Steve R.
Yelp
For the past 20+ years (except for the short period when this restaurant was closed after flood damage back in 2003), we have taken our daughter to dinner at this Chart House for her birthday in December. This year was her 30th, and we were really looking forward to this dinner. For context, our family (adult "kids", their spouses, their kids, etc) is a pretty big party -- these dinner reservations are typically for 6-10 people.
Last night our reservation was for eight plus a baby - and I made the reservation roughly 3 weeks in advance. When I made the reservation, I was told that I couldn't get all of us together at the same table - but we would have two adjacent tables. Early on the day of the dinner, I called the restaurant to let them know that our grandson (the baby) was sick - so our reservation would be for 7 instead of 8 + baby. I figured that was considerate (for the restaurant's management and other patrons), and I again asked about being put together at one "table," but I was told that we'd still be at two adjacent tables on this special birthday.
Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly of this review - now that you have the context.
(1) Yes, two tables. BUT... despite being told earlier that day, and despite being told we'd be adjacent at the hostess table -- No, not adjacent. No, not the same server. The second table was sufficiently far away that we couldn't see our daughter - and obviously could not communicate other than by TEXTING across the restaurant. Also - there were tables that "flipped" literally 5-10 minutes after we were seated that WERE adjacent to our 4-top... We would have been happy to have waited 10 minutes to make that happen...
(2) Yes, the food was very good. We ordered both seafood and beef. Speaking for myself, my blacked Ahi was sublime - simply amazing. My son-in-law couldn't say enough good things about his prime rib, and others at our table loved the seafood that they ordered. BUT... when ordering, we asked if there were any specials that night, and we were told that "it" was sold out - Really?.... at 6:15pm?
(3) Ambiance? Well.... Wow... the music was loud. This isn't a bar in downtown Annapolis - it is a restaurant, where I'm spending about $500 for dinner. As such, it was difficult to talk across a 4-top table. Also, I can honestly say that I never expected to hear AC/DC played at dinner at THIS restaurant. Are there times when I'd love to hear AC/DC... Yes. Then? No. BUT.... the holiday decorations were very nice.
(4) Service? Well... while our servers were pleasant and professional, they were very busy, and the resulting service was sub par for our tables. For comparison, on our 40th anniversary in August at this restaurant, the service was fantastic. I can't say enough good things about that service experience - so, it should be said that this restaurant CAN do much better. On this occasion, however, the server that seated us, took our orders, brought us our drinks, and we seldom saw her again. I think she was pulled to help with another table(s) (maybe the private party?). Consequently, I was never asked if I wanted a second drink. At the end of dinner, we had been told that the two servers for our two tables would coordinate, but it didn't seem like they were talking at all (especially when I was trying to pay). I hustled across the restaurant, collecting two bills, giving two tips, etc... That could have gone so much easier.
With all of that said, I'd have to say that the title of this review should be, "Disappointed."