Pier450 - POV Restaurant — Restaurant in Maryland

I had high hopes, but left somewhat underwhelmed.

The food in general was pretty good, but I thought that considering the prices and the level at which this restaurant presents itself, the service is sub-par.

We had the steamed mussles and the rockfish ceviche appetizers. The mussles were quite good with chunky tomatoes and sauce, and 2 pieces of thick cut grilled toast. The mussles themselves had very little flavor, or the flavor was hidden by the robust sauce. Maybe it has to do with the season?

The rockfish ceviche was only fair. The fish was well marinated, but I felt the lime marinade lacked any sense of finesse. It was just pure lime with no discernible other flavors. I could see the diced mango, some herbs, and a couple of thin slices of avocado, but couldn’t taste anything but lime. A bit disappointing.

The entrees were all quite good, with the crab cakes being the winner. They were the perfect texture and served with a delicious sauce with pesto and possibly some citrus. The mashed golden potatoes on the plate were delicious in flavor, but unfortunately were barely warm. Other dishes we had were the pasta with vodka sauce and chicken, the steakhouse salad and the Paella. Everyone seemed pretty happy with the food but the one thing everyone agreed upon was that all of the food was generally a bit under seasoned. Thankfully it was easily remedied with salt and pepper on the table.

Unfortunately the quality of the service didn’t match the quality of the food. While we got everything we asked for, and everything was pretty timely, we all felt the service was pretty sloppy. Especially considering the high quality and price of the food and drinks.

When we received our entrees, we had to request that our appetizer plates be taken away, and even then they weren’t all cleared. Some were left on the table for the rest of the meal. If we hadn’t asked, I’m certain they would have ALL stayed until the end of the meal.

Empty drink glasses also weren’t removed and remained on the table through the rest of the meal. We had to to ask for more water even though while the waitress was there asking if we’d like more drinks, it was obvious that multiple people at the table didn’t have any water left and there were 2 giant empty water bottles in the middle of the table. When she brought more water, she just plopped another bottle of water in the middle of the table, along with the 2 empty bottles that were already there, all of our empty wine/drink glasses and the appetizer plates that had still not been cleared. It was a big sloppy mess.

When we paid, the check was dropped at the table for us to sign, we signed, and no one acknowledged us further. No thank you, no good night. Nothing.

It’s a shame since this restaurant has so much potential to be great. The chef and owners should take notice that the delicious food coming out of the kitchen is being handcuffed by sloppy,...

2 stars for trying to make something of that place. Not the experience I was expecting, even with hospitality industry struggling. Ordered ceviche described ‘with mango & avocado’. Zero avocado so I just asked for some diced to add. I was brought a bowl with a scoop of browned avocado. It went downhill from there. The ceviche was mostly onion, shame because the juice was very good, could’ve been a great dish. I ordered the paella, and it was so bland, so over cooked…chorizo was burned, scallops mussels and clams (the few that were in it) were unnoticeable and there was no flavor… all tasted like the yellow rice that comes in box and was cooked with too much water. Hubby ordered the steak and shrimp, also bland. Had better steak at Texas Roadhouse last weekend. It was basically a plate of fries with the steak (which did have a slightly good chargrill flavor) in the corner of the plate and two small shrimp hiding under the fries. If you’re going to charge for a premium meal like that, at least salt the steak, plate it in the center with larger shrimp on top and maybe cone the fries so they didn’t soak up all the steak juice. Caramelized pear martini wasn’t shaken. Not sure if it should have been but it was lukewarm, wasn’t described to be. Figured it would have been shaken and somewhat cold which would have tasted so much better. Rather it tasted like lukewarm vodka-less pear cider. We asked for the fresh baked cookies to go when we asked for the check. They were just plopped on our table as she walked by to get our check, startled me a little. Why not just place them down with the check? Unfortunately the best part was the salted butter that came with the slice of bread that came with the steak meal. Truly, excellent butter! The clues were there at the beginning of the evening… a plate of uneaten oysters Rockefeller except for one, obviously sent back… a very upset guest trying to be polite as possible but I couldn’t help overhearing about how many times they had to send their food back for being undercooked, another guest the same. I saw and heard about a lot of food going back to the kitchen. Clue! I was so hungry I ate most of my food even it was bland. I figured ‘maybe this is their version of paella, just won’t order it again’. The pro’s: The view is beautiful there, the bartenders were fun and friendly (but shouldn’t complain about the kitchen loudly in front of guests). Clue! Our server was very friendly, but we had to ask what the specials were that the bartender mentioned earlier. Now back to the con’s… the worst one of all… I was curled over in the car the entire ride home from terrible cramping, and not having a great morning. It’s a no for me Pier450! Nice concept, beautiful location, kitchen needs help, but I know they are all trying and this is a very...

*Update 10/14/2023 Now a good 4 stars. Much more comfortable inside. Very good food: Duck Comfit. Classic Caesar Salad with Steak. Brulee was excellent and a really good chocolate desert too. Good quantity. Excellent service from Beau. My only quibble was that imho it is a bit highly priced. Best cuisine in the area. 10/11/21 *Very nearly 4 stars.. If you want something a bit different than this might just be your place? Indoor, or "Beach style" dining under cover, outside on a deck surrounded by sand is quite fun for us visiting "townies". The menu is imho a little brave and avante guarde with its combinations, and may not be to everyone's taste. It will help if you like seafood ;-) There may be one or two more conservative options amongst seafood, burgers etc. Not fond of sea food, I opted for mushroom ravoli, which was sold out. Starters were excellent, Crab & Cream Soup, and a truly excellent fresh guacamole recipe with superb chips were 5-star fresh and well balanced. The Pulled Pork Quesadilla did not really work for me though. Even with the unusual sauce applied, they had a dry sandy powdery texture, possibly because of a combination of goat cheese and/or perhaps undercooked (one side only?) quesadilla? *The Lamb Chop special was not a success either. We were not asked how the lamb should be cooked. Not quite sure how lamb chops can be both overcooked on the visible bone, yet remain "red bleeding" completely raw inside. IMHO This should not have been served.... To be fair, they were extremely busy on Friday night, and although we did tell the server about the lamb afterwards, we did not give them a chance to correct or explain what the intended effects were supposed to be.. Waited over 50 minutes for food, but service demeanor was pleasant enough. Everyone, (I think we were attended by four different people in all), seemed to be happy there so a nice environment. Bill was a bit pricey at over $100 for two. We bought cookies for desert from the shop and they were very good value and very good indeed, but sadly told no scones in the evenings. They are really trying hard and I think that a subsequent visit with different menu choices might give a far more positive experience. If you want something a bit different and you can afford it,...