The Front Porch — Restaurant in Leonardtown

● On The Sterling House: Firstly, this is a really lovely historic building. My great-grandmother's (Sara Hayden Hammett) best friend (Theresa Sterling) used to live here with her family. It is always fun to visit a place with that sort of significance. For me, personally, it's an opportunity to think of and remember my Grandma, but I think any SoMD native or historian could appreciate the sentimentalism of the very same 1850’s built, Italianate-style house.

The Sterling family bought their home in 1911. Mr. & Mrs. Lynwood & Ruth Sterling had three children when they settled in but went on to have an additional 14 while living in the house! To support their ever-expanding family, they built a large addition, which included the rear kitchen and queen-anne turret. The property remained in the family for multiple generations until it was purchased in 2006 by the Becks. It's my understanding that the Beck family worked hard restoring the house without diminishing its historic elements - the staircase, banisters, and hardwood floors are all original.

{ From The Front Porch website: "Numerous details of the home have remained.  Hardwood floors, pocket doors, staircase, moldings and banister are original along with the transoms to the upstairs dining rooms; while the mantels and porch columns are modern replicas of profiles to the Italianate-style house.  The stately exterior was revealed during the remodeling as the peeled façade exposed the depression era yellow siding, top wall decoration scarred from corbel brackets and layers of paint on shutters present the house to its former grandeur.

As you tour the house, you will notice that much of the artwork on display is of local scenes while the “shadow boxes” on the walls are host to the artifacts found in the house during the renovation. We are proud of the history and heritage of this house and its important role to. Leonardtown." }

The remaining Sterling family members later returned for a reunion. All were very pleased.

(Google "The Sterling House SOMD" and take a look at The Front Porch website for more history)

● Now, on to the food business. 😉 The Front Porch restaurant offers dine-in service with indoor and outdoor seating. The atmosphere is warm and inviting.

The Front Porch offers catering for special events, and the upper room can be reserved for private parties. It is a great spot for bridal or baby showers, anniversary parties, and intimate weddings.

They are ADA accessible and offer free parking in their outdoor lot.

They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and offer an assortment of desserts and specialty cocktails. I've visited a few times over the years, and I'm usually very pleased with the food and overall experience.* The quiche is always delicious, and the drinks are fun and creative.

*Note on 4 star rating: During my last two visits, which were for private parties, I must admit, I felt a little disenchanted. For the most recent, we had brunch - with delicious quiche that was NOT disappointing! 😋 - but other items were overcooked and/or cold. Our server checked in once or twice but rushed in and out without letting us get a word in. There were times when I would start to ask a question, and she was gone before I got one word out. There were even times she would ask if we needed anything, but not give us a chance to answer before darting from the room! 😳 I never did receive any cream for my coffee, and our water pitcher was taken away halfway through the meal and never replaced. Couldn't even flag her down for a glass of water. 😅 The time before this was similar, but less extreme. Perhaps these were just off days. We all certainly have them! I hope next time I'll be blown away, and I'll happily update my review...

What’s happening to this place? Used to be one of my favorite places to eat. Now it feels like this place is cutting corners with food and service over and over.

Let me start with food: My husband ordered the Mushroom Risotto and added shrimp and steak. I ordered a surf and turf with truffle potatoes and sautéed spinach. The mushrooms in the risotto were slimy like the consistency of canned mushrooms. There were so many slimy mushrooms and onions and a small amount of risotto which needed to be dug up from the bottom. I will say the shrimp and steak that were added were cooked well. My steak was cooked well and there was plenty of crabmeat on top but no flavor at all. A little salt and pepper on the steak would have went a long way. The spinach was totally bland and the truffle potatoes were burnt. When I said something about the potatoes, I was told that how they make them. Then we were told they didn’t have many desserts because the “dessert girl,” has been busy with senior stuff the last few weeks. That’s not cool. If she’s busy, train someone else. You’re creating inconsistencies within your business.

Now service: On a previous occasion an older couple were checking in before us and the host rudely told the couple that they needed to be out by 6pm. It was 3pm at the time and the older couple agreed to be gone by 6pm, but we, and the older couple were perplexed when the hostess walked off. Why do you need to tell people to leave when the next reservation is 3 hours out and the place is empty? Fast forward to my most recent time coming to the front porch. Another hostess told us the same thing and our reservation was at 2:30pm. Why would we want to sit at this place for 3 1/2 hours? It’s not like the vibe is a hangout type of chill spot? It’s an old fashioned house. It’s just rude. It gives the feeling of poorly trained staff with bad restaurant etiquette. Typically if you’re expecting a large party you wait until about 20 minutes before that large party is expected, and you mention it to the table as they’re finishing up their meal. You don’t announce another reservation 3 hours out before they even sit down. It’s weird. I will say my waitress was very thorough and sweet. We tipped her well. But we also noticed the waitress serving the table beside us described a different list of special options. Maybe they changed it?

My last visit was on a Sunday for brunch. The place was empty. The bar area was completely vacant. It was 12:50 pm. The hostess told us they weren’t taking any walk in past 1pm. I said that’s great because it’s 12:50. Then she said sorry we’re not taking anyone else because we close at 2:00pm.

I really get the feeling the staff doesn’t want to be there. Perhaps they’re underpaid? Maybe the owner doesn’t realize things are going this way?

One very last small thing. I asked to a real glass instead of a plastic cup for my water and was told, that’s what the water comes in. If you have a bar, you have real glasses. It’s such a tiny accommodation. Plastic cups collect...

Pretty disappointed considering the high reviews recently and a few local referrals to try this place. My husband and I frequent leonardtown for work and wanted to try some of the local restaurants. When we first walked in it took over 5 minutes to see a hostess. After waiting we decided to sit at the bar since it was completely vacant and we already had 2 servers tell us they would be right with us and walk away. Once we sat at the bar it was another 5-10 minutes before we were even acknowledged and given water and menus. We ordered drinks from their drink cocktail menu and it appeared the girl didn't know how to make one of them as another girl stepped in to make it. We ordered our food a salad and a reuben and then waited. We observed many servers coming to the bar to make drinks and not one acknowledged us or even checked if we wanted another drink. Our server seemed to disappear. We overheard them discussing how they had 4 people but no clean cups or silverware and listened to the cook in the back yell for a runner over and over again. Another man came to sit down and waiting about 5-10 minutes until someone asked him if he had been helped. When he said no she went off yelling that someone was at the bar. We finally saw our server again when she brought the other guy a menu. At this time my husband asked for another drink and our server said OK and walked away. We were confused as we were sitting in the bar but them we heard her asking around if anyone knew how to make this drink which was pretty simple. While waiting we noticed a trail of ants crawling across the bar. The server finally came back with another girl and we told the server we were okay and didn't need the drink but she assured him she was making it right then. It was not made correctly but we figured what the heck it will be forever before he gets another so we took it. We then watched the same server make 4 shots and when she pulled the strainer from the dish water she carried dishwasher with it and poured it in the drinks. My husband and I both made eye contact as to say did you see that and we were done! We then watched her make a mixed drink and shake it all over herself and then add ice when she realized it was only half a glass left after she spilt it. We told our server we were done and asked for the check and told her we did not want to pay for the second drink that he did not drink or was made right. She apologized and said they did not have a bartender that night so they were trying to improvise I guess. Maybe this was just a bad night since they didn't have a bartender but first impressions are everything and I can't say I want to come back with...