Conrad's Seafood Restaurant — Restaurant in Perry Hall

This morning I read an article posted on Tasting Tables about the top 10 best crabs spots in Maryland. Conrad’s was listed number 1 on the list.

My family and I just so happened to be in Baltimore today for my sons little league football game. I called and make a reservation for 4 people at 12:45pm, the young lady who answered the phone was very pleasant.

We drove 18 minutes from Moravia RD. The place was easy to find and when we arrived there was ample parking and the grounds were very clean.

When we walked in both hostesses greeted us with smiles. We let them know we had a reservation and they gave us an option for in door and out door seating.

We initially wanted to sit outside but later changed our mines to dine in. As we walked throughout the restaurant everyone was very friendly.

Once we were seated, we were greeted by our server Hailey. She asked if it was our first time dining and I shared feedback on what I read, she told me I wouldn’t be disappointed. She started us of with some freshly popped popcorn.

I visited the bathroom and on the way I notice how clean the entire restaurant was, when I entered the bathroom it was very clean, smelled fresh and they had hand sanitizer, hair spray, and other feminine products to offer to their customers.

When I return Hailey started with our drink orders and asked if we would be having crabs and shared the crab special which was $20 off XL Males.

We ordered:

1 dozen XL Males Creamy Crab Soup Boom Boom Calamari (Haley's recommendation) Grill Chicken Salad Stuffed Shrimp w/ slaw and red potatoes Beef Tacos w/ FF 1/2 pound steamed shrimp w/ onions 2 Corns 2 Don Julio Margaritas 1 Mule Strawberry Shortcake

I can not stress enough how great everything was. The food was cooked just right, the crabs were fresh, the shrimps were stuffed to perfection, and the tacos were very flavorful.

The crab soup was very fresh and there was a generous amount of crab meat, the Calamari was very scrumptious and it was fried perfectly!

Hailey was attentive, she checked on us frequently, she kept us updated on when our food was coming out, and she was VERY kind.

The bus boy/ bar back made sure our table was not cluttered with plates and trash.

During our meal one of the managers did stop by to check on us as well, which was a bonus.

Overall, this was by far one of the BEST restaurant experiences I have had at a crab house in Baltimore and I will be a...

For the first time in my life I had to call because the quality of food was below subpar and it is supposed to be a quality seafood restaurant.

Listen I don’t expect high quality for carry out, but I expect edible. The order was not correct and the food was tasteless.

We ordered kids Mac-n-cheese (edible) with fries (ice cold and limp), Blackened Salmon sandwich (lacked flavor, did not follow requests), Fish and Chips (AWFUL, did not follow requests), and crab balls (soggy, but the crab had decent flavor). I live 1 mile from the establishment so the food shouldn’t have been a soggy flavorless mess considering it only took 5 minutes to get there.

We ordered online and asked to remove the 1000 Island dressing from the sandwich, too much to ask apparently. It was drenched in the dressing. The portion of salmon was small, not worth 15 dollars. The fish and chips had soggy batter. I understand carry-out making it difficult for fried items to remain crispy, but take it off your carry out menu unless you can guarantee it will be high quality (also, I’ve had fish-and-chips carry out from other places that nailed it). Even with the soggy batter, the flavor itself was lackluster. It was as basic as funnel cake and there was a gapping hollow space between the fish and batter. The French fries...pale, limp, and ice cold. Also, requested tarter sauce- another request ignored for the order.

HOWEVER, there was ONE saving grace from the experience (the reason it got 2 stars). They did comp part of our meal. I 100% appreciated that, so thank you Conrads for having great customer service. Unfortunately, the food was not worth coming back for seconds. Avoid the carry out experience.

UPDATE: I finally at in the restaurant and my review has changed slightly. Our waiter, Nate, was kind and attentive and gave me a positive meal choice- the humble soft shell crab sandwich. The crab was cooked to perfection. We also ordered the crab pretzel dip (yum) and the Chai tea scallops (not worth the price). The dish only came with 4 small scallops that looked like they had been charred, BUT the sauce & succotash that accompanied the lackluster scallops was AMAZING. I'm not sure if the succotash side comes with the same sauce, but so delicious! The crushes are also delicious. Try the Key Lime, but skip the Coconut (it's awful). Overall its was a positive in-restaurant experience, but go there expecting to pay...

Review Update: The Missus (bless 'er) and I re-visited this location on a recent Sunday and were, once again, very pleased with the results. I, for one, was absolutely famished after a hard day's work and ordered a half dozen mixed fresh oysters, the crab ball appetizer, Conrad's crab fries, the softshell crab sandwich, coconut custard dessert and a coffee. I was hungry. Everything was fresh and properly prepared. However, I believe that the softshell sandwich I had at Conrad's Parkville Market location is still the gold standard for this item. Our server, Greta, was charming and efficient. This is quickly becoming a favorite place to consider dropping our ducats for a dinner.

The Missus (bless 'er) called to ensure that large crabs were available for lunch- which they were, so off we went. We ordered a dozen crabs, but while they were cooking we had the crab and corn salad, plus an order of the eggplant rollatini. Both were extremely good. The crab was (of course) fresh, and the corn had been cut off the cob. The salad was not over-dressed ( a common fault), but was kept together with just enough dressing to add flavor, but not over power the sweetness of the main ingredients. The eggplant stuffed with goat cheese and proscuitto, topped with marinara sauce was a delicious savory counter to the salad. The crabs arrived, steaming hot and away we went. It was half-price wine day, so it was a bottle of the crisp Oyster Bay Rose to wash the crustaceans down with. Our server was both polite and efficient, without being either intrusive or too personal. The music selection was outstanding. So much so that The Missus (bless 'er) asked the bartender if it was their playlist. It was not. But we were very happy with the selection of R&B that played for us. Too full for dessert (maybe next time), we left, planning when we could visit again. This was our first visit to a Conrad's Restaurant, having only had take-out from the Parkville location. We were impressed by the quality there, which is why we called in the first place. Highly recommended for a casual, yet efficient and...