Mo's Seafood — Restaurant in Maryland

Last Friday, my wife and I decided to celebrate paying off her student loans and the launch of her business consulting firm at Mo’s Seafood in Towson. We had a reservation set for 7:30pm. We did arrive a few minutes late, but they held a table for us so we were able to get seated right away. Our waitress was Julie (or maybe, Julia?), and she was an absolute gem!

Julie was super attentive. She started us off with some ice waters with lemon then asked if we were first-timers at Mo’s. We weren’t, but she didn’t let that discourage her from still entertaining us with what were Mo’s “hot” items on the drink and food menu.

Per her recommendation, we ordered a round of the strawberry Hennessy cocktails and the seafood quesadilla appetizer (regrettably, not pictured). While we were waiting on our drink and appetizer, Julie made sure to check on us and ensure we were doing alright during the wait then inquired if we were ready to make our main course order. I ordered the surf-n-turf NY strip imperial with Shrimp and my wife had the jumbo stuffed shrimp imperial. For sides, also not pictured unfortunately, I had the steamed veggies of the day and my wife had the garlic parmesan mashed potatoes.

When our drinks and appetizer finally arrived (about a 15 -20 minute wait, pretty quick for packed house on a Friday night), we were pleased with the outcome. The drinks were strong enough to feel, but not so strong that they triggered regretful memories of drunken college nights. Oh, and the seafood quesadilla... WHOAAAAA! The quesadilla appetizer could have been a meal for the two of us - it was loaded with cheese, shrimp, crab, and scallops. It was cut into 4-pieces and each piece, honestly, weighed about a pound! Not to mention - DELICIOUS! Hence, why I regret not getting a picture :(.

Julie continued to do an amazing job of providing great customer service by periodically checking on us and keeping us informed with what was going in the kitchen with our main courses. A couple of mistakes were made, which she admittedly took blame for, and we were grateful for her willingness to communicate with us and make it right.

When our main course finally arrived, we were just as pleased with the outcome as we were with our appetizers. We ended up ordering another round of the strawberry Hennessy cocktails LOL. Everything was cooked to perfection, served hot, and tasted great!

Truthfully, we were stuffed from the appetizer and round one of drinks, so we asked Julie if we could pack what remained to-go. Julie right then and there grabbed some boxes and packed everything for us. When she brought the check, she included a free slice of one of my wife’s favorite cheese cake slices on the house for some the mistakes made earlier in the evening. Again, amazing customer service.

Before leaving Mo’s, we made it point to speak with the general manager that evening to relay our praises for her service. We ended up discovering that Julie was actually a recent hire - we couldn’t even tell! All in all, we would return just for the customer service - the food is an...

This was not the best day that I could have selected to stop for food, As I was waiting an inordinately long period to be acknowledged and to be seated, I heard a patron say ,"This is what happens when 30 RSVP and 50 show up." Although, I was not part of that private party, they and the overflow crowd were getting the immediate attention. While there were other customers in the restaurant already seated (many of whom had their meals), I obseved 2-3 wait staff (one I think was the manager), one bus boy. Oh, by the way, there is also a bar in the back with people seated in that area. I waited and waited (and even tried to get the bus boy's attention) until someone frantically came over to attend to me. Meanwhile, I was calculating where else in the vicinity I could get some suitable food (especially since I had come to Mo's for seafood, and my order wasn't the only one I had to consider). By the time I did get seated, I told the waitress, "I see why no one answered my call," and then informed her I already knew what I wanted and that I'd order an appetizer while the other food was being prepared. She took the order for my appetizer but not the entrees. The appetizer (soup) was tepid when it should have been hot. When the waitress had a chance to check back with me, I asked for the soup to be heated. She still didn't take my food order. It was almost half an hour later before she did. I placed the orders to go and specifically asked if the crabcake were GF, and she said yes. When the carry-out items came, I checked each container to discover that there was a roll (i.e. bread/ gluten) in the same box as the crab cake, whereupon the waitress tried to justify it by saying the bread was not in the crab cake but just came with the meal. "Miss, the fact that this roll is touching this crab cake makes it no longer Gluten-Free. If I take this to the woman who has the food allergy, and she gets sick, then that will be a whole other issue." After a couple of failed attempts of debating the point with me (and my askingto speak to the manager), the waitress said she would have another crab cake made. I just had to wait (an extra) 10 minutes. In case you're wondering, they didn't just remove the roll of the plate snd give it back freshly packaged. I know it was a different crabcake because the new one was noticeably smaller than the original one that she brought me.

A visit which should have taken less than a hour took the better part of two hours. What's worse, when I asked about Mo's military discount, the waitress said there was none (so what happened to the discount since my friend who introduced me to this location a couple of months ago got a military discount then?). They charged me a 17% gratuity on top of the sale tax for the carry out food.

The food is good, but this experience was bad: Why would Mo's not have sufficient staff to attend to a party of 30-50 people?

Why wouldn't the staff who was there at the very minimum acknowledge a waiting guest and say, "Welcome... Someone will be with you a a...

I was told that Mo's was THE place to get crab cakes in the greater Baltimore area, so naturally I had to listen to the locals' advice. I'm glad I did.

The Food: As a West Coaster, I have to say that the seafood on the East Coast is much better, whether it's New Hampshire or Georgia (or parts in between). Naturally, I had to have Mo's Lump Crab Cake with seafood macaroni salad as my chosen side. I added French fries as an extra side.

The Good: The crab cake was indeed a big lump, about the size of a large saucer or small dessert plate and it was good ... but not amazing. The crab itself was top quality; moist and plump. But the seasoning and "cake" portions were just OK. When I added the house tartar sauce, the overall taste jumped to great, but still not amazing. The fries were solid and well seasoned, but again nothing that will blow you away.

The restaurant itself was surprisingly spacious inside despite seeming smaller and crowded when looking from the outside. It's clean and appropriately decorated.

Also our server was great. Polite, friendly, and efficient. He checked in on us at the right frequency -- not too often that it was annoying and not too little that we felt neglected; it was just right 👍

The Bad: The seafood macaroni salad was underwhelming. I didn't taste any seafood in it while the creaminess lacked any richness to it.

The bathroom, while clean, seemed a little rundown. Plus the sink counter was unusually high -- not sure how kids and wheelchair-bound men would reach the faucet.

The Ugly: Hmm, nothing crazy ugly here. I did enjoy the experience, though the price of $33 for one portion of crab cake (or $55 for two) did make me cringe a little, especially when considering that the taste didn't knock me out.

The Conclusion: Even though the prices gave me pause, I do recognize that it is a seafood place, and seafood ain't cheap. And while the lump crab cake didn't totally wow me, I liked Mo's enough that I'm willing to eating there again and trying the other dishes. My true rating is 3.5 out of 5, but since I can't give half stars, I've rounding up because the folks there...