Wye Oak Tavern — Restaurant in Frederick

We came in with high expectations, hoping to be wowed. The Voltaggio name, the grandeur of the space, the promise of something special in Frederick’s new high-profile hotel. And for a brief, fleeting moment it seemed like that promise might be fulfilled. The hotel buzzes with energy. Outside the dining room, guests fill the hall and lounges. Just inside, the bar is packed (on the weekend evening of this visit). The dining room is architecturally unique, as noted in innumerable reports, though with a bare, austere aesthetic. Surprisingly loud and stark, the room lacks warmth, elegance, or coziness, with bare white walls and minimalist furnishings that neither soften the edges nor dampen the noise level. If you’re here for a quiet romantic dinner, you’re starting from behind. Wye Oak Tavern's food can be very good. The highs were exceptional. The Maryland crab cake is lush, meaty, perfectly seasoned. Packed with sweet, high-quality crab, accented by the bright, salty interplay of shishito and lime crema. It is balanced and thoughtful, a dish to savor. The cheese ravioli is impressive, too – a dish as bold in presentation as it is in flavor. Zebra-striped with a truffle sauce and grated truffle, and filled with a rich, creamy robiola bosina, it presents layers of umami from black truffle and pecorino. This is a dish with personality, flair. Then, the entrees arrived. And disappointment set in. Rockfish – The fish was tender, and the cioppino broth fantastic—vibrant and complex—but there wasn’t nearly enough of the broth, leaving us to search for every last bit. And the hushpuppies were dry, hard, mealy little pucks, with none of the crisp, golden indulgence they should have brought to the dish. Cedar Plank Salmon – The greatest disappointment. Notably, this dish was not served on the cedar plank on which it was presumably cooked, nor was the cedar preparation detectable. Instead, the bland farm-raised (we were informed) salmon was served plated and completely covered by an enormous soft, moist, thin (and equally flavorless) noodle-like sheet that the menu calls a “scallion pancake.” This is a dish devoid of seasoning and a point of view. Rigatoni – The biggest problem is the sauce, described on the menu as an “arrabbiata.” At a minimum, arrabbiata should have some kick. This one had none of the bold fire of an arrabbiata. This sauce was vaguely sweet, orange and creamy (from its brown butter and parmesan, presumably). The dish is not helped by woefully soft pasta. All told, the dish is reminiscent of a certain pasta product, still sold in cans brandishing the name of a well-known chef of another era. As we were about to throw in the towel, dessert arrived. Sticky Toffee Pudding – Fantastic! A perfectly executed classic, modernized with pistachios and matcha cream. Deep caramel notes, the warmth of the toffee, the nutty crunch—it was easily the best thing we ate all night. A dessert to be savored, that lingers on your palate, and in your mind, and makes you wish the whole meal had been at this level. Hype Train (Cocktail) – With coconut-washed reposado tequila, banana and espresso liqueurs, fresh espresso, and ancho chile, this drink is inventive, the flavors well-balanced, the execution solid. A smooth, smoky-sweet cocktail that works well as an after-dinner drink. Throughout, the service was spot on. The sommelier, knowledgeable and engaged, knew what to recommend, and provided excellent explanations of suggested pairings, elevating even the weaker dishes. Servers were all pleasant, helpful, and conscientious. This kitchen is clearly capable of thoughtful, perfectly executed dishes. But woefully inconsistent. The potential is undeniable, but the highs are too few and the lows too many and too deep. At these prices ($25 ravioli appetizer, $24 burger, $32 salmon, $16 rigatoni), and with the attention this chef can bring to a new restaurant, there’s no excuse for mediocrity. Wye Oak Tavern should be extraordinary—especially for a restaurant this expensive. Chef Voltaggio, this could and should have been so...

• Update * We've been back several times since our first review. While these visits were always at the bar, we grabbed snacks each time. Being slight creatures of habit, we're kicking off these visits with raw oysters and Albarino. Let's face it cocktail sauce is what helped us all fall in love with raw oysters, but now that the relationship is up and running it can be overpowering. Here they have it dialed in, the mignonette and paw paw sauces are some of the best we've ever had - adding flavor but not masking their marine terroir. Can you use that term for oysters?

Food is great we are looking forward to our next full meal here.

Being local we went here on a weeknight with an early reservation. It's still relatively new and lot's of folks, ourselves included, are excited about trying this latest Voltaggio establishment. It's located in the also new Visitation Hotel, formerly an all-girls parochial school. The ambiance is decidedly not tavern like, the Wye Oak was a famous tree in Maryland located on the eastern shore, it croaked in 2002, but I did visit it as a kid - so Wye Oak Tavern it is. We were wondering if this edition would be more like Volt, Thatcher & Rye, or a completely new concept. Mystery solved, it's Thatcher & Rye 2.0. While not tavern-like the place is impressive, large open space, interesting things to look at, it has a grand feeling. There is a bar area that was pretty full when we were being seated, the low buzz of socializing gave the place energy and kept it from feeling too solemn. We can knock out service right away, it's pretty bad. Too casual, not paying attention to details, overall lack of experience and/or training. We ordered sparkling water, poured our glasses, found one of the glasses was dirty and asked for a new glass. We were brought a full glass of flat water? I chugged it and poured my own glass of sparkling. We started with the oysters which were always good at Thatcher & Rye. Even better now, the cocktail isn't the ketchup horseradish staple of old, but Worcestershire like sauce with umami and interest, the mignonette was the best version that we've ever had. Cold fried chicken liver pate, pate was great, frying it added nothing - perhaps made it worse. The concept was good, shaping it like a little drummie, but the crust dominated when the pate needed to be the star. The baby romaine salad was very nice. Back to service: the exception to the stream of well-intended, undertrained, staff was our sommelier, Steve. We knew enough to pair the oysters with a glass of Albarino, but Steve went next level pairing a nice sauternes with our pate - it was a perfect match, one that we would not have come up with on our own, but will remember going forward. For our main we decided to share the dry aged ribeye, some fries, and young broccoli. Through a conversation that began with "no California Cab", Steve helped us navigate to an interesting bottle of Gaja's Sito Moresco, a Nebbiolo-based blend from Italy that would not just complement the steak but had enough complexity to stand on its own legs as well. Not even 1/2 way through our salad and pate, we spied our main course trapsing over to the table. Not a big fan of the ordering everything all at once and we'll manage the timing trend as even here, it didn't work. I suppose that it is good that this was noticed en route, the food wasn't presented, therefore we didn't have to return it. When it did arrive, the steak was very nice, the fries as well (ala Thatcher & Rye), but the broccoli was a bit of a showstopper. Chimichurri and some spice made this one of the highlights of our meal. We wrapped up with coffee and shared a pistachio crusted something or other that I...

I really wanted to like Wye Oak Tavern. I was excited to check out the renovation of the historic Visitation building and dine in a place with such glowing reviews (and a legacy reputation going back to Volt). The best things about our experience, however, were the cocktails, the staff, and the setting. The food was meh.

The downtown location is perfect and the building is beautifully well done from what I could see. They definitely need better signage to direct people where to go. The person who would usually be greeting people outside must have been busy with other guests, so it took us a minute to realize the outside entrance is up on the second floor. There is an elevator which we suppose could've taken us up there, but it wasn't well marked, so we took the large outdoor stairs. If you have mobility issues, please be aware that this is an historic building that, while accessible, things aren't necessarily convenient.

Once inside Wye Oak Tavern, it's beautiful. A renovated chapel forms the main room and the bar is at the former altar and makes a stunning focal point. We were seated upstairs and the room noise was at a perfect level. The background music was there, but not invasive, and, as the room filled up, other patron's conversations didn't interfere with ours.

Our server was incredibly attentive and all of the staff were kind, efficient, and well trained. We ordered a couple of cocktails to start, both were very tasty, balanced, and well presented. Kudos to the bartenders and the entire front of the house team, you all got 5 stars.

Then there is the food. Sigh. Everything was bland. We got two appetizers - an interesting take on Shrimp and Grits that was neither cold nor hot, although we think the shrimp was supposed to be cold and the fried grits hot. Even with the Old Bay on the shrimp, the entire dish seemed unseasoned. Then we got the Smoked Beet Pastrami which sounded great with a gruyere funnel cake, but which lacked any depth of flavor other than the smoked beets.

For dinner, I got the Cedar Plank Salmon which came covered with a plate sized crepe. I think the crepe was supposed to have a flavor, but darned if I can tell what it was. It had sauce drizzled on it, but that barely had any flavor, too. The salmon itself was cooked fine, but, again, no seasoning. I finished off what was on my plate simply because I was hungry, not because I was enjoying it. My dining companion got a salad, that I was told was passable, but nothing particularly special.

We went ahead and ordered a dessert to share, a chocolate spiral cake with a bit of ice cream, I think hazelnut? It was good, a 4 star dish.

Before we left I asked where the restroom was and it turned out it was down two flights of stairs, again something that people with mobility issues should know about.

Okay, so here's my big takeaway. It seems that people have been idolizing a certain name in town, and liking things just because of it. Volt was very good, but after that, everything that followed seems to be not as impressive. Maybe I shouldn't hope for a meal like that again in an establishment tied to that name. There are many restaurants in town that have wonderful food at a lesser price point. Wine Kitchen or Truth and Beauty will both give you a better meal.

ps- I usually take lots of pictures when a meal is beautiful. I realized after we left the only picture I took was of a stained...