Federal Fritter & Bistro

Great restaurant, wonderful owners and staff.

Went here on recommendation from a friend, made reservations well ahead to be sure we could get in in the middle of busy summer. We showed up a little early, no problem, they had plenty of open tables at that time, but which quickly filled up within an hour...glad we had reservations! It is a smaller restaurant, not that many tables, which is why you need reservations, and why it works so well...plenty of staff to take care of each table without stressing or running about.

Was greeted by the owner Ellen like we were old friends, and Todd (chef and owner) came out and chatted with us also, found out we had mutual friends!

The Federal is known for it's fritters, so of course we had to try some. Had two different kinds with sauce, very tasty! While we were waiting on our dinner, Todd brought us another small appetizer he made for us to try...nice! For dinner, we had pan seared scallops, and the cast-iron skillet Delmarva chicken, a mix of seafood gumbo, andouille sausage and rice, both dishes perfectly cooked and flavorful.

We were too full to order desert and just happy to sit and enjoy our wine, but Todd once again came out with some complimentary small chocolates that went very well as a finish along with our wine.

Can't describe how friendly everybody was, from the owners to the wait staff, everybody just seemed at ease and very polite and attentive. Wish all restaurants could be friendly, so attentive, and have such great food!

Would I go back...absolutely!
Would I recommend...most definitely!

Went here on NYE. Had the tasting menu. I opted for the salad with fried oysters, the seared tuna with soba noodles, the hanger steak and the pot au crème. Paired with wine: $155.

Salad: greens were ok. Oysters were minuscule, over breaded and greasy. Rating: 2

Tuna: Was mealy in texture and if i had eaten them blindfolded I wouldn’t know what they were. The rest of the dish was ok. Rating: 2: tuna 1, rest 3.

Hanger Steak: The steak itself was tasteless. It looked good so I thought it was because it was unseasoned. Unfortunately, salt didn’t help. The Tuscan broccoli raab was tasteless as well. Should have a nice bitter taste. It was limp suggesting it had been overcooked. The horseradish mashed were inconsistent—some bites had no horseradish flavor and others too much. Rating: 1

Pot au crème: excellent. Rating: 5

Manhattan: poor. Wasn’t made with sweet vermouth. This was very disappointing since i had a superb one at the Spirits dinner in November 2025. Rating: 2.

Wine pairings: 3. The Rojas with the steak was excellent. IMO, a sparkling wine should have been served with the dessert.

I was seated in the bar area next to the kitchen along with 2 same sex couples. When I was leaving I could not help but notice that only opposite sex couples were seated in the front of the house.

Will I be back?

Yes, because my first experience with the St George spirits dinner was exceptional. I’m going to the Japanese whisky dinner. Hopefully, it will be excellent and tonight was not representative.

What happened? This was one of our favorite restaurants. Last nights dinner was horrible and expensive. The tempura shrimp with arugula? The arugula was a limp mess as if it had been dressed yesterday. The gnocchi was inedible. Hard little pieces of dough that was to have been accompanied by scallops and shrimp? Didn’t see any shrimp and the scallops were small and buried under some kind of orange sauce. The Scottish salmon was overcooked -can’t say anything to justify the price. Never again!