Bonefish Grill — Restaurant in Bel Air

It feels like maybe somewhere around 10 years ago, Bonefish Grill was seen as kind of an upscale place to go for dinner, not that it was expensive or required you to dress up fancy, but the atmosphere was nice and in general a seafood restaurant seems like something that you would want to be a little bit more classy. But as it is right now I found the quality of Bonefish Grill to be quite meddling.

Part of that could be because they seem to be in a bit of an employment Crunch at the moment as I write this in late 2022. Although the restaurant was not super crowded while we went, I think they're only five or six tables, it seemed as if there were only one server available at any one time. There were other employees who would deliver food, but overall our poor waiter seemed like he was in over his head, I'm not in any way holding this against him, but it does perhaps speak as to whether or not the restaurants quality has gone down.

When we received our food, it was just so so. My plate in particular looked rather slap a dash, with mashed potatoes that were quite visibly scooped out with an ice cream scoop, and I ordered the special of the day which was described as being talked with cream spinach and crab meat, but the amount of creamed spinach on top was so negligible that I could not even really taste it underneath the strong flavors of everything else in the dish. The green beans were also just Bland and really needed a lot of salt and pepper, and while the garlic potatoes had a good taste to them, they were noticeably Lumpy and also fairly cold.

Cold was another issue with our dining experience. We went late december, and were quite chilly throughout the entire meal and the temperature only decreased the longer we were there. There was a vent open right above us, but they seem to be open everywhere. By the end of the night our entire table of seven was wearing a jacket if we had one. It was not as though the food was terrible, we've had our fill and, and everything was cooked properly, but it did not feel as though the quality match to the price, especially with seafood prices at some of the highest I've...

We used to really like this chain. We are from MA, and did not understand why the Waltham, Burlington, and Westwood closed. The Bel Air Bonefish Grill explains it. They just don’t care anymore, and we will never go to one again.

We were passing thru MD, and actually went to this one on purpose, with high hopes. We tried to make a reservation for lunch at about 130 on 11/14/18, and were told reservations were not accepted. OK….

We got there, out of approximately 50 tables, 6 were occupied. At lunch. I guess we did not actually need a reservation anyway.

One of those tables, by the kitchen, was occupied by staff. The hostess (strait blond hair, 30ish) got up, clearly bothered, took her time getting to the front of the restaurant, and just said “Two?” No “Hi, welcome to our restaurant, would you like a booth or a table or sit at the bar.” She proceeded to walk us to the table area, and we asked for a booth. Without saying a word, she walked to the booth right by the drafty front door, dropped the menus, and walked away. The 3-4 parties that came in after us, she treated in the exact same way. If a hostess can be replaced with a sign saying “Please Be Seated” wouldn’t she at least try a little?

The seat pad on nearest the door was falling apart, and both back pads were loose. Honestly, its my own fault for not walking out at this point.

One of the waitresses (30’s straight hair Brunette/redhead thin) Got up, went behind the bar, and started making herself a drink. Another waitress (30’s, heavier, wavy red hair) walked thru the restaurant, and they got in a screaming match with each other! “I TOLD THEM WE DON’T DO THAT HERE ANYMORE! WE USED TO BUT WE DON’T!” I guess she was referring to good service.

The meal itself was probably fine, but small. My wifes dish was small, so small we went out for desert afterwards. Our waitress was actually OK, but made forgettable by the staff in the back booth who just did not care, the small portions, and the ratty furniture.

I would threaten not to go back, but am confident they will be out of business soon anyway, like the...

Over all underwhelmed with the experience we had. We were visiting family from OOT. We went for a later dinner after a long drive. Our server Brittney was friendly and warm. I got the Red House Sangria, and it was the highlight of the evening. We started with 2 appetizers Maryland Style Crab Cake (the reason we pick Bluefish) and the Imperial Dip. The dip was good, paired with house made chips that made the app great, as long as the chips had seasoning on them. The crab cakes were a total flop, completely bland and they fell apart just from us looking at them.

My dinner guest ordered the Imperial Cod, which they enjoyed, minus the Garlic Mashed Potatoes. I ordered the Fisherman's Sirloin, cooked med rare, with Bacon Mac & Garlic Mashed Potatoes. While the steak did come out med rare, it was more on the med side, was under seasoned, and was dry/tough on the outside. The mac & cheese noodles were over cooked and the "cheese sause" was a mess, gritty from the parm cheese, and at the same time, watery to the point where it wasn't coating the noodles. The biggest let down was the mashed potatoes, even with all the butter and garlic they added, you can still tell that the potatoes were instant. I ordered a 2nd Sangria too, this time going for the white "mango" sangria, big mistake, I'm fairly sure it had St. Germaine it, giving the cocktail a very strange taste. I gave Brittney my feedback about the meal and shared my disappointment. She listened and valided my disappointment. She had the Manager come over and I again gave him my feedback. The manager ended up comping bother entrees and removed the sangria I did not drink. This took our bill from over $100 to about $50. I tipped over 20% based off the original total. Kitchen mistakes are not the servers fault, and should never be taken out on them.

While this visit was a miss, I have had very enjoyable dinners at other Bonefish locations and Brittney and her manager handle the complaint/feedback perfectly. So I will come back to this Bonefish again for a redemption arc...