Pairings Bistro — Restaurant in Maryland

My wife and I had a reservation for 6 pm on aTuesday. Pleasant staff. Dining room was half full, mostly by other relaxed couples. We enjoyed a four course/pairing of Rock fish and a chicken entree with cream of crab soup. Presentation and flavor very good. At $109, we rated the experience an excellent value; overall 4.8 out of 5. Total time from seating to bill was two hours and enjoyed ever minute, never feeling rushed or delayed. Take advantage of the relaxed pace by going with another couple.

We visited again with our daughter and her husband during "restaraunt week". The dining room was packed as compared to being half-full during our last visit. Based on a few negative reviews about small portions, rude servers and slow service, I was concerned that the previous favorable experience would suffer - the opposite was true. We were surprised by the exceptional value of several unexpected specials. The same server as the previous visit attended our table. She was exceptional as before, but I believe the entire staff shined. From taking the reservation to paying the check, the efficiency and pace of service was exemplary, despite the full house. Lobster Mac & Cheese, Cream of Crab Soup, Beet Salad, Truffle Steaks, Scallops, Duck and a new favorite in the Vouvray wine and a Pinot Noir pairing. Even a request for bread rolls, as we requested on our previous visit, was filled happily and immediately, at no charge. If you find fault in any aspect of your dining experience at Pairings, you should search for a better place. It's still five/five star for us. I have one other important comment. During our first visit, I noticed patrons from three separate tables hugging their server as they finished the evening. My initial impression was they were either friends or relatives; I now realize they were just repeat customers. I can't recall such a connection anywhere else. I

CeeCee, our third visit in a month was lunch. We're beyond rating the food. I think we've met nearly all the staff. Please thank Michele from our first two visits, as well as Sarah and Shannon from today for the incredible recommendations, the discussion on wine and the menu, and the relaxed dining explerience. I'm learning unexpected approaches to wine pairing and taking home an assortment of wines for my stock. No need to reply. Please thank everyone.

Valentine's Day with wife, daughter and her husband. First time at Rockfield Manor location and we loved it. Our waitress (with Pairing Bistro for 9 years) was excellent; timing of the service, food presentation, pace were...

This restaurant is ok at best. We dined at Pairings Bistro last evening. We were seated and promptly brought water. We were informed our server would be with us soon. We saw many different employees passing by and at one point the manager brought us silverware but still no server. When our server did arrive he asked if anyone had been with us yet and he proceeded to answer our few questions about the menu including the fish of the day and if we could add a protein to their gnocchi entree. He informed us that we could add to the entree. We then ordered two cocktails and the crab dip to get started. We were brought the tea thyme cocktails that were the highlight of the evening. He returned to get the rest of our order. We requested the Brussels mussels, the sliders and one of their featured entrees the gnocchi and requested to have scallops added to the dish. He suggested an order in which we could receive the food and I declined requesting those three things come together after we receive the crab dip. The server said, "oh, you are having crab dip? I must have missed that." That was fine, no big deal. Maybe he didn't hear us order it with our drinks or maybe he forgot. We ordered a couple more cocktails. The crab dip arrived with a beautiful golden presentation. The bread was crusty and delicious. The crab dip had a nice texture but was lacking in crab presence and taste. It was more of a red pepper and artichoke dip. Our second course arrived. The sliders we excellent. The gnocchi dish was fair. There were few gnocchi for a $30 entree. To our surprise, we were given the scallops entree. This was less than ideal as we were expecting just seared scallops with the gnocchi. The mussels were subpar. The bacon was more so streamed than a crispy garnish. The server did return one time check on our food, asking if everything was ok. It was just ok. As former restaurant employees we don't complain unless something is seriously wrong. The offerings and Pairings look great on paper but flavor and...

I gave it 2 stars because it is restaurant week, so I understand they were busy. 8:00 reservation, we were seated immediately. No one bothered to come over to the table for 30 minutes, so we got up and tracked down a waitress to order a bottle of wine. 10 minutes later, she stopped at the table to tell us the wine was chilling, we asked for a basket of bread since it was now 8:45. Another 15 minutes passed before she brought the wine and bread and she said would be back to take our order. We all had the 4 course meal with wine pairing, so this was not a cheap meal. The lobster mac and cheese was wonderful, and from there it went down hill. The cream of crab was cold, and of course the waitress was nowhere to be found to have it warmed up, so that went to waste. I asked for my steak to be pink throughout, and it came out well done. Again, the waitress was nowhere to be found, so someone at the table offered part of her steak so I wouldn't go hungry. Finally the waitress came back to clear the table and asked if I wanted my steak wrapped. I told her no, that it was overcooked. 10 minutes later when the dessert (cheesecake which was very dry) was brought out, the manager came out and apologized that my meal wasn't cooked right and asked if I would like something else instead. I explained that I split my friends meal and it was too late for an entree since it was after 10:00 PM. She then says, look what I found and lays a $10 coupon towards a bottle of wine on the table. Really? We spent $435.00 on a meal that was for the most part disappointing at best and had poor service, now you want me to spend more in your restaurant. I won't elaborate on the other meals that came to the table, I'll let them post their own reviews. I will say that only one out of 4 diner's at our table had...