The Oregon Grille — Restaurant in Cockeysville

I decided I wanted to do Easter brunch at the Oregon Grille this year. Previous years we dined at the Milton Inn but I’ve always enjoyed the atmosphere and food at the Oregon Grille so switched it this Easter. I made the reservation for our party of 6.

When we arrived yesterday the man who was going to take us to our table said something along the lines of “I have bad news for you...” and proceeded to explain we would be seated on the third floor (basically a storage room/attic). My sister had recently had foot surgery and was in a boot and didn’t want to make a big deal and said it was fine. I walked up to him and said it was not fine because not only was my sister unable to go up stairs (doctors orders!) my mom just had a total knee replacement. He said they saved the seats on the first floor for elderly people. I absolutely respect that, but we should have been asked if anyone would have a problem walking up stairs when making the reservation. I would have mentioned this but didn’t even know there were other floors there - I’ve only been to the bar and seated on the first floor. We ended up going along with it and they slowly made their way up.

And as previously mentioned, we were seated in an attic. Our table was right next to a closet with the heater and the fan would turn on and it was so loud we couldn’t hear each other over it. This was unacceptable. The people on the first floor are seated next to a piano player, the second floor had a nice fire and we’re next to a loud furnace. There was no bathroom on this floor so we had to use the stairs again if anyone needed to use one - obviously that was an issue for my mom and sister.

We also tried to order appetizers and were told we shouldn’t put that order in first because everything should be ordered together as the kitchen gets very backed up on these holidays. So we all just skipped that course and ordered our entrees.

Upon leaving, we did not see the first floor filled with elderly people but instead it was filled with young families.

My parents didn’t want to make a big deal about this because we had invited my aunt to join us. We were all very disappointed though and I told my dad I would follow up with them today because I felt bad for suggesting we go there.

I called and spoke to the manager this afternoon and he ended up being the person who seated us. He was extremely rude and denied the fact that I went up to him and said we were unable to go to a third floor. He wasn’t the least bit apologetic and really made it clear he didn’t care. All of us heard his response when I said we couldn’t do the third floor so the conversation obviously happened (he even admitted the elderly comment so clearly we did discuss it). After talking for 10 minutes he was just like “well I’m sorry you’re not happy... if you want I can just send you a gift card.” It would have been a nice offer in the beginning of the call, but he was so rude and pretty much lied about the the conversation and at this point it was just insulting.

It’s mind boggling he is the manager and an establishment like the Oregon Grille. I wouldn’t recommend dining there. There are plenty of other restaurants with a nice ambience and...

Unfortunately I can only give a 3-star rating despite higher hopes. We started in the bar with excellent atmosphere, service and perfect drinks. While the single drink cost was a bit more than I thought was reasonable, I expected it with a fancier location.

Our waiter Chris was good although could tell he was somewhat newish however was very friendly and generally very knowledgable about the menu. He was willing to provide a few wine tastings to help make a choice for my part of the meal. I did notice he appeared to have gotten slammed with seating without any assistance. It appeared he was working close to 10-12 tables which all got sat not too far apart. Because of this, we seemed to have had to wait long periods for food. From the time we finished our meal, it took close to another 30 minutes to box up leftovers and pay the bill. I don't feel he was slow at all, just absolutely slammed without nobody to help him out.

The salad was good and a much larger portion than we thought it would be, but no complaints on that. I had the carpaccio which was flavorful but not as buttery of a texture (maybe slightly gummy?) as I have had in other locations. Not a huge complaint as it is more of an honest observation. The fresh rolls were very tasty but would recommend the butter coming out slightly softened as it's hard to spread refrigerator cold butter. This may be a health department requirement however so can't really complain, just a comment I guess.

My wife's Rockfish was perfectly cooked and no complaints on it. She liked the mixture of flavors with the accompaniment and it was very appealing in flavor, color and texture. I had the ribeye special and have to admit I was disappointed. For a restaurant that specializes in Prime Dry-Aged Steaks, I would have expected a ribeye to be very tender, juicy and dripping in flavor. Unfortunately the steak was quite chewy and even the knife provided struggled to cut through it. Honestly I have had more tender and flavorful cuts from Wegmans as a non-aged choice cut. We also got sides of the creamed spinach and garlic mashed potatoes and they came out warm at best. I can't help but to think they sat on the tray waiting to be picked up for close to 10 minutes before coming to us.

I will say we did not complain as I hate complaining especially because we were out for a personal celebration and didn't want to ruin it. We did eat our food and was certainly good enough to eat; just not near the quality of service nor food that I would have expected for such a location that touts it's excellence in steaks and rich history. I can't tell if this was just an off night, maybe a bad cut of steak or something else as we had never been here before. We did enjoy the ambiance but not sure that is enough to bring us back for...

I hate to downgrade my review of The Oregon Grille, but after our last visit there, I was highly dissatisfied with their food (especially for the price) and the new setup.

I was displeased with the changes since the Oregon Grille is under new management (Atlas Restaurant Group). The service was very good, with attentive servers and management, but the food was very disappointing, as was the new setup. I ordered the Glory Bay Salmon, and it was so bad I had to send it back - the first time I've ever done that at a restaurant. It was slimy, it looked undercooked, and it was covered in too much sauce, which made the texture unpalatable. I let our server know I didn't like it, and she was happy to bring me a menu to order something else. I opted for the Roasted Chicken the second time around. A manager came by to let me know my order would be right out and apologized for the delay. Upon receiving the chicken, it was better than the salmon (at least edible) but not even close to being worth the $36 price tag. It was decent but a bit undercooked, underwhelming, and frankly, tasted like something I can order from Boston Market. My husband and I visit once a year to celebrate his birthday, and under their old management, we were blown away every time by the food. Although the service was great, and the margaritas were on point, the food was not what I expected for spending over $300 on drinks, appetizers, dinner, and dessert. Also, the setup is no longer cozy, charming, and private. We were seated at a table with a booth on one side and a chair on the other, seated in too-close proximity to two other tables right next to ours. We had no privacy and felt as though we had to keep our voices down to avoid those next to us hearing our conversations, and it was very awkward being seated so close to strangers on all sides of us. Sadly, our experience put a bad taste in our mouths, and we're not sure we'd return, given the atmosphere and subpar food for exorbitant prices.

**My initial review from four years ago:

My husband and I had dinner at The Oregon Grille for the first time tonight. It was tremendous! The food, atmosphere, and staff were exceptional. We tried the crab balls, a Caesar salad, crab cakes, rockfish, and red velvet cheesecake. Each course was more delectable than the previous one!

My husband originally heard of The Oregon Grille on the radio for years on WBAL radio (Ron Smith and Scott Garceau). We decided to try it for his birthday dinner, and we're glad we did. The ambiance was very relaxing and we really enjoyed the live piano playing. We definitely recommend this restaurant and...