Medium Rare Restaurant — Restaurant in Columbia

Summary: Tasty food, bad ambiance, confusing experience.

Would give 2.5 overall if half stars were an option. 5 for food, 3 for service, Actively ZERO stars for atmosphere (see upsetting bathroom soundtrack details below). It was hard to hear anything over the music so we were confused most of the meal about what we had been offered/what was happening, but the food was good. Tried to give feed-back on our way out and felt brushed off by the front desk which also didn't help, details below-

Ambience: clean and bright, but as the space is basically one large open room, with an open bar area in the middle, the acoustics are rough. 80s hits were blasting the entire meal; not complaining about this personal taste wise, but was a little confusing to have Flock of Seagulls turned up so loud that we were kind of shouting to each other across our small table. Could barely hear waiters/waitresses when they would stop by.

The main concern with the ambience is the bathroom soundtrack. Instead of music it's a "French Vocabulary" track. If you've been to La Madeline or remember Macaroni Grill back in the day, it's not unusual to pipe in basic vocabulary in French (or Italian for MG) for common phrases for ambience- 'my name is,' 'hello how are you,' 'let's go to the park,' etc. Also they alternate between male and female speakers.

The soundtrack was one male voice and felt Predatory. QUOTE:

"I have a hot tub in my home." "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Where do you live?" "Can I have your number?"

"You have beautiful hands." "I want to steal your heart."

"You take my breath away." "My name is Gerard."

"Do you mind if I stare at you a bit longer?"

It's unnerving at the very least, as a woman, to hear a male voice trying to get you back to his house while you are just trying to use the bathroom. By the end of the meal each of the women in our group used the bathroom and each came back feeling uncomfortable. We tried to tell this to the man at the front desk and he did not seem to take it very seriously, offering that it was the owner's decision and all the locations have this, but that doesn't suddenly make it ok. If you insist on having a French vocabulary tape playing in the bathrooms why can't it be normal phrases and not sound like a human trafficker?

Menu: The idea of a pre-set menu with nothing to choose between (unless it's vegetarian instead of steak) sounds simple. We were asked if it was our first time and said yes, but no explanation was given, so I'm not sure what the point of the question was. We didn't know they give you two servings of the steak and fries. There was one basket of bread (for the table), one plate of salad (per person), and two servings of the entree plate (per person) which was a surprise. It makes the meal feel like a better value at about $32 per person. Drinks are separate. We couldn't understand the "mushroom side" offered to us as it was unclear if it was a part of the meal or not, so that was a $11 surprise because only 1 of the 4 of us said 'yes' to trying it. If you are in the mood for steak frites, this should scratch that itch for you with the double serving!

Parking/location: Medium Rare Columbia is located in new Merriweather District shopping center. Bad luck for us tonight as police were not doing traffic control and concert go-ers took the entirety of the surface parking (of which there are at least 4 lots) by the restaurants, including parking in the lanes (not spots) in the lots blocking traffic flow. We used the parking garage which ironically had plenty of space. Took 20 minutes to park. Consider if there is a concert going on...

New spot in the Merriweather District. We made a last minute reservation online. Glad we chose an early time as the place filled up rather quickly. Decor is your typical modern setup; bring a hoodie or jacket as the AC was cranking. What is different at this restaurant is that the menu is a fixed, three course meal for $30 (as of 4/24). It consists of a basket of bread, a mixed greens salad, a steak, and fries. They have a full bar and a specialty cocktail list. Beer and wine is about $2 overpriced compared to other spots in their complex ($10 for a 16oz draft beer, ~$15 for a cheap wine). Sadly, they did not appear to feature or offer any NA beers or mocktails. THE MEAL: The bread had a "great crunch to fluff ratio" as my wife put it, and was very tasty. I do think it's odd they brought 3 pieces for a table of two... Why not two or four!? Also, they give you a chunk of cold butter which is useless on the soft bread. The salad had a light dressing that didn't overwhelm, but it was otherwise just some mixed lettuce and a few tomato halves on a plate. Simple, but underwhelming. The only decision you have to make here, other than beverage, is how you want your steak done. The place is called Medium Rare... and so we went medium rare. The steaks are thin and thinly sliced for you with a little "secret sauce" drizzled on. They are served with shoestring fries. The fries were very good. The steaks were, indeed medium rare and had a good peppery flavor, but this obviously isn't the place to go around here for a high end steak, nor are they trying to be. We felt satiated after the first serving only to discover that they also come around and bring you seconds on the steak and fries... So really, it's much more than you might expect at first appearance. They had several tempting dessert options, but we chose to pass on this trip. THE SERVICE: My 2-Star service rating here is most likely just growing pains, but has to be mentioned. There was staff from other franchises and new ones being trained, and it all seemed a bit hectic. Everyone seemed to serve many roles, from hosting to filling waters to running food, taking plates, turning over tables, etc. However even with all of that it seemed out of sync. After our bread, our salads never came while other tables, later sat, received theirs, by our same servers. We were checked on one time for beverages with our bread and weren't offered more water or drinks again until we were ready for the check. Our steaks actually came out before the salads... When we informed them of this, they took them back and finally brought the salads, then later new steaks came out. Neither of our two servers, or any of the multiple managers around, checked on us or offered any sort of apology for the delay. Everyone was friendly and working hard, but they need to get their timing, communication, and awareness on point. Overall, it was a good experience, and we'll be likely be back, but probably not as one of our go-to spots. But definitely check them out...

Management please do not respond to my review of this restaurant. This restaurant I would consider a FAKE 5 Star dining experience. First arrival, the place looks gorgeous. It looks like you're arriving to a five-star restaurant that's going to serve you a decent meal. Don't fall for the fake out. The server was very polite and she began to tell us that there is a fixed menu. Of course I understood that. However, the server brings out a crayon and begins to write on the table. This threw me off because I couldn't understand why a server would write with a crayon on the table when the overall atmosphere feels like it's a five-star restaurant. Our first serving of bread. It was decent bread but the bread smelt like it was at one point was Moldy then reheated. Our second course was the salad which basically tastes like lettuce with oil as the dressing. There was no other flavoring on the salad besides oil and the taste of the lettuce. In order for us to enjoy the salad, I added salt and pepper to a plate of lettuce. After our second course, they served us thinly sliced pieces of medium rare steak with a side of McDonald's style fries. In addition to $11 for Portobello mushrooms . Which were also thinly sliced and top with a vinegar and tomato base. The steak was quite chewy and the fries and the secret sauce were the only thing that was flavorful about the plate. The secret sauce is nothing but steak sauce and cornstarch mixed together to make a gravy. After our first serving we thought we would get a bill and leave. However, we were offered a second serving which I thought was the least decent thing that they could do because for $170 we were not full after the first serving. We had to ask for a second serving of bread in order to feel full after eating the first and second serving of steak and fries. This restaurant is not a place that I will ever go to again. I see why the Baltimore location closed down because they could not keep up with the other restaurants that are actually serving customers decent meals. Again, the overall bill plus gratuity came out to $170. A message for the owner. You need to re-ramp this restaurant or it will go in the trash. You need to provide your customers with decent items on the menu to choose from instead of having a fix menu which comes off as scamming customers out of hundreds of dollars. I will give this restaurant one year to remain in business after that if they remain in business. Customers If you continue to go here you're wasting money. When you can go to another restaurant that will serve you a decent MEDIUM RARE STEAK! THE COCKTAILS THAT THEY HAVE WRITTEN ON THE WALL ARE WATERED DOWN SO DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON WATER DOWN COCKTAILS. The staff was very friendly but besides that this...