Bluestone Restaurant — Restaurant in Maryland

Summary: Food's tasty but the service (for price + atmosphere), notsomuch. If you've any kind of time constraint, would avoid.

Went at 1pm w a party of four on a Sept Tues. Dining room was fairly busy when we sat (waited ~5min for booth) but by mid-meal we were one of only a few tables. (read: no excuses for lack of attentiveness, below)

First: The good (food)! Cream of Crab soup was delicious, nice & creamy w good chunks of crabmeat. Surprised to have to ask for old bay with a seafood dish at a seafood restaurant here in the heart of old bay country, but no big deal, maybe enough ppl don't request it. The Brisket Quesadilla was also surprisingly yummy (get sour cream onside!), had with the fried rice which was not the tastiest (more American/European than Asian) but went fine with the dish - and I think the best (hot) option; Tried tablemate's fries and they were solid meh.

Overall, main complaints revolve around the service / potentially our server herself.

Issue 1: Attentiveness. I ordered a draft beer to start, asked to sample an unfamiliar brew. Sample came out swiftly enough, but after I confirmed, it took so long for the beer to come (~10 min) that I had forgotten about it. OK, perhaps no one's "fault", maybe bar was super busy at 1pm. But what really bothered me / feels more inexcusable was that the clearly-empty sample cup sat on the end (aka universal "this needs bussed" zone) of table the entire rest of meal, through frequent visits from both server (taking orders, refills, food drops) and others (food drops). It was actually in the way when main entrees came (barely enough table space to fit all plates), and yet it still remained uncleared. Several others piled up (empty soup bowls / appetizer plates, beer glass) + also remained uncleared for majority of meal until after check. Perhaps it is policy that servers not bus own tables (specific staff for that)? - but if that's the case, would expect communication to assigned busser to clear table.

Issue 2: Attentiveness again, this time around water refills. Staying hydrated is important, so I consciously drink lots of water. When glass is empty, I place at table's end so it's clear to any server even glancing over that it needs refilled (which place seems clearly equipped to do as they've pitchers at server stations in dining room). Well, similar to the (lack of) bussing situation, there were several times server came by and ignored (multiple) empty water glasses. Happened a few (different, ie refilled-then-empty again) times and I find it hard to excuse or waive blame, as there's a pretty clear solution: when I was a server (many moons ago) and noticed a particularly thirsty table during a busy time, I'd drop off a full water pitcher so they could refill themselves, a win-win for all since they stay hydrated and I wouldn't then need to frequently check-and-refill. At the very least, just baseline human attention would notice the frequent empty waters after the first or second time and would react accordingly (ie check more often).

Issue 3: Myself and another ordered appetizers (that delicious crab soup!) at the same time we placed our entree orders, specifically requesting those to come out first (a fairly standard/default request, to have soup coursed before entree). Well, the soups did come out before entrees... by about 30 seconds. I enjoy my hot food hot, which is part of the reason I want hot things coursed out - otherwise, it becomes a frustrating race against the clock as you rush to stuff your face with all the rapidly-cooling food. To be sure, this could have been more kitchen's "fault" than our server's but still, an unhappy end result. I was also sad when it took a solid 5-10 minutes to bring over the old bay I requested when the soup came out.

I want to again state that I wouldn't have such "high" standards were it not for the price point + atmosphere the establishment seems to be trying to cultivate: for a place with ~$20 avg lunch entree price, I would expect more attentive / better service. At least the...

TLDR: Excellent spot for weekday happy hours and group dinners. Come for the apps and anything seafood!

Vibe: 4/5. Bluestone has been a go to restaurant of mine when visiting the Timonium area for the past 13+ years. The layout of the restaurant is perfect for both large group family dining and date night. Bluestone is perfectly located not too far away from i83 and York Rd with ample parking and easy handicap accessibility. Upon entering the restaurant, a large half circle bar takes center stage with a bunch of high top tables, perfect for after work drinks. Beyond the bar, there are several seating areas with various table configurations with the ability to handle any group size. The decor is inviting, with plenty of ambient lighting and warm colors. When the restaurant was first built back in the 2000s, the vibe was very modern chic for it's time. However as years have progressed with little to no upgrades in the interior, it is beginning to show it's age and now considered a more classic, family dining atmosphere.

Service: 5/5. The staff at Bluestone has always been a joy to dine with. On my most recent visit, I had a group of 8 birthday reservation that I called in a week in advance. The hostess was great at locking in my reservation, even with the restaurant being at capacity due to Maryland Restaurant Week coinciding with the dinner. During our visit at peak dining time on a Saturday night, our waitress did a great job tending to our table. Food came out punctually as well as drinks. When it was time to settle up on the bill, they had no problem splitting the check several ways.

Food: 5/5. Time after time, Bluestone does a great job executing their elevated American fare menu. During my latest visit, it was Maryland Restaurant Week which gave diners the option to have a 3 course prix fixe meal for a discounted price. My group of 8 all participated in the Restaurant Week special, ordering various Bluestone menu staples. Big winners from the meal were the cream of crab soup, short rib main course, anything crab cake oriented and all 3 dessert options (chocolate mousse, key lime pie and creme brulee). Portion sizes were very generous, as our entire table happily took home leftovers. From previous visits for happy hour, they have a extensive appetizer menu that is perfect for sharing. Come for the flatbreads, calamari and fried...

Just finished dining here and couldn’t wait to post this review. Firstly, I should have left once I experienced how inept the hostess stand was. I walked up provided my name and reservation of three and without any greeting or acknowledgement, we stood there awkwardly for 10 minutes before a hostess said follow me. That was the highlight.

Greeted by a waitress who took our drink order and disappeared. She had two other tables around us, but regardless of how many times I tried to flag here, she didn’t respond. After roughly twenty minutes, she brought our drinks and asked us for our order. She didn’t tell us about any soup of the day or specials or ask if we wanted to put in an appetizer. She just waited for us to order.

I told her we would order an appetizer. I ordered a half dozen blue point oysters and my guests also placed an order. While waiting on our appetizer’s we placed our entree order.

Shortly after our appetizer’s came out, I got one dozen of oysters and my guest’s got salads instead of what they ordered (ahi tuna and calamari). I told the food runner and she said to take it up with our server. Our server claimed that was what we ordered.

It gets better, as our entrees arrive the protein’s were correct but the sides were wrong. Once again, I tried to get the server’s attention, but she was too preoccupied with her other tables. We decided to finish the meal as it was served, and our server showed up once we had finished. I explained the discrepancy with our order and she shrugged it off and as if we wanted the check. By this time, I was looking for the exit. I paid the bill and left a modest $10 tip on a $128 bill.

To add further insult, the manager on duty greeted us on the way out and I made a comment was the service was subpar. His comment to me was “well, enjoy your evening.”

The worst dining experience I have had at an upscale-ish...