Barking Mad — Restaurant in Gaithersburg

This is a great place, but last night I had an unfortunate experience there. I got there with my child bit before 5:30. I sat on an outdoor table I had sat before. My child ran to the grass to play and the hostess approached me. She asked if who was in my party (3 adults, 2 children) and if we would be able to leave by 7 because the table was reserved. I said no problem. Then she asked me to go inside to talk to her at the hostess desk. I walked in, she picked up a tablet (a completely mobile device) and asked me again how many we were going to be. Hum... Did I really have to go into the restaurant? Nope. I went went back to the table, ordered a bottle of cava and waited for the rest of my party to arrive. Unfortunately my friends were late. When they got there, I asked the only waitress if she could move us to another table since the one we were had a reservation on it. The hostess came back out, moved us to a table with 4 chairs (we were a party of 5), and told us that we had a 90 minute limit at this table. I asked why was that and she told me it was a Montgomery county rule and at this restaurant they enforced it. I thought it was weird, but whatever. Ten minutes before 7 (30 minutes to out supposed 90 minute limit), my friend ordered another bottle of cava. When the waitress came back with it, I asked her to clear out the table since there were several plates and napkins. The waitress was clearly overwhelmed with the amount of tables she had to serve basically by herself (I counted 16). The service was slow, but we didn't care. I noticed there were several tables that had been seated when I got there still being served. More than 90 had passed and I told my friend: there's no way they're going to enforce that rule. Besides, at this point there was an empty table right by us. Well... Sure enough the hostess came out and asked if we needed boxes because our 90 minutes were up. I was flabbergasted! I asked her: do you want us to chug this bottle of cava? She responded: I'm just letting you know that your 90 minutes is up. Again: there was an empty table right by us and there wasn't anyone waiting for tables. I thought: this makes no sense. We are here eating, drinking, not disrupting anyone, the kids are having fun, and they're asking us to leave? I told my friend: I bet this 90 minute rule is for indoor use because of COVID. Sure enough! We googled it and I was right. By this time I was angry. So I asked the table by us who had just been seated: were you guys told you had a 90 minute limit at this table? Nope. They'd never heard of it. Yeah. I had had enough. I was furious, and of course I went to talk to the manager. Ethan was very apologetic and gracious. He agreed with me that the hostess was misguided and should not have done what she did. He told me he'd talk to her and that would never happen again. At the end of the night Cesar, the manager in training, also came to our table and apologized. So... I'm giving this spot 4 starts for its food and location. I will go back because the previous times we'd been there we didn't have any issues, and I'm hopeful we won't have any...

Last weekend was our second time coming to this place and we have had great experiences both times. The interesting thing about this place is that it's divided into three distinct areas: the cafe, the dining area, and the bar. There's an option to eat outdoors, if you prefer.

When you walk in, you will enter the cafe. The rest of the dining and bar area will be to the left. I'll be honest in admitting I was a little thrown off by the concept since I was expecting a purely coffee shop experience but the dining room and bar was a nice little surprise. The color theme stuck out to me with the black, white, pops of magenta and gold accents. Their decor is clean and modern. Their restrooms continue with the color scheme and decor to bring the whole place a unified and cohesive look. And speaking of restrooms, the thing I appreciate is that in both the male and female restrooms, they have a changing table. All the staff are very friendly and welcoming. It was nice that they were conversational during our interaction with them, too.

A few months ago was the first time trying this place and we opted to dine indoors during their dinner hours. I had the BMC burger and my husband had one of their artisanal pizzas. I remember thoroughly enjoying our meals and the great service we received that day. Their kitchen is an open kitchen concept so you can see your food freshly made.

Last weekend was our second time checking out this place and this time we decided to try their cafe. I noticed their specialty syrups listed things like orange peel, vanilla, and floral almond. I asked our barista, Matt, what he'd recommend with the lavender syrup since I've never had it before and he highly suggested it with chocolate. So I ordered the chocolate lavender latte and a slice of zucchini bread while my husband ordered a pour over. For not having anything with lavender syrup before, it wasn't that bad. There was a slight bitterness from the chocolate but it was well balanced with the syrup (not too sweet) and you could definitely taste and smell some notes of lavender. My husband enjoyed his pour over coffee, which he was given two cups because Matt said there was a slight variation between the two. When ordering a pour over, it does take time to make so you'll have to wait a bit. But my husband truly appreciates the fact that it's even an option at this place. It goes to show that they know the craft and they do it well. And FYI, they brew Counter Culture Coffee.

We will...

I got takeout for a Sunday afternoon brunch, and was impressed with the decent lunch crowd (certainly large for these COVID days). The cafe was clean, with modern décor and friendly staff, consistent with what you'd expect from an upper end breakfast bistro. I saw they had french toast with whipped cream, berries, and pure maple syrup, which looked quite appealing so I ordered it. I was bit disappointed when it rang up at $11.50 instead of the $9 advertised on the menu, but they explained the menu price was for the weekday breakfast special, so I smiled and went along with it. They didn't have the first two coffee options I ordered (running a bit short on supplies), but I was able to get a simple iced coffee that turned out nicely.

The french toast came out relatively quickly, but as the young lady was handing me the bag she told me they were out of syrup and turned away to get back to her other tasks with a simple shrug. I had to interrupt her (politely, I hope) to ask if I could get some jelly or something similar. She cheerfully brought me some packets of strawberry jam, I thanked her, and left. I feel that management might have set a higher bar in how to handle cases where an order couldn't be completed due to a shortage, perhaps offering another item, or working with me on a substitute for the syrup, but I did understand she was busy.

When I ate the toast a few minutes later, I found it not only lacked the syrup, but also the whipped cream I had expected. The berries I had looked forward to ended up being a single strawberry hastily chopped up, which was also a bit disappointing. That said, the bread was firm, holding its structural integrity, and the custard was rich and creamy - certainly a notch up from your typical IHOP fare. Still, it could have used some cinnamon or cardamom or other spicing. As it was, it came off a bit flat. Perhaps if it had come with the syrup, cream, and more berries, I could have left a good review, but on the whole I have to rate Barking Mad Cafe as only mediocre, and somewhat overpriced establishment. I might give them another chance some day, but for now I can only give a tepid...