Cypress Restaurant — Restaurant in Severna Park

Newest Atlas Group iteration located in the old Sullivan's Cove restaurant in Park Plaza. And like their other restaurants, it's a disappointment.

First obstacle is the narrow steps in front of the restaurant. Those with mobility issues will have trouble navigating these steps that stretch the entire facade of the building. Only a narrow passage on the corner between posts has a skinny, rickety railing to aid those with mobility issues to get up and down.

Once inside, there is a small area to wait between the doors. But if you want to stay warm, then you'll be awkwardly standing next to seated patrons. Decor is warm contemporary with comfortable seating and hard surfaces throughout. Tile floors and wide aisles allow for easy maneuvering for those with mobility issues. Noise level is boisterous so private conversations are impossible. Restrooms are not clearly marked and located behind a literal curtain hanging on a rod. Classy.

Service is agonizingly slow. We were sat immediately upon arrival (with a reservation from OpenTable) at 6:30pm and it took until 7:15 to get drinks and our salad to share. My wife opted for the mango margarita which was very mango-y but almost sticky sweet. One was enough. I got a bourbon on the rocks which came with a single, large cube. The fancily named mixed greens salad was big and fresh, but was way overdressed to the point there was a pool of dressing on the bottom of the plate. No bread is offered or provided to the table.

My wife ordered the pork chop and I the chicken and brie sandwich. After waiting several minutes our very new waitress returned to say they were out of pork chops and asked if she wanted to order something else. So my wife got the caprese flatbread. We also ordered a side of the whipped garlic and gruyere potatoes.

Our food finally arrived about 20 mins later and it wasn't worth the wait. The flatbread came out flat, like really flat, and was obviously missing basil leaves. Her face after the first bite said it all: she was not impressed. She told me to taste it without saying anything. It was bland and tasted frozen. Then she said it: it tastes like the Elio's French bread pizza we used to have when we were growing up.

My chicken sandwich came with fries and a pickle. The sandwich was about the size of a junior hoagie at Wawa. The fries were obviously of the frozen variety. Of the few that were on the plate, they were cold and just thrown on the plate with no real care. Pickle was OK but not house made. Chicken was lukewarm and tender in the center while the edges were dry and tough. I didn't taste the apple at all until my last bite.

The potatoes were nothing more than the typical garlic mashed red potatoes. There was no gruyere or any cheese in it whatsoever.

While we were eating, the manager comes over with a pork chop entree announcing that it "was bought from another table" (what?), the chef specifically made it for us and it was on the house because our original order was 86'ed. The waitress came behind him to say that they found more pork chops and this was free for us. So which is it? And, yeah, it should be free since we ordered something else. The pork chop was good, nice flavor and cooked well, but the sides weren't good. More of the garlic-and-no-gruyere-potatoes and reheated broccolini.

There was a larger group next to us that wasn't really demanding but I guess putting candles on a cake and lighting them overwhelmed our waitress. Another waitress cleared our table and brought us our check making sure to tell us that our waitress asked her to check on us because of the party.

For 2 drinks, soda, salad, and 2 dinners the bill came to $85 with tax. The food quality and slow service do not justify the price.

This place will do well because it's really no different than Park Tavern: expensive lackluster food. Well maybe not because we heard patrons around us (remember, no private conversations here) say that this wasn't as good as Sullivan's Cove.

We hoped to add another date night spot to our list but, no way. We...

I wanted to love this place, but I have never felt more awkward leaving a restaurant. We were seated for our reservation and were looking over the menus. The restaurant has very nice decor, but there was no light over our table or on the table and it was incredibly dark during the meal.

While taking drinks our waitress was distracted, even cutting my husband off mid-sentence to talk to another table. We find out their out of all salmon, portobello mushrooms, and arugula (an ingredient in the dishes two of us were planning to order). The restaurant wasn't busy but service was slow. Our waitress didn't check back for drink refills. When the food came out, three of the six dishes had issues. The Chicken Apple Brie sandwich was spicy (which the menu doesn't indicate), the roasted fig salad was drenched in bacon grease, and the braised short ribs were cold and had a stray spicy pepper in it.

When we were wrapping up, I asked the waitress if the sandwich I ordered was supposed to be spicy in case we came back and I would know whether to order it again or order it differently. We never asked to send any food back, we never asked for anything to be removed, simply asked if it was supposed to be spicy. She said um...I don't know, then immediately got defensive and told me "It's not made wrong, it's correct if that's what you're asking" I mentioned I didn't see anything about it being spicy and she told me it was probably the garlic aioli--which not only is not spicy, but not an ingredient on the sandwich. She then asked me rudely if I wanted her to get the chef out here about this to which I politely declined. After again saying a few other rude things, she said she'd send the manager over. The manager never came, the waitress never refilled drinks, we declined dessert, and paid out check.

I talked to the manager on the way out (kudos to Christine for being lovely) who said she hadn't been made aware of any of this and appreciated me bringing it to her attention. She also confirmed the sandwich is in fact not supposed to be spicy.

In any event, the waitress made a dinner with an out of town guest incredibly awkward. I've never been verbally attacked by a waitress for asking a question and it certainly...

First, I understand all new restaurants need some time to get it together, so I'm being generous with my review, and will definitely try Cypress again.

I was excited when I first saw Cypress moving into this unlucky restaurant location. I thought SP was finally getting some Greek or Turkish food with a cheeky spelling of Cyprus as a nod to the area. Nope, just a tree and a creek. This is typical American fare... Burger, crab cakes, oysters etc.

Pros first. We made a reservation for a busy Friday night and we were seated promptly. The staff was all very friendly. The restaurant's decor and layout was very nice. They closed off some areas with dividers so you don't feel like you are sitting in a cafeteria. The food was surprisingly good. My husband and I shared the short rib and mashed potatoes (the potatoes were excellent!). The tuna tartare was so-so but my son did really like his burger.

Cons. The service was sooo.... slooow. We waited almost an hour for our food. Wine is served in mini decanters and my husband ended up drinking half of his wine from it until he was finally brought a brandy snifter. This was only after he got the correct wine. He was initially brought a white wine as our server insisted it was the only Cabernet they had. I had to point out that their "white cab" is listed under their reds by the glass. My son ordered the burger (not asked what temp) with no tomato or cheese. It came out with both but by that time he scraped off the items because we couldn't wait another hour to eat. Our food was delivered from a large tray that clearly had globs of food from the last run all over it. The bottom of my plate was covered in goat cheese and arugula which smeared all over the table and my hands.

I think our server was trying her best. When we got the bill the short rib was removed from the total. We didn't complain, either. I'm sure she realized that things weren't going smoothly so she had it comped.

Lastly, because the food was good and the people were giving it their best effort, we will be back. A little more training and experience should...