The Granary — Restaurant in Maryland

Let me start with I went here once before and I actually booked a wake following the funeral of my oldest daughter’s father. It hat visit was excellent, the food was outstanding and service exceeded all standards. This was the reason we chose to dine here for Valentine’s Day. It was my fiancé, daughter, her boyfriend and of course myself. I’m a hospitality veteran of 24+ years holding executive positions, opening locations and owning two restaurants myself at one point. So knowing a typical v-day we went in early, 5:00. Place was not that busy. The view was beautiful and we were able to watch the sunset. Lighting could’ve been a little dimmer to enhance the ambience but no biggie. We ordered the crab dip and it was great, flavor was on point and with a few more dipping pretzels, close to perfect. Couple of us got soups which were delicious as well. Then dinner. One burger, Mac n cheese, salmon entree, and myself a NY strip. (Typically I go for something with a little more marbled fat but the ribeye was too big for my appetite) burgers were not cooked to temp and my steak was less than rare. (Ordered medium) I know medium temp is one of the more soffit to achieve however, places like this and at this price point, typically have experienced cooks. I most certainly would expect your GM and a couple managers on as well. I went to the restroom and my fiance sent it back. I was going to ask for something quick so I could eat with my group but deed was already done. After the waitress returned the steak was still not cooked right. Ways off. She asked if I wanted to have it up-cooked agian! I had plans to drop off my daughter and her boyfriend and my fiancé and I were heading to the poconos hours away. I told her a couple times no then finally said, it will taste like overcooked roast beef at that point. The burgers were rare and were supposed to be medium but the teens ate them anyway. And the Mac and cheese although presented well, looked tastier than it tasted. Bland and done with elbow macaroni. I spent over $200 and that was with my roast beef removed. Now here’s were my biggest gripe is. Being in hospitality I have always trained my managers to conduct table visits, and there was no manager presence on the floor. Not only that but when there’s a problem at a restaurant that’s easily $40-60 per person and there’s an issue like ours, a table visit is absolutely standard operating procedure. The waitress came over and acted as if taking the food off the bill was dining me a favor or something. I asked if she had told a manager what happened and mentioned that there should have been a visit of something but to no avail. I tipped her the 20% and won’t be back. Even a diner would offer at least a dessert. What an awesome...

I remember going to the granary years ago when the food, the service and the atmosphere were top notch. My sole experience post the "fishwhistle" change was the other side of the coin. We went in for an early Saturday dinner. One other table was seated. We were seated with a great view by the window, on a table that rocked so hard it would make you seasick. My wife noticed food under the table which our waiter identified as fish and chips from the last diner.

Started by ordering drinks, I ordered Stella which arrived quickly enough however the glass I requested took an additional 15 minutes.

My family ordered their entrees, and I ordered mine. I rolled the dice on a special for the day, and must have thrown snake eyes. I had the stuffed flounder with crab meat. It came with a choice of vegetables, carrots or spinach. I can't tolerate candied carrots so spinach it was. First I've never had fish with so many bones, ugh. The with crab meat alluded to five or six raisin sized morsels of crab in a sauce so thin it could have been white brine. Oh and of course accompanied by a healthy serving of candied carrots. I reminded our "waiter" at that point I had asked for spinach. He apologized for the mistake and promptly returned 30 minutes later with my spinach while we had all finished our entrees. I was still hungry as a result of not finishing my boney fish soup so spinach was going to have to suffice. The spinach was a nightmare as well. So salty as to be inedible and so loaded with garlic that I'm safe from vampire attacks for eternity. Our "waiter" sensing my disgust offered comped desserts which I declined but my wife and daughter accepted. I wasn't going to chance food poisoning at that point.

When preparing to depart our waiter must have noticed his less than 20 percent tip when he reminded me he gave us comped desserts... The nerve.

I've had better meals at McDonald's.

The date of my experience was June 16th 19 in case there is any question what was on the "special"...

My husband and I just ate here, it's late April, so not the season. I really, really hope it gets better, though we won't be going back. His mojito tasted like watered down vodka, with no mint flavor at all, though the leaves were in the glass. They didn't have the two appetizers that we had decided to choose from, and we eventually went with the battered and fried asparagus. They were fine, and the portion size decent. The dipping sauces were all mayo based, though again, acceptable. When the food came out we were both disappointed. My bistro steak was over cooked and not seasoned at all. Once I added salt and pepper it was ok, but the portion size was small. Also the horseradish "cream" (really mayo again), was a decoration, not a condiment. The salad that came with it was arugula, diced canned beets and some oil. No seasoning or flavor. The waffle fries, while well cooked, had so much salt that I could only get through a third of them. My husbands half size of salmon was tiny, more an appetizer then a small meal. It was also waaaaay over cooked and dry. The only saving grace was the view, which was nice. Also, not counting in the review against the restaurant, the people seated next to made rude comments about us through their meal. We had asked to move tables because of the sun, and my husband listened to them talk to each other about how we had moved without asking, etc etc. $70 got us what I would judge about $40 in value. My advice is to go to Chesapeake City for food, all of the restaurants there give you better value and just as nice scenery. Get ice cream from the little ice cream parlor on the river. If you're passing through Georgetown towards your next destination, my only recommendation would be to Kitty Knight House for their drinks which you can have on their porch. Much better...