Huncho House — Restaurant in Maryland

I was ready to not like this restaurant because my mom called him an “instagram chef” 😂

But, I was pleasantly surprised and everything we had was delicious! Even the vegetables were perfect, cooked with actual fire and seasoned but not overly salty.

For appetizers we had the jerk chicken lollipops, the broiled oysters and the Huncho fire roll. The jerk chicken wasn’t overly spicy, it was more like spicy barbecued chicken, but it was tasty. They were huge, so don’t be discouraged by the term “lollipop”

The sushi roll was very good, it’s absolutely drenched in sauce, so I found the extra soy they offered unnecessary. Especially liked the addition of a whole fried shrimp on top. The seafood was also high quality and the shrimp was lightly fried instead of heavily battered. It was spicy by not overwhelming

For mains we had the scallops, salmon and crab fried rice, plus the short ribs and mac and cheese.

Salmon was a great cut, grilled but not dry. Clearly fresh, so not overly fishy. The rice was delicious too, they added corn which was novel but it worked.

Short rib was tender, but not overcooked or too salty like slow cooked meat often is. It was also a huge portion. The scallops were seared to perfection and nicely plated.

Presentation on all of the meals was great, that contrasts with the restaurant interior which is trying a little too hard to be upscale but also has shaky, unstable tables, plastic ivy and dirty menus. It was sort of gaudy, which is a choice, but at that price point, I’d hope for a non-shaky table at least!

Also, as others note they do serve a drink when you arrive but it’s (sweet) sparkling wine, not champagne, and it’s like 1/3 of a glass. Unnecessary, honestly. Cocktails were very strong and good so you get your money’s worth there

My main gripe was the service! I went in expecting it to be bad based on reviews but I found the server we had so tedious and not hospitable at all. She explained to us 4 (?) types of water they offered, I said still water was fine then she took 15 minutes to bring us 3 small bottles which surprised me, I expected 1 big one to share.

Realizing we were probably paying an arm and leg for each one, I asked instead (with the bottles still closed) for tap water, to which she replied “we have house water.” I asked if it was free and she said yes, so I said to just send that.

Then she said she had already put the 3 bottles in the system so the next “order of water” could be the “house water.”

I’ve eaten in restaurants all over the world and never had to have such a long, tedious discussion about types of water or been told I can’t change a pre-packaged item I haven’t touched because it’s “already in the system.” We’re paying 500 bucks for dinner, is it really worth arguing about water!

Overall the service was just unfriendly, the hostess didn’t seem to want to be there. So unecessarry when the food is really good!

I found the bus boy a lot nicer and more attentive than our server. But that of course didn’t stop her from loudly asking us to add more tip on top of the 99 bucks that was automatically charged as a service fee.

All that said, if bad service kept me from recommending a restaurant, I’d hate every restaurant in Paris lol. Hence the 4 stars.

The menu here is very specific and you can tell the chef chose dishes with care and has a high standard for ingredients, plating and cooking. I have had similar quality meals for less money so I would still say it’s overpriced, but we went in expecting to spend a lot, and we were happy to pay after such a nice meal.

To summarize! Amazing food, terrible service. Could be cheaper, but you’ll leave...

I have been looking forward to visiting Huncho House ever since the restaurant opened. The reservations are hard to come by (they are already booked till the end of June) so I was very excited to visit today.

After months of anticipation, it’s unfortunate that it ultimately was an underwhelming experience.

The ambiance was nice. Our waitress was excellent. Chef Tobias was in the kitchen so had high expectations.

The Jerk Short Rib, however, was the biggest disappointment.

While it appeared to be cooked perfectly and fell off the bone, it was bland and lacked flavor.

I didn’t even realize it was supposed to be “Jerk” until my friend reminded me. That is how much it missed the mark.

We requested for more sauce thinking that maybe it would rescue the meal and we were told that the chef refused. Huh? That seemed odd, but okay. 🤷🏾‍♀️

The accompanying risotto, however, was excellent, as were the rest of the sides we ordered.

We spent over $300 between the two of us and although the Jerk Short Rib was disappointing, we felt like everything else made up for it and we had no major complaints.

We had already finished paying and were getting ready to leave when a very pleasant gentleman approached our table to ask how everything was. I believe he was the manager and he seemed genuinely interested in ensuring we had a great experience and wanted feedback so we were honest about how we enjoyed everything but the Jerk Short Rib.

He was very apologetic and said he wanted to make things right and he offered us a round of complimentary cocktails.

As I stated, at this point we had already paid and we getting ready to leave. We hadn’t complained, we didn’t send the food back. We didn’t ask for a manager. Overall, we felt like we had a semi-decent experience so we were impressed and appreciated his gesture. We accepted his offer and waited for the cocktails to come.

Less than 5 minutes after they arrived, a lady with blond dreads approached us to tell us that she needed our table and we needed to “wrap things up” and leave.

Facepalm. 🤦🏾‍♀️

An otherwise semi-pleasant dining experience ruined in 2 seconds.

I completely understand the business need for turning around tables due to pending reservations.

Perhaps, the message may have been better received if it came from someone we had an established relationship like our amazing waitress or the wonderful manager who was just at our table minutes earlier. Perhaps.

Or perhaps, it was her delivery which was neither “classy” nor “upscale” as the restaurant bills itself to be.

It was tacky.

While it is highly unlikely that I will return to Huncho House, I will forever be in support of black chefs and minority owned establishments and I genuinely would like to see this place succeed.

The infrastructure is there potentially to provide the “exquisite, upscale dining experience” it esteems to.

We didn’t experience that, but I hope you will. All the best!

Overall Ratings:

Huncho Fire Sushi : 10/10 ✅

Cocktails (Rum Punch): 10/10 ✅

Waitress: 10/10 ✅

Lobster Mashed Potatos: 10/10 ✅

Brussel Sprouts: 9/10 (great flavor just a little cold)

Crab Mac and Cheese: 6/10 (Just okay, had an interesting almost sour aftertaste)

Banana Pudding: 5/10 (Just okay)

Jerk Short Rib: 0/10 🚨

Blonde Dread Lady:...

LOCATION: very tight parking and not well lit once you have to walk a while being subjected to the environment.

AMABIANCE: Very small eating area, tables were small and chairs were not even close to elegance. They were more close to chairs you would see at a local pub. Menus were dirty and had food stains on them, the table light was nice and the setup on the table was as well however the table clothes were not that clean as well. Where we sat there was a draft of cold air which didn’t make things a good time for us. Waiter was nice however her entire uniform was wrinkled and she looked worn out. There was hostess that had in leggings with Uggs slippers and a tshirt that greeted people and the door to poor champagne as she grabbed from the floor which is where the bottles were stored. Additionally there was a portable red wagon that was parked. In the sitting area as well which had random items in it I imagine it was supplies. There was a floor space heater plugged in the wall which was not turned on but why is that even there ? Fix the heat problem. The owner was cooking but while on a date it appears he had his lady friend at the make shift bar area which was obvious that he knew which isn’t an issue but not from a customer view. All uniforms cooks different looks baseball caps to the back. Bathroom was clean however no paper towels to dry hands. One waiter was walking around with a wet mop but to clean up but not actually thoughtful when transporting the dirty mop.

MUSIC: Various music one second you listening to R&B slow sex song then your hearing Kanye or some random rap sone cursing. Bad idea with music selection.

FOOD: for the price not worth it but it was flavorful just not quite making since for the portion size. But the jerk flavors were on point.

DRESS CODE: website said business casual. We arrive dress to impress and I see and entire table I there with ugly Christmas sweaters and hats, my neighbor food buddy had on a Hoodie and jeans and sneakers. So don’t worry about your attire I am pretty sure you could come there with shorts one which one lady came in with leather booty shorts and fish net leggings. SMH

With all this being said I do not know what direction this place is heading but it’s important to ADDRESS and get ahead of these flaws. I was dissapointed to have seen all this and it’s not the end of the world and doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t come again but sending the message online that this location is high end gourmet dining but you get a similar Ruby Tuesdays vibe isn’t what I expected. I don’t believe in sugar coating experiences so hopefully whoever reads these reviews considers to make the edits. Also way is the meaning of the gorilla as a logo for the location ? Not really understanding that being associated with...