Michael's Cafe — Restaurant in Maryland

As we entered the restaurant, we were immediately met with what appeared to be discriminatory treatment based on our skin color. The two young women at the front, one with light brown hair and the other wearing a blonde wig and black glasses, looked at me and my nieces as though we didn’t belong. One of them informed us that there were no available tables except those behind the bar, in an area that was noticeably unkempt. The tables there were dirty, wobbly, and sectioned off from the main dining area, far from the restaurant’s more inviting and polished spaces.

I mentioned to the waiter that the table was unstable and pointed out the visible food under the table. He appeared indifferent and offered no assistance. This was my third visit to the restaurant, and I had looked forward to surprising my nieces with a special dinner at a place I had come to really enjoy.

I asked two other staff members if we could be seated elsewhere, but both declined, stating that the other available tables were reserved. However, during the nearly two hours we were there, only one group was seated at those reserved tables. Meanwhile, several white guests, many of whom did not appear to have reservations, were seated promptly in the main dining room and the outdoor seating area.

Throughout our visit, our drinks and food nearly fell several times due to the instability of the table. It was also hard to ignore a troubling pattern. Nearly every Black patron who entered was seated in areas that were less visible or tucked away. One Black man came in with a white family member and they were seated in a better section. Another Black family was seated in the main dining area, but it felt as though the staff were making a conscious effort to limit the number of people of color in that space.

One staff member, a woman who appeared to be Latina and spoke with a strong Spanish accent, was incredibly kind to us. Her service stood out and made a big difference in our experience. My nieces, who are nine and ten, were disheartened by how we were treated, but her warmth and professionalism offered a much-needed moment of comfort.

I should’ve checked the reviews before visiting, because I now see that this kind of treatment toward Black patrons is unfortunately common at this location.

I don’t believe this experience reflects the owner or general manager personally. At least I hope it does not. On my first visit, the owner came out to greet me and my coworker and her family (who were all White) after a State Police award ceremony. He was gracious, welcoming, and genuinely attentive to our needs.

This recent experience, however, was deeply disappointing. I had grown to love this restaurant and had recommended it to many friends and colleagues. To be treated this way, especially in front of my young nieces, was...

I'm not one to normally leave reviews. I have my favorite places and they all have ups and downs but I tend to stick it out with them. That being said, Michael's has been a favorite for years and I go often, sometimes with my husband or friends and sometimes solo. Michael's has changed management multiple times since I've been coming and with that, there is usually a change in staff. About 1.5 -2 years ago a new bartender, Amy, started and very quickly became my favorite. Myself and my husband found ourselves coming in more often and on the days she worked just to see her and enjoy her excellent service and conversation. There are plenty of good bartenders but she always made the experience exceptional and is truly the best I've known. Even during busy times she'd take the time to chat with us. I don't know how but she seemed to have such good rapport with all her guests and took equally good care of them.

Recently we went in on one of her usual evenings but she wasn't there. When I asked a new bartender (never met before) I was told she'd been fired. New management took over a few months ago (I believe his name is Chad??) and there's been a good bit of turnover since then, as is often expected. But to let go the very best of the best just isn't understandable. I don't know the owners personally but I know they are there often so they must know what a treasure they had. I wasn't given details about why they let her go. But I do know others have been fired in the past for seemingly pointless reasons. Some I know worked there for decades.

I've worked in the service industry and I know there's no protection or benefits. They work for tips only. To own a business like that and not care at all about the people who make it great is just so wrong. In all honesty, this has upset me enough that I'll never set foot in Michael's again.

My husband and I will be trying other restaurants around town in the hopes of finding her. And if we're lucky enough to, I'll be sure to post reviews about her and her amazing service. This industry has always been a tough one but I thought after covid, owners and managers would at least be more appreciative of their top staff and do what they can to hang onto them.

We all hear the complaints that "nobody wants to work anymore". So why on earth would it make sense to let the ones who work so hard and make such a difference go?

My apologies for the rant. I'm just so angry and sad for this gem of a person to be treated as so replaceable. Yes, other bartenders will take over. But none of them will come close to her level.

Michael's Cafe, you have had many loyal employees over the years but you have no loyalty for them. That alone makes it not worth spending another penny in your...

So let’s start with food. I ordered the arugula, Farro, green bean goat cheese with honey balsamic dressing. The portion was substantial. Lots of arugula, but very little Farro or green beans personally, I don’t think the green beans added anything to the salad and would have appreciated more Farro. The dressing was delicious. I ordered the Peruvian chicken for my main course. The presentation was wonderful. The flavors were outstanding. I would have appreciated more pickled onion, which was part of the description, but actually more like a garnish. Oh, by the way, my cocktail was one of their extra dirty martinis. It was good. Let’s move onto service, which was a failure. I won’t embarrass our waiter by using his name. To start, when he approached our table, he asked if we’d like a glass of wine or iced tea, which I thought was awkward. Usually a waiter asks what can I get you to start cocktail glass of wine something like that we ordered our cocktails and we’re ready to order when they arrived we both had the arugula salad and the Peruvian chicken. I honestly can’t remember if our waiter checked back with us. I know when we got our cocktails I actually had to ask for some bread. At one point I needed to ask for a refill on my water. So while we are enjoying our Peruvian chicken I hear our waiter tell the table behind us about the evening specials! Specials? He never mentioned that to us. The only way I can summarize our waiter was “disinterested“ in us whether it be two women out to dinner and thought he would get a lousy tip, but it was terrible. BTW despite the lousy service we did tip over 20%… I hope you learned a lesson! Atmosphere: forget having a nice conversation it is so noisy and much has to do with the architecture and the design of the dining room. However, we had a reservation, we were seated in a booth which we requested but this booth is directly behind the hostess stand, so we are listening to everyone who is coming in and checking in and other customers who are coming from other areas of the restaurant requesting tables outside, etc. etc. this is an incredibly bad location for dining and if you could do something like create a wall between the booth and the station that might help. We felt like we were sitting in the foyer of the restaurant. Lots of activity going on between the bus persons loading up dirty dishes, and the station to the side where the waiters are entering their food and drink orders very bad location for dining. I might go back for Happy Hour ( which is at bar only) but...