Departure — Restaurant in Media

Maybe we were expecting too much when we decided to try this new restaurant in Media based on the website description. We have travelled extensively all over the world and are familiar with cuisines from many countries and we couldn't wait to try what was advertised a "culinary journey around the globe". Unfortunately the "journey" was a let down. The place is very nice and we loved the decor, but that's was the only highlight of our experience. As a new restaurant, we expected some glitches due to the "breaking-in" period, however, the service was very disappointing as it took forever for our waitress to come and greet us, take our order and deliver the food. For whatever reason, all through the evening, tables around us kept been served before us. It might have been due to the inexperience of our waitress, who seemed overwhelmed, but, having worked in hospitality, I know that the first and most important thing you do is train your employees to perform to your own standards. The owners and other waiters tried to fill in but it still looked very disorganized. The food was not bad. The dumpling were hard and tasted like Trader's Joe frozen dumpling. The Mediterranean platter was very blah, with tabouli made with fresh ingredients and tasty hummus but the pita bread was again hard and seemed a bit stale. The rest of the food was tasty, but not exciting. The wine was ok for the price, but again of average quality. Our mistake was probably not having tried the cocktails, since they might have been the best thing in the house. I think the restaurant concept is a very good one, however, they still have a long way to go before reaching mastery on dishes from so many different cuisines and good...

Love this place. Visited on a Friday night and every member of the staff was exceptional. Tabby was so skilled at providing seamless service that l wondered if she was a mind reader. I loved how super hot all our dishes were upon arrival (more so than any restaurant l’ve visited in the past). We ordered the lamb lollipops, shepherd’s pie, meatballs, and mushroom pasta—delicious and perfect portions! Finally, their cocktails ( London Fog, Black Sea, Contrails, Apple Pie Old Fashioned) are delicious, strong, and fair prices. A lot of restaurants have cocktails of weak to medium strength, but the ones here can easily rival the ones served in pure cocktail lounges. Finally, the seating is splendid, all upholstered and beautiful to behold. I didn’t realize this til this morning when I visited their website, but we met Rory, one of the owners, that night and he made us feel so appreciated and welcomed. Definitely recommending Departure...

Departures in Media is a slam dunk!!! We eat out in Media regularly, there are so many great restaurant options, and I have been meaning to try Departures but it wasn’t in our normal rotation so I kept forgetting. Recently, it’s been recommended to us several times and I saw a great write up about it, so we finally went tonight. Every single dish was terrific. The toro chips, fish and chips, and shrimp skewers were particularly delicious. We also had an incredible dessert, a warm apple cinnamon cake with ice cream. The sake to me and lavender martini were SO yummy, and they had great beer options (my husband is always happy to see Levante’s cloudy and cumbersome on a menu!) Mary was our server and she was lovely and had great recs, and we met the owner on our way out and she was also very kind. I’m so glad we went, Departures will probably be my first choice when we go out...