Up on Market Bistro & Inn — Restaurant in Frederick

This new restaurant and inn in Frederick is still trying to find its footing I think, but has to make some changes fast. We were 2 couples for dinner recently and our impression and experience was mixed.

First, the menu prices are VERY HIGH at first glance but are effectively EVEN HIGHER when you consider the portion sizes. All four of us were shocked when our dinners arrived, well not so much "dinner" but more like small plates or heavy appetizers! The menu is diverse and there was something like 6 "specials" the evening we dined.

One of the specials was a bone-in rib eye steak which I planned to order but unfortunately; they ran out the steaks by 5:30 PM on a Saturday night. How does that happen? To make matters worse, when I commented about the lack of the steaks to the owner, he told me that the scallops I defaulted to was a "healthier choice". Look, I don't need nutrition advice; I just wanted a steak.

My scallop dish (a special that evening) was $28 and contained just 5 small-medium pan-seared scallops on a meager bed of creamy spinach. The scallops looked more little large bay scallops rather than the sea scallops I expected. The flavor was very good but the $28 left a bad taste in my mouth.

My wife got the mango-topped salmon, ($26) another evening special and again nice flavor but a tiny potion. My wife has never finished a salmon dish at a restaurant (always more than she can finish) but in this case she cleaned her plate and was left wanting.

The steak salad (a menu item) was prepared well, was reported to be tasty, and the portion again seemed to fall far short of the $18 price with mostly salad and maybe a 3-ounce serving of steak. The final entrée was the pork cutlets that were reportedly tasty, tender and enjoyed but again, $22.90 for a breaded piece of pork and some creamy rice just seemed wrong.

Bottom line is that all the food was tasty and well-prepared but well overpriced with very meager portions for the price. We all left still hungry and we diced to go elsewhere for dessert.

One final comment that I must share. Two of use ordered the Cream of Crab soup, which the server forgot about and failed to bring out. She showed up with the entrees and we asked what happened to the soup. She blew it. But she offered to bring us the soup (we now have our entrees in front of us) at no charge, which we accepted. So glad we did. That soup was by far the HIGHLIGHT of the evening. It was somewhat of a blend between cream of crab and lobster bisque in its taste, appearance and flavor. It was awesome! We would return for the soup alone.

In conclusion, there are lot of great restaurants in Frederick. This is not one of them, yet. It has some potential, a beautiful setting and a very attentive and caring owner. Maybe they want to mimic Volt down the street or have some allusion about being a high-end European bistro. And, maybe the economy can support the prices right now. But, is that a sustainable model? Will folks come back again and again? That remains to be seen. For us, I think it’s...

I was so disappointed with my experience here. We were a party of four and had a reservation for 2 p.m. on Mother's Day. After arriving a bit early and being completely ignored by several employees who kept walking right past us, we were seated. We placed our order at 2:10 p.m. and didn't get our drinks for another 20 minutes. Our food did not arrive until 3:55 p.m., 1 hour and 45 minutes after we placed our order. Everything we ordered should have taken a short time to prepare - scrambled eggs, French toast, eggs Benedict, and the hash special. At around 3:30, 1 hour and 20 minutes after we placed our order, the waitress informed us that they ran out of the hash special and she talked my brother into ordering the beef stew. We repeatedly asked our waitress about the status of our order and were told "it's being plated right now," "it will be 3-5 more minutes," etc., none of which was true. (3-5 minutes was actually 20 minutes.) The restaurant was filled with frustrated people who, like us, were waiting excessively long for their food. We kept saying to ourselves that the food would be worth the wait. It wasn't. Two pieces of the French toast were hard, and it wasn't served with the orange zest as stated on the menu. The scrambled eggs weren't served with tomatoes as stated on the menu. The English muffin served with the eggs Benedict was so hard and burned that it could not be cut with a knife, no matter how much pressure and sawing motion was exerted. The hollandaise sauce came out about 10 minutes after the eggs Benedict because, as the waitress stated, "everything is made to order." Okay, but the hollandaise sauce should be served WITH the eggs. The brunch food was very basic and there was nothing at all special about it, especially considering the cost. IHOP has much better (and much cheaper) breakfast food. The only positive note is that my brother said the beef stew was good. Our waitress was professional and kind, but she disappeared for long periods of time. The restaurant is quite small and we figured she was hiding from all the angry customers. I don't blame her. We were very polite throughout this ordeal yet nobody offered any compensation for anything. We just heard excuses like "we had a lot of large parties today," "everything is made to order," etc. I can understand that, but we should have been warned about how backed up the kitchen was from the beginning as we made it very clear several times that my brother and sister-in-law had a flight to catch, which they very nearly missed. We anticipated getting out of the restaurant by 3/3:30 for a 2 p.m. brunch reservation and we left at 4:30 feeling extremely anxious and exasperated. It doesn't matter how fancy the menu and facade are when the restaurant is managed poorly. I hope improvements will be made so that other customers don't have the same experience...

First for the bright spots, Olivia the Hostess was an absolute dream. She was incredibly accommodating, very welcoming, and for a busy service, was prompt and attentive throughout. The atmosphere and decor reminds me of some of my favorite French style bistros in NYC. However, you can not charge more than NYC or Paris prices and not deliver. Our three entrees were all let downs. My mother ordered the “Your Mother’s Meatloaf” which in her words was an insult to mothers everywhere. Upon tasting myself, I had agreed. That came at a price tag of $24. My mother’s meatloaf equals out to roughly $3 a serving. They would be better off asking for her recipe. I’m honestly surprised she finished it. My girlfriend had the Beef Bourguignon, it wasn’t flavorful as this hearty French dish is known for. She like myself is a big foodie and she spent a lot of time in Paris. This would not be considered Beef Bourguignon over there and definitely would not have been that pricey. Mominette a well known French Bistro in Bushwick, NY serves the same dish for about $15 less and double the portion size. I had the duck, I love French duck dishes, and while I go for a more rustic version of this dish, the version I had tonight was incredibly tough with a very bland glaze or reduction, one can only guess because it was a mess. All sides had no seasoning whatsoever. The green beans were just sautéed green beans and that’s it. There was no garlic, salt, or pepper to be found in the potatoes. The most egregious part of the experience was paying at the end. We are no strangers to large bills or spending $200 a person for a spectacular meal. But when you pay less at Internationally known and Michelin Star French Bistros in NYC and overseas, then to have a meal that was on par with something like Applebee’s but $165 for 3 people. You write an accurate and detailed review to save anyone you can from the mistake you made or to provide areas of opportunity for the restaurant itself. So for those wanting a good vibe and some great staff. Go in and grab a glass of wine or a cocktail. Just don’t order any food on that menu. Because for three dishes at the same table to be that utterly disappointing. I’m sure the entire menu will be just as bad in quality and taste. This is not a place to get food. One last thing when the owner came to the table and asked how things were. We all gave the most unenthusiastic “fine.” I have never known a restaurateur to hear the words “fine” from a whole table and not ask a follow up. So again the prices are a slap in the face for what you get. But to bring some light back to this review, the staff were amazing and the spot is cool. It just needs a reality check in regards to prices, quality, and taste. (PS we don’t eat at chain restaurants unless that’s all available. So no disrespect to Applebee’s intended. But a necessary...