McCormick & Schmick's Seafood & Steaks — Restaurant in Kansas City

I hate to write unfavorable reviews and my record shows, I've written very few. However, in this case, I feel obligated to help people avoid a bad dining experience.

We dine out often; typically four to five dinners per week with at least one being fine dining. Since we favor locally owned restaurants, we had not been to McCormick & Schmick's for quite a while and we excited when invited to a dinner party for 10 there on November 9, 2024. It was a horrifically bad experience.

We arrived early, so went to the bar where the hostess said she would get us when the party arrived. We ordered two drinks, Vodka Press (house Vodka) and a Tanguary and Tonic. When a member from the party found us, the party had been seated for at least five minutes (no hostess alert as promised), so I didn't want to question the tab for $30.50, but I'm confident we were over-charged by the rather rude and inefficient bar tender.

Dinner service was terrible and the waitress came across as though she was doing us favors when she occasionally dropped by our table - even getting a water refill was an ordeal. Silverware was missing and never brought to the table, entrees were not described correctly, bread that was promised with salads was never delivered, and so on. Simply bad service from every aspect.

Eight of the party had various cuts of steak and no one was particularly happy - bar steak quality at best. One guest ordered the center cut fillet mginon and was served a rib eye. When the waitress was questioned, she claimed he ordered the center cut rib eye. Since we waited too long for the entrees, he decided to choke down what was in no way a 14 ounce cut that was tough, not very flavorful and smothered in some sort of sauce.

My wife had seafood pasta. The pasta was over-cooked as was the seafood - tough and lacking flavor. I had the sea bass, which is a common choice for me. It was cooked correctly, but lacked flavor and was smothered in the worst ponzu sauce I've ever tasted. I did my best to carefully keep it away from the sauce, but there was so much it was difficult. The noodles were terrible.

When serving deserts, the waitress brought the two who ordered ice cream large serving spoons and never responded to the request for desert spoons. We ordered the "chocolate bag," which is promoted as the chef's favorite. We also asked for spoons that we never got, but after a long wait, we were given two forks. It was a pitiful excuse for a special desert. The dark chocolate was okay, but what was supposed to be a white chocolate filling was whipped cream and there was only a small scattering of fresh berries.

Do yourself a favor. There are many fine restaurants in Kansas City. This is not one of them - it is a huge disappointment in every aspect.

Please note: While the restaurant responded to this review and invited me to write. I wrote twice and have not received a reply. Do yourself a favor and patronize a locally...

We recently dined at McCormick & Schmick’s for the first time, on our anniversary dinner, and it was an incredibly frustrating experience. From the moment we arrived, the wait time was absurdly long. There were plenty of open tables, yet we sat in the lobby for near a half-hour, despite having a reservation. The hostess was very friendly, but once seated, it took ages for our server to appear, and when Augustin finally did, he was awkward and seemed completely disinterested in offering any kind of decent service. We asked a question about the portion sizing of the shareable appetizers, and we were met with an awkward laugh and a simple "yeah."

Things only got worse when Augustin actually walked away in the middle of us asking questions, to visit another table. Leaving us confused, and unsure if we should wait or flag him down again. To make matters worse, neighboring tables shared similar complaints with us. One table was handed steak knives over their heads while Augustin made a snarky comment about how the table guests should hve been more "helpful." It was uncomfortable for everyone around, that left their enitre table making faces to each other, and us.

I'm generally a very generous tipper and enjoy supporting service industry workers, as I've been there myself. This experience was so abysmal— with no communication and interminable wait times (it wasn't just the entree, it was everything, from waiting for the bill to waiting for drink refills)—that I couldn’t bring myself to leave a tip that reflected the usual level of appreciation I have. For instance, Augustin strolled by our table four times after being asked to refill our drinks, after telling us that they'd be right out. There was very little communication regarding long wait times (a simple, "I'm so sorry for the wait, we're a little backed up in the kitchen, etc.). From the time of ordering (just our entrees), it was almost an hour and a half.

For the meal price of $133, I expected much better service, but instead, it felt more like a fast-food joint. The food itself was of a good quality, and we enjoyed everything we ate, but the poor service completely overshadowed the entire experience. What was supposed to be a romantic anniversary dinner turned into an awkward waiting game.

We gave McCormick & Schmick's a chance after admiring the beautiful building it is housed in, and decided to switch up from our usual anniversiery spot, Pierpont's at Union Station. This expereince left us genuinely wishing that we were at Pierpont's, where we have experienced excellent service. We will not be returning to this location, as it's not worth the price tag. When you're treated like an inconvenience instead of a valued customer,...

Somewhat disappointed. We had not gone to a restaurant since March 14th, 2020. We called for a reservation and requested a table by the windows , but where told they would note this but could not commit to this, wouldn't you think that you may suggest to us a better time as to when the request could be fulfilled? We showed up early for our nice evening celebrating 38 years of marriage, and where told that we where checked in and needed to wait, I asked if the bar was open and she stated yes, any high top. We sat at a high top and approximately 7 minutes late a Megan came to offer us happy hour but we let her know only for cocktails prior to our dinner. The cheek in gal came by and told us that we would need to tab out just as we received our drinks and come back to the front to be seated, couldn't she have asked if we where ready or could I have your tab sent to the table and make the experience nicer? Granted each person wanted their tip! We sat and Tanner camp fairly soon, and we still had our cocktails after carrying them from the bar to the front door and back again (as a customer with the first opening up during the COVID shut down we really felt appreciated (NOT)). We reviewed the menu and Tanner returned I pointed to the Menu and said I would start with a Shrimp cocktail, but he stated he could not serve me that one because it was the happy hour price, even though there was still 40 minutes during happy hour but that is for the bar area only, which was 12 feet away (really appreciate customers !). I said that is fine it will only be seen in the Tip. and I ordered it any way, The Wine I ordered was out with only a partial glass so I picked another, not sure what a daily menu means. By this time we where more feeling as a burden to the restaurant and the staff than a customer that they hope for, so maybe the meal was okay but we both felt the food was below expectations. We had a gift card and paid that left us with about a $38 balance that we will probably never use. I should have spoke to someone but left it go to poor feelings and a decision not to return. We had expectations of a nice evening and be appreciation for giving the restaurant our business, I have spent better money on worst things but this $200 was a...