McCormick & Schmick's Seafood & Steaks — Restaurant in Baltimore

Let's start off this experience with the parking. There is hardly any signage outside for this restaurant and we almost drove right past it. There is no valet available, and we had to pay $8 to get into the parking lot next to the restaurant only to find it was full. We then had to pay $26 to park across the street. We were seated immediately for our reservation and things were starting off okay, until it took over 20 minutes to get our beverages. Our waiter did not know how to open a bottle of wine which is quite strange at a restaurant that boasts such a large wine service. We were never offered refills and often had to ask several times to have empty glasses cleared away or even get the drinks we ordered to begin with. Oysters and the crab cake appetizers were lovely, no complaints here. We ordered 2 steaks, and the chefs feature seafood cioppino. We found it quite odd that a steakhouse of this calibre only offered choice cut steaks instead of prime. The ribeye and strip were cooked well and had decent flavor. We ordered a bowl of lobster mashed potatoes for the table which were brought to us without a serving spoon. The cioppino was an absolute disaster. The fettuccine was over cooked and stuck to itself in clumps. All of the seafood was severely overcooked--chewy and inedible, served in what appeared to be just the liquid the seafood was cooked in and not an actual stew. We called the manager to our table and informed him of our dissatisfaction with the service and asked for a replacement for the cioppino. He sent a person one time to clear the dishes that had been piling up on our table. I ordered a 6oz filet as a replacement for the cioppino and was assured it would be out expediently, but this was not the case. By the time the dish arrived about 25 minutes later, the rest of the table had finished their entrees and our lobster mashed potatoes were cold (and we were never brought a serving spoon, even after asking the manager on duty and our waiter). The manager brought the filet himself and stated that he upgraded it to an 8oz serving on the house. The filet was cooked well and had decent flavor. After our meals we ordered coffees which took another 20 minutes to arrive. We asked for dessert menus and were instead presented with the check. We asked again for the dessert menus and the waiter brought an empty folder with no menu inside and had to come back with the actual dessert menu (1 dessert menu for 4 people, I might add). We ordered the chocolate silk pie and the upside down apple pie which were just alright. When the check arrived, the cioppino had been removed, however we were charged full price for the 8oz "upgraded" filet (not the 6oz I asked for) and one dessert had been comped by the restaurant. We understand times are tough right now recovering from the pandemic and finding/keeping employees, but our service was abhorrent. The waiter was friendly and you could tell he was trying, but he was severely undertrained and had no assistance. The manager was too busy having to deliver entrees and perform other duties to be an actual manager. We left feeling completely unsatisfied and ripped off. We will not be coming back and will never recommend McCormick and Schmick's to...

Update:

Nothing worse than asking someone to waste time. M&S asked me to write an email to the link, why? I did and no response, could have just told me thanks, would have taken five minutes. So while I sit here at the Waterfront Marriott looking down at M and S I recall not only how bad the food was but now that they asked me to do something and wasted my time. So not only is their food quality poor, I'll make sure the front desk knows to tell guests to go to The Capital Grill, awesome food, awesome service, Ruth's Chris right there with Capital Grill, James Joyce around the corner from the Marriott. Plenty of great places with great food near here.

M&S, so many thumbs down to this place and its follow up.

If I could leave zero stars I would. I stay at the Marriott across the courtyard from this location every week. I usually go to the Capital Grill or Ruths Chris but last night I decided to go to M&S, won't do that again. Starting with the service, the bar tender was more concerned with their phone than they were with taking care of guests. We had to ask to order drinks, there was no typical welcome to our restaurant would you like something to drink, we had to make an effort to get the bar tenders attention. The drinks were drinks. We knew what we wanted, we were going to have an appetizer, Lump crab and split Filet Mangion and lobster tails, after we ordered drinks we had to ask for menus then, ask to order, should have left then. After we ordered it took forever to come, while we waited we wanted two more drinks, again, had to ask.

It took forever for things to come out, we actually had to ask the bartender a few times to check given he was so focused on anything other than service.

When the food came out, it came out all together, so no time between appetizer and entree. When I said something the reply was ya I know it all came at once. My guess was the appetizer sat while the bar tender worked his phone.

The crab was good, that's where it stopped. The filet was cold and over cooked, I did complaint, it went back and came back dried out but hot, almost not edible at that point. The lobster was practically dried out and tough, didn't even finish it it was so bad. Usually we hang out for a few after diner cocktails, tab is usually is a $250-$375 tab for the two of us, I usually tip well and in cash. I tipped 15%.

After finishing a few drinks we paid and went back to the Marriott where we had French fries that topped what we had at M&S. Ruths Chris is in the same building as M&S, either walk around front and go there or walk 10 minutes to Capital Grill. Same price point, service has never disappointed me and the food has always been great! So, thumbs down on M&S on all categories, shame given I was looking forward to a great experience. Headed to Capital...

I take my family here at least once a year, but we used to go at least 5 times a year (for every birthday and special occasion). We don’t go as often anymore for a number of reasons. The food is delicious and depending when you go, you don’t usually have to wait long to be seated, but things have changed quite a bit over the years. My wife’s favorite thing there was always the creme brulee, until they started experimenting with different flavors and you didn’t have a choice of flavor - most of the time they didn’t even tell us it was going to be different. It was always a very unpleasant surprise. Additionally, they changed the entrance and parking arrangement, so now you have to go through a hotel to get inside and you have to valet park no matter what. To top it off, you can never find who you are suppose to give your keys to. There is no one outside so you have to leave your vehicle unattended if you’re alone and go inside to find someone for help. Typically the front desk staff (at the hotel you now have to walk in through) has no idea what to do and it truly makes for a miserable experience. Then you have the frequent noise coming from the regular concerts next door. It’s extremely loud, vibrating and truly miserable if you are looking for a nice quiet evening out with your loved ones. Honestly, the location is no longer suitable for an upscale restaurant. There’s no way to enjoy it. Then there was the last time we went, in which we experienced all of those unpleasantries, and then to top it off, it took an hour to be served, it took a very long time to get our waiter at each interval of our meal, and when the waiter did return, he broken and spilled a bowl ON my mother in law. It was her birthday we were celebrating! He said he was going to make it up to us by providing a free dessert- that didn’t happen. We didn’t even get a free birthday dessert that they typically provide. We were charged full price for everything, which is fine except that he said her dessert would be free of charge. We still tip generously no matter how terrible our service or experience is because waiters depend on tips no matter what restaurant you go to in the US. Because restaurants refuse to pay their employees a livable wage, we have to subsidize their pay. I don’t like it but I refuse to not tip someone who serves me. We have been visiting less and less for these reasons. As it stands, I recommend their food, but can not recommend their service, restaurant, location, parking, or really anything else at this time. I feel terrible about it because we always used to love it there; but, unfortunately, things...