Main Street Bistro — Restaurant in Sykesville

First time at this venue, came here with the wife and daughter (8) on a Saturday evening around 8. Always wanting to try new things and not having eaten all day, found this place on google with a pretty good rating and generally good reviews. I love finding local restaurants and had high hopes. Unfortunately, we were left very disappointed.

Atmosphere: Just a couple customers seated at the time, no big deal, we were probably past the dinner rush (is that a thing on a Saturday evening?). The menu had a nice selection, the venue was open, not much in the way of music, but the TV’s at the bars were on and playing several games. Wife commented the decor made us feel as if we were close to the beach (which is nice). That’s about all for the good.

Service: The menu and the initial jug of water came quickly, and the food was served up with a relatively short wait. When asked for recommendations on the menu, the server gave 2 pastas and 1 appetizer, then said “the soups are good, the salads are good, the sandwiches are good.” Asked what were the popular items, and received “honestly, everything”. Finished the first jug of water relatively quickly, but the waitress didn’t come back to refill our jug for at least 10 minutes, during which time the other tables had already left. Entrees were served within 10 minutes of the appetizers which was fine because we were hungry but waitresses never came to ask how the appetizers were, and when they came to serve the entrees, I asked for extra bread, even stating that the appetizers were too salty without something bland. You would think that after this incident, they would come to ask if the entrees were better, but we ate for about 20 minutes (we wanted to exchange the food for something but they never came out of the kitchen) and couldn’t eat the food anymore because it was generally so salty, and the waitresses never came to ask how things were until we had stopped eating for about 10 minutes. She came to clear some of the dishes (which my daughter was still working on because we could at least eat the bread) and finally asked how were things, and we told her everything was too salty, and received a “hmm, that’s strange.” No further elaboration, no apologies. We ate half of one dish and less than half of the other, which we ended up not even taking home because I couldn’t figure out how to make it better. Then after bringing the box to take home the half dish, waited another 5 minutes before she came to ask if we wanted anything else or the check. I fully expected a manager to come and apologize. I’m not looking for a comp’d meal or refund, but there was nothing done to make things better.

Food: The service was bad, but the food was not better. We had the blackened tuna, which was mediocre, but at least edible. Had their special of the night, the scallop, shrimp and crab (i think) chowder. This came out served with the consistency of mashed potatoes rather than a liquid and way too salty. 3 slices of bread were used as a holder to spread the chowder and take the saltiness down a notch. The chowder was loaded with seafood, so that was good, though ingredients were a little too overcooked for me.

For entree’s, we ordered the pork belly fusion pasta at the server’s recommendation and the drunken noodles. Both were too salty, as if someone had a large container of sauce and just kept pouring more on like if a little is good, a lot is better. The flavor was strong, but the salt was just on another level. We each took about 2 bites of the drunken noodles (which my daughter orders regularly at Thai restaurants) and couldn’t eat anymore. Didn’t even bother taking it home. The pork belly was tasty, but again, the noodles were drowned in the stock sauce. Took it home to mix with rice (a lot of it). The best thing served was the bread, which was actually hot, soft on the inside with a nice crunch.

Very disappointed given the other good reviews, wanted to like it but I’m still drinking water to dilute the salt out of my system. 2 stars only because I’ve actually had 1 star...

I first ordered tomato bisque. The baguette was hotter than the soup (which was not hot at all). I then ordered the turkey dinner I had my eyes set on for a few weeks now. It was everything I wanted it to be and tasty. The owner walked around and spoke to everyone in the restaurant except me. The first time around I did not think much of it, but it happened a total of three times. Wow! I then noticed the ladies behind me went to the bakery attached. I decided to try it also. Upon entering no one was around, but the owner appeared a minute or two later. He was on the phone and once again no acknowledgement. The lovely server from the restaurant ended up helping me. I purchased 2 glazed donuts (dry and tasted old) and the strawberry cake (great). I could only think to one self, how this place was highly recommended and the manager only acknowledges certain patrons of a particular caliber. I was offended by his actions and saddened that in 2022 there is still a divide amongst Americans. Thank God I grew up in Columbia where Mr.Rouse treated us all equally no matter race, gender or economic situation. Maybe the owner could use this situation as a learning experience and treat everyone that comes through his...

Having seen many online compliments we decided to pop in for lunch. We are so glad we did.... We started with one of their delicious beers on draft....and a bowl of cream of crab for my husband and the half and half for me....handsdown one of the best cream of crabs I have ever tasted. Then adding the Maryland Crab to that base was splendid!! It was packed full of not your typical veggies and Im so glad it was...seeing asparagus really delighted me...it was fantastic! Having such a good start, as the main dishes arrived, it only got better.... I had the turkey open face and my husband had a monsieur something or other ham and swiss type sandwich with lovely melted cheese on top. We both enjoyed our experience here so very much. Service was fantastic and you can tell they really value and take pride in their business. We will most definitely be...