River Stone Grill — Restaurant in Maryland

I will NEVER be returning, nor would I recommend this place to anyone with self-respect or literally any level of service standards. One thing I really despise while going out to dine is a place that presents itself higher than the servers are willing, or able, to execute. This is one of those places. It is one thing to have personability as a higher end server (and if you wouldn’t call yourself a nicer scale place, let’s lower those prices, yeah?) and be generally likeable to your guests, it is another thing to be so inept and casual, in a way that I would expect from Denny’s or Applebee’s, and diminish the entire experience (which mind you, was a birthday, better luck next year I suppose), despite this place actually having a very nice setting and really great food. This originally seemed like a place that calls their patrons guests, and not customers, because this isn’t a bodega or T-Mobile, I was however incredibly wrong about that also as I left feeling like I had just been walked on. Turns out the side salads don’t come with the meal, it could’ve fooled me as we waited 40 minutes for them, and then another 15 for our food. Now, I don’t know what check times were exactly (yes, I am a service worker myself!) but for every person at our table to 1) note that it was not busy enough for it to be taking this long and 2) comment on how long everything took, drinks, sauces, and the presence of our server all included; it is just an undesirable experience when you’re trying to celebrate. We saw the prices on the menu, we knew what to expect when the bill came, I just also expected a check book with a $355 check? All the other tables got one lol, I guess I’m insane for that assumption too. Also, we were a party of 7, and we noted on the menu before we ate that parties of 8 get automatic gratuity, so why were graced with automatic 20% I have no idea. And again, this is a table of service workers, I was always going to tip you, maybe Christie just found us to be too young to be generous, or she knew the service she gave and wanted her pay anyways. My moneys goes on the latter. We gave her our card and when she returned, we asked for a manager so we could share our experience, insane to learn that on a Saturday night at 8:30PM there just… wasn’t one. So here I am now. (Mind you, majority places I’ve worked at you need manager approval to add gratuity, so that was clarified in this moment as a decision she made on her own.) She said, “I told you it was on there when I dropped off the check” Oh the soggy check with no book, yes, we heard you say “everything is included” but I had assumed that meant taxes and fees, I guess service charge is included in that, but I would have worded that differently myself. After returning our signable receipt (meaning card has been swiped), and we had just questioned the gratuity, she then said, “would you like me to take it off?” Why on God’s green earth would I want two separate $300 charges on my card (even if one will be null and void by the morning) because you decided you wanted to get paid for doing approximately nothing? Because I haven’t even mentioned the numerous things she just let slip her mind. Metacognition is when you are aware of and think ahead of your own thinking, a little metacognition could’ve well helped Christie had she found a way around her own forgetfulness by now. It is an open dining room so I can see the other tables she has, or lack thereof, and I can also see her actively doing nothing when we had asked for certain things to be able to eat our meals, we had to wave her down with “drowning arms” to remind her of what we asked for, feels as if she should be writing more things down. God awful experience, so go ahead and just take our $55 Christie! I love paying people to ignore me and give...

My husband and I dined here 12/02/23 with a 6:30 PM reservation. I was disappointed that this restaurant was advertised as " UP SCALE" dining, only to find more of a "Sports Bar"/Family Dining" atmosphere with "UP SCALE" prices. Although the restaurant was clean, with a modern vibe, I was also disappointed not to find a single "River Stone" in the décor. There is an adequate selection of Craft Cocktails. My husband ordered the Old Fashion and I had the Carrie Bradshaw, both of which, were very good, but two drinks were served with only one cocktail napkin. There seemed to be enough staff to service the restaurant, however, they were not well trained in dining etiquette. For starters, we ordered the Crab Bisque which was flavorful and full of crab meat, but it was just average and lacked that special "kick" that would make it unique. A little lingering heat would have made this soup superb. My husband ordered the Steak Frites and I had the Cajun Chicken Pasta. The steak was prepared to order, however, it was missing the Horseradish Compound Butter so it was just your average run-of-the-mill steak. He also ordered a house salad with 1K island dressing. Our server stated that the restaurant did not have 1K island dressing and actually stated, "we suck, we don't have anything". I thought this was rather odd because, there is a Reuben on the menu which advertises 1K island dressing......hmmmm?. He settled for Ranch dressing since the server was at a loss for recommending options. The frites were good, but lacked seasoning. The Cajun Chicken Pasta was very good despite the chicken being tough and over cooked, the Cajun sauce was mouth-watering delicious and the pasta was cooked perfectly. I also had a house salad with blue cheese dressing that was house made and worth returning for. Our drinks and salads were served with our meals which made for a very crowded table and the server just sat the plates on the table for us to sort out what-was-what. Granted, this restaurant is in it's infancy and has a few "kinks" to work out. The staff is young and will soon learn that "tips" are generated depending on service and not a requirement. A few more hours spent on training and a little less hurry in the kitchen this restaurant, with it's prime location, will be...

I had to write this Review because sometimes people decide to comment whatever they choose when it comes to a Business and state things that just make you shake your head. A Review was posted regarding an experience they had at the Restaurant last evening. The Review was slightly blown out of proportion regarding something that happened while they were there. Which is anyone’s right to post their opinions however, when you end your Review with this “Man doesn’t know how to run a Restaurant” you sort of make yourself sound “clueless”. This “Man” that she refers to, opened a Business 5 months ago. As someone with quite a few family and friends Bar & Restaurant Owners as well as others in general that have taken 5 months to smooth out the quirks and some even longer and some never do!! In the 5 months that this “Man” has ran this Restaurant: •••I just read through 125 Comments on the FB Site. Not 1 Negative. •••3,200 Followers on Social Media •••4.2 Rating on Google 25/5. 13/4 •••Many nights you need a Reservation. We personally spent every Sunday Brunch at Riverstone during Football Season. 10-12 people every week ordering different food and drinks for months! Not 1 issue with food, drink or service. So this just sort of explains my issue with some random Customer stating this “Man” doesn’t know how to run a Restaurant. Food, Drink, Service complaints are the norm and of course everyone has their opinions and every Business is certainly going to have off nights. However, when you make a statement in reference directly to someone’s integrity, reputation, character & abilities and the statement is clearly false with an extreme amount of proof of that, you truly do make yourself sound “clueless” I would say he’s doing a pretty damn good job for a Man that doesn’t know how to run a Restaurant! The Man’s name is Michael, he researched the location, designed the Restaurant, created the Menu and in turn now has a very successful Independently Owned Restaurant (not the usual Chain). So with everything I’ve said, I hope that people actually know the facts before attacking someone with a statement that clearly does make you...