McCormick & Schmick's Seafood & Steaks — Restaurant in Oxon Hill

My husband and I went here for dinner. We had been to the Baltimore location previously and had a great experience there. We elected to sit at the bar instead of the dining room. Upon sitting down, we did not get greeted or menus until about 10 minutes. Looking around at other people at the bar, they had empty drinks and dirty dishes in front of them. There was no obvious bartender. There was a gentleman at the other end of the bar making drinks. He made several drinks and never really left that station. A handful of other workers would come behind the bar to stock or to use the computer but we were uncertain who we could ask for help. Finally we were greeted and given menus. I asked the 'bartender' about their menu and the kitchen prep areas due to having celiac disease. He went on to recommend certain items and sides that I could safely eat. He said the mashed potatoes were not gluten free. Initially I thought it was odd because potatoes are naturally GF. I decided on a seafood dish and substituted the potatoes for a side salad. My husband got oysters and was disappointed by the flavor and they did not detach and flip them in the shell. This made it impossible to slurp them back gracefully. When the food was brought out, mashed potatoes were present and the salad had blue cheese on it. I confirmed with the bartender and he said he did tell the kitchen no mashed potatoes. As a celiac, I cannot have blue cheese either. The food was sent back. The new food came out and the order was correct. I was originally hesitant because sometimes kitchens will replate the food item without taking the allergy serious . (Celiacs cannot tolerate cross contamination with gluten). The food was good. As I began to finish, I was looking at the melted brie on my plate and found a small amount of mashed potatoes on my broccoli. To me, this was proof the food was replated. I notified the bartender and stressed how this wasn't okay. He apologized and said he confirmed with the kitchen that the mashed potatoes were GF. I said okay thank you. My husband and I were frustrated from the wait, the oysters and then the potential gluten scare. The restaurant may have been dealing with staffing issues but it was overall a poor experience and we will not be returning. We were staying in the area for several days,due to a nearby conference, and every other place we went to had such better service and professionalism. I recommend any other...

I really wanted to spend a nice time with my children!! and my friend she is transgender!! But it seems like how they see you they treat you, especially the Hispanic waiters ... But I think that because we were hispanic, they deduced that we wouldn't leave them a good tip or something like that, but I don't want to generalize, the person at the counter and the manager, They were very kind, they got us a table, they sat us down, what happened next was that the waiters in front of us were practically standing without doing anything, at least for the 20 that we were sitting there, there were 4, 3 of them Hispanic, 2 women and a man, and a dark-skinned waitress, no one came up to serve us, we decided to leave because it already felt a little uncomfortable because American people, who arrived after us, were being served well while our table was simply ignored, my son 6 years old came out crying, from there because he was hungry and he didn't understand the situation, I felt discriminated against, and by my own race, my friend also wanted to cry and apologized to us because she believed that because of her sexual preference, They had discriminated against us, the truth is I don't write any reviews on anything, but I think and believe that each person who is going to provide customer service should, leave the prejudices, with sexual condition, or because they believe that if they don’t see you as having white skin , you don't have to pay a bill, 🧾 the truth is that whenever I go to a place it is because I know that I can pay for what we are going to eat and double it for any inconvenience that may arise, I also know that there are times in which Customers can be rude towards the waiters, but not in this case, it wasn’t like that, not even a glass of water was served in the 20 minutes we had been sitting there !! and I understand when everyone is busy!! but they simply decided to ignore us, when we got up and were leaving, the embarrassed manager asked why we had decided to leave.. And we didn't stay any longer. I only listened when she asked them why they didn't attend to us, I didn't want to stay anymore, and with my son crying and the atmosphere heavy, we decided to leave that place, and it is a terrible experience to feel that you are being discriminated against, it feels very ugly, especially when you know how to treat all human beings equally... the only good thing...

Dear McCormick & Schmick’s Management,

I am writing to express my disappointment with the experience my family and I had during our recent visit to your establishment. We chose your restaurant to celebrate a very special occasion—my mother-in-law’s 90th birthday—expecting a high standard of service and professionalism. Unfortunately, the experience fell far short of expectations due to poor service, lack of communication, and unjustified charges.

Our reservation was for 2:00 PM, and we arrived early to ensure everything would go smoothly for this milestone celebration. Prior to our visit, I called to confirm if we could bring a cake, and I was assured we could. Upon arrival, the hostess kindly offered to refrigerate the cake, which we appreciated. However, when my husband asked if there was a place for my mother-in-law to sit while we waited, it took several back-and-forth exchanges before a chair was finally brought out for her.

During our meal, the service left much to be desired. Despite having two servers assigned to our group, they were not knowledgeable about the menu and lacked the friendliness and attentiveness one would expect for such an establishment. For instance, my sister-in-law ordered an appetizer platter and clearly specified that she wanted just one. Yet, the server repeatedly asked if she wanted two, which was confusing and unnecessary.

When it came time to settle the bill, we encountered unexpected charges that had not been disclosed beforehand. We were charged a $25 fee for bringing in the cake, even though this was never mentioned during my phone call. Additionally, my sister-in-law was charged double for the appetizer platter because it contained two types of items, despite there being no mention of such an additional charge on the menu.

We asked to speak with the manager to address these discrepancies. While she eventually arrived, her demeanor lacked warmth and professionalism. While she did remove the cake fee, she insisted on upholding the additional charge for the appetizer platter, despite admitting there was no written policy about such charges on the menu.

Overall, the experience was deeply disappointing. The servers were lacked personality, the food did not meet expectations, and the handling of the billing issues left much to be desired. For a restaurant of McCormick & Schmick’s reputation, we expected...