

— Service was okay
— Food was meh to okay
— Ambiance is lacking, and needs a serious update and face lift to be with the current times.

A buffet of hotel lobby food sums this up.
If you like hotel lobby food than this is the place for you. Come and get bacon made in the masses where portions range from burnt to barely done. Eat mac and cheese that tastes like it’s out of a box. Eat fish… just tastes weird. Have chicken that your not even sure it’s chicken till you see there is white meat.
Drink bottomless mimosas where they barely refill you.
Fight with people in the lack of lines for waffles and omletts.
If all those things are for you… then this is your place.

Have low expectations! Enjoy the low cost «brunch» buffet and unlimited mimosas/​Bloody Marys and come with a good group of friends to elevate your experience!
My friend bought a Groupon for a 4-​person brunch with unlimited mimosas and food so we came here on a Sunday around 11:30. The restaurant is in the hotel lobby, and I believe that both sides of the dining area were serving the same food and drinks.
The buffet line was long at times, but that was mostly due to the omelette line, which really needed its own line so that other people can get through the buffet table quickly.
The food was just alright. I was surprised at the assortment of non-​breakfast foods available, such as a chili-​like ground beef dish, fish, and mac and cheese (which tasted just like Stouffer’s). I wish that they would label the food too, for people with dietary restrictions. I did really like the desserts, like tiramsu, tres leches, almond cake, chocolate pudding, and cannoli. Mmmm tres leches.
Service wasn’t great, but I didn’t find my mimosa glass empty too often, and the mimosas were a decent ratio of champagne and orange juice. Also, no one really cared how long we were there for; we were there probably for 3 hours and could have stayed longer.

3 stars for food, 4 stars for service.
What this place is: A self-​serve buffet hosted on the weekends (purchase the deal online!) in a mid-​range hotel with endless food, drink, and alcohol. The food tastes like it was cooked in a hotel (which it was) — generic but not bad. Most of the value probably comes from the bottomless alcohol — come here if you want to drink as many mimosas and bloody marys as your heart desires. However, it’s really not in a convenient location, so unless you don’t mind driving or walking some distance then it’s probably not worth the trip.
What this place is not: Some classy, upscale dining experience that is more common in the DC bottomless brunch scene. This is no Zengo or El Centro brunch. You won’t be ordering from an ethnically-​inspired menu and your food certainly won’t be served in a trendy plated fashion.
Establishing these expectations is essential before coming here. I think that the vast majority of these negative reviewers were expecting upscale brunch, likely due to the way that Twist markets its deal. You get unlimited food and alcohol here and would easily be paying an extra $ 15−20/pp for that anywhere else in DC (Don’t believe me? Bottomless brunch at Zengo is $ 39/​pp before tax/​gratuity). If you want «cuisine,» «ambiance,» and a more typical «Sunday brunch experience,» then don’t buy this deal and go to an actual DC restaurant serving brunch.
Like breakfast/​lunch at any other hotel, you wait in line to scoop prepared food onto your plates. There’s the breakfast basics (omelet station, sausage, bacon, tater tots, etc.) as well as Mediterranean twists (tabouleh, salmon, stuffed grape leaves, etc.) and a small dessert bar with a few cakes and pastries. The food is not labeled, which might be more of an issue for picky eaters and/​or those with dietary restrictions. I tried everything (except the omelet station due to the long line) and can say that it all tasted fine, and despite the fact that the variety isn’t huge, I found it easy to fill up. Also, the staff is good about walking around refilling drinks, so you rarely see an empty glass.
Pro tip: If you come earlier (before 11AM), you will get a table more quickly (whether or not you made a reservation), but you will have to wait in line a bit for food (especially the omelet station) because everybody is just getting there and sitting down. On the upside, you can hang around as long as you’d like — we were there for almost 3 hours and staff was still refilling our drinks and never rushed us. If you arrive later in the afternoon (after 12PM), the buffet line is almost nonexistent, but you might not get seated right away if there are no open tables.
Also, I feel like this doesn’t need to be stated, but others seem to struggle with this concept. It if you read the fine print in your Groupon/​Living Social/​Amazon Local deal, you will see that you have to pay the 10% DC tax and a set gratuity based on the full value of your deal. For the 4 person deal, we paid an extra $ 35 total.

I went to Twist after purchasing the Living Social coupon for $ 30.
Upon entering the first thing I noticed is that there was no host/​hostess area, just an open room with tables set up. One of the staff members eventually came over and seated us at the same table as another party of two (even though there were several open tables) – this was pretty awkward. They have a breakfast buffet and bottomless mimosas. The food options were very underwhelming, featuring what appeared to be several frozen food items (tater tots, sausage patties). The waffles/​eggs were the best items. Everything else was distinctly unappealing.
They did have live music – a small jazz group. I just found the music to be too loud and the area to be too cramped.
The one redeeming thing was the fact that they quickly refilled the bottomless mimosas and they were much more champagne heavy than other bottomless mimosas that I’ve had.
Finally, even after purchasing the coupon, they charged taxes and a mandatory tip totally $ 18. So with the coupon it ended up being around $ 24 per person (regularly $ 35 per person). Even with the reduced price, I don’t feel like I got a good value.

Used the living social deal to come to Twist and it was nowhere near being worth the price. Twist is masquerading as a restaurant when it is actually a glorified hotel continental breakfast. With the living social deal, tax, and mandatory tip (at a buffet) our total came to over $ 45 for two people. This gave us access to the buffet and bottomless mimosas.
Starting with the good, the mimosas were strong and steadily refilled. There was an omelette and waffle station that were both passable. Now to the bad. The buffet options were very unappetizing, and I didn’t dare to sample most of it. The breakfast potatoes were tater tots, the sausages microwaved, and the random tomatoes and mozzarella were floating in about an inch of water.
All in all, Twist probably shouldn’t be classified as a brunch restaurant when it’s actually an incredibly overpriced continental breakfast.

Came here today with hubby, mother in law & sister in law to celebrate Mothers Day!
We had a living social coupon and asked when we made reservation if they was honoring coupon for Mother’s Day, the rude guy that answered said yes and we made reservation!
We called back today to confirm and again the lady stated that they are honoring them!
We get to place and we are charged the full price plus tax, tip in which we end up paying almost $ 100 extra!
Twist is inside a room inside savoy hotel! Décor was basic
Very limited selection and most of food was meh!
Waitress was nice and attentive
Mimosas was strong
I’m giving 2 stars for waitress and drinks!
Will not go back with a coupon! way over priced for such a limited selection!

Pros– live band, clean food stations, attentive staff and yummy food (spicy fish, creamy chicken, traditional breakfast food and Greek cuisine).
Cons– tight seating. Tax and mandatory tip is $ 17 on top of the $ 35 groupon.

I bought a Living Social deal for Twist Georgetown and I can tell you that I was wrong… just wrong. It seemed like a good idea at the time…
Practically everyone had a Living Social deal in hand at brunch. The problem is the restaurant oversold these deals and could not deliver on them.
This is not the Sunday brunch experience you would hope for. Just leave it alone.
I guess I should have known by all the other reviews that I’ve read on Twist Georgetown, but I guess I had to see it for myself. I should have also been smart enough to leave well enough alone when I first bought a deal last fall and tried to use it to take my son to brunch before he left for school and I couldn’t get a reservation and finally ended up getting a refund. Yeah, I should have known better, but I didn’t.
Now for the review: Everyone was right… this place leaves a lot to be desired. First, this joint is in GLOVER PARK, not Georgetown. I guess because the address is Wisconsin Avenue, they feel they can call it Georgetown. Whatever…
Perhaps it was the Cherry Blossom Festival or just the nice spring day that brought out the crowds but the line just for a table was ridiculous, regardless of whether you have a reservation or not. At least a half an hour or more. To accommodate the crowds, a banquet room was opened and we were seated two parties at one table or «European style» as I was told.
Once seated, you are in for another long wait in the buffet line. In fact, bring a snack; the food line is so long you’ll need it. Food items run out constantly and are not replenished in a timely manner to meet demand. Lines for waffles, omelets, etc. It makes you feel like you’re in line at a soup kitchen instead of an «upscale» hotel restaurant.
The server and kitchen staff is stretched too thin. They simply cannot accommodate such large crowds although they do try. You will find that you will have to ask for a glass of water, orange juice, etc. several times before you actually get it. I admit the staff was as accommodating as possible; they were at least pleasant and you could see they were operating under trying conditions. That’s why they get two stars and not just one.
Today, the restaurant ran out of mimosas so no unlimited Mimosas for half of the time we were eating. I saw later the staff had champagne bottles and they were scrambling to make batches of mimosas to satisfy guest demands.
The food left a whole lot to be desired. After a thirty minute wait in line, it was a plate of yellow rice, ground beef, hummus and pita bread, smoked salmon and bacon. Later, an empty dessert table was refilled with half-​frozen cake and tiramisu
which further turned everyone off. At the end of this «meal», I asked for the check which included a $ 10 gratuity and $ 7.50 tax on the meal. I didn’t debate this; I just wanted to leave.
The deal is not worth it. Forego the trouble and enjoy Sunday brunch elsewhere.

Went here for brunch with a reservation. The place was packed as everyone had more or less the same reservation. If it was not for Marlo bringing everyone mimosas, I would have left.
The food here wasn’t worthy of being called «brunch.» This food was just a late breakfast. The best thing was the omelet station. I would never go back to this place.

THIS PLACE IS AWFUL.
DO NOT. DO NOT GET DUPPED.
This place is not in Gerogetown either. It’s in Glover Park…
When we left I saw a huge line outside. I hope they all had livingsocial deals like my group and even then they’d still be wasting their time and money.
They place you in an awkward banquet hall with the crappiest, rubbery food on the planet.
The set up is horrible and everyone who works there seems to hate their life.
So its bottomless mimosas? Right when they assume we are done eating (we were there for 45 mins) they drop off the check? Hustling us out of there with the greatest passion. Pretty much the only thing they are passionate about.
Bottom line– DO NOT.

Needless to say I was a little nervous to come here based on the reviews… But I was pleasantly surprised on my experience…
I got the living social deal here and decide to treat my mom to a birthday brunch here. It’s located inside of the hotel, and it was very easy to find… I had an 11:00 reservation and was about 20 min late…
We walk in and were offered several different tables… We sat at one and decided we’d rather sit at the more comfortable tables and were able to change our seating with no problem…
We had bottomless mimosas and really enjoyed them… They were just right and very tasty… I swear my glass never half empty without it being refilled without asking… They manager walked around to everyone and checked on them… And made sure our meal was going well… So they’ve obviously taken not to the complaints and fixed the issues they were having… So I’d say give them a second chance if you weren’t really happy with them the first go round… But just make sure to make a reservation… This place gets pretty busy!

We purchased the $ 35 LivingSocial for this place, and had trouble getting a reservation. We got one eventually, about a month in advance, and headed there on a recent Saturday. We showed up a few minutes early for our 11am reservation, and had 3 out of the 4 people in our party there– but they wouldn’t seat us until the 4^th person arrived. I understand the principle– I understand not wanting to seat 2 people out of a party of 10– but when there are tons of empty tables and you have 3 people (aka the same size table whether or not the 4^th person shows up), it just seems like bad customer service to enforce the rule, and the hostess was not very friendly.
After we got seated, they promptly took our drink orders. Three of us got mimosas, and the 4^th asked if she could have straight champagne– they said yes, and brought her a glass. Throughout the meal, they were very efficient with keeping our alcoholic beverages full, which I appreciated it. However, we had a lot of trouble getting water refills at our table. I finished my water about 5 minutes after being seated, and the only reason I got a second water refill was because I literally flagged someone down yelling «excuse me» and asked for a second glass of water– and she looked a bit annoyed at my request. I didn’t even try for another refill once the glass was empty again!
Since we got there right when it opened at 11am, everybody was at the buffet at the same time, and we had to wait awhile at the omelette station (probably about 10 minutes). However, the omelette was quite good and probably the best thing I ate all day. They also had waffles, which weren’t that great, and then a very random array of hot and cold food, such as bacon, sausage, tomato and mozzarella salad, chicken, etc. There were 3 – 4 mysterious meat options; however, nothing was labeled, so it was difficult to tell what things were (not great for people with dietary restrictions!). They also had toast and english muffins, but no bagels, which disappointed me. They had a few dessert options– I tried a brownie but it was quite dry.
When we went to pay our bill, the waitress overcharged one of our credit cards, and I wondered if that was intentional– she didn’t seem surprised or apologetic when we brought it to her attention. However, once we pointed it out, she corrected the issue. But whether it was an honest mistake or not, I’d carefully check your bill before heading out.
There is free parking under the hotel, but the garage is unsafe. To get to the lower floors, you have to go down a two-​way curve with no visibility that is only big enough for one car– and *there are no mirrors*. Therefore, you have no way of seeing if another car is coming up it, and there are no signs warning people to honk before they come around the curve or anything like that– it is QUITE unsafe. I almost got hit by a car coming up the ramp (literally, it was close), and I had to back out of the curve to let them through. It also was not clear how to exit the garage.
Overall, the food was mediocre, and if I came back, the most I’d want to pay would be $ 20 – 25 for the buffet food… no way would I pay the full price of $ 70, and I’m not sure the $ 35 voucher is worth it either. The service was mediocre, but they were nice about letting us linger at the table and the jazz band was quite good; however, when I left, there were tons of people waiting for a table in the lobby. Free parking is a plus, but the garage was not ideal, and I’m not sure I’d park in there again. Maybe not a bad place to come for brunch if you don’t expect much, but I’m sure there are much better places in the DC area.

3 stars for average breakfast buffet and service. We called multiple times to make reservations but no one answered the phone. After a week of trying, a man finally picked up and told us they wouldn’t have an available reservation for another month. I wanted to get rid of my living social voucher so we reserved a date for a whole month later.
We got there at 11:30 and it was fairly empty, with only 2 other tables sat. The food was mediocre, nothing I couldn’t make for breakfast at home. We did enjoy the omelette station and the desserts were pretty good. Bottomless mimosas were good and came around steady but the bloody Mary’s were too watered down and peppery.
Another annoying fact is that the voucher was for $ 35 for a brunch buffet for two with unlimited mimosas and bloody Mary’s which would be a great deal BUT they charge you a gratuity on the $ 70 value plus tax. The only service we got was a lady who came around and refilled our mimosas. All in all, not worth it.

There are times I really do wish I could do ½ star increments as I would give Twist a bit above the 3 noted above.
Using a Living Social Coupon, my wife and I decided to give Twist Brunch a try. Sundays were booked ahead for a month, so we went on a Saturday at noon and had no problem getting a reservation. The place, located in an Upper Georgetown (aka Glover Park) boutique hotel, is rather small, so I understand why the Sundays were fully reserved.
Reading the very mixed reviews, we approached the experience with modest expectations and had an extremely pleasant time.
On the OK — side, the food was fine, fresh, and hot. It was not a massive buffet, but good selection of standard breakfast items plus a couple of hot entrees: a braised chicken dish and a baked salmon dish. The omelet and waffle station was handled well. But, overall, it was nothing spectacular.
On the plus side — there was a very nice live jazz band that played in the background. The musicians were good, but not too loud. Just the right ambiance. The mimosas were very good and the staff was attentive to refilling both the mimosas and the coffee. They whisked the used plates away admirably. Finally, the REAL extra half star: they had free parking in the hotel parking lot! For me, being in the area they are located on Wisconsin Avenue, this is a decided advantage!
We stayed a bit over an hour. During the time the place filled up, but there were always a few empty tables. The Sunday experience could be entirely different, with a fully packed room and I have no clue about their standard restaurant offerings.
The overall experience was very nice and certainly better-​than-​expected! But, will we go out of our way to come to DC just for another opportunity at Twist… I doubt it. On the other hand, if we were in the area anyway, it will remain on our list!