Jason R.
Yelp
At this point it is completely fair to say that Johnny's is coasting by on its location and status as the defacto town square of Roland Park.
With a full load of tables every day, they dont seem to worry about quality control or hiring staff that belong in the hospitality industry.
They have always been inconsistent. Burnt or dried out plates would happen every now and then, but lately it seems to be the norm. The menu is also stale and boring. Their apps list is two different chips, two shrimp dishes, two oyster dishes and something else. Its been this way for years.
On my most recent visit, my partner and I went in for an early dinner at 5:30. We got the usual cold reception at the host stand that I've become used to, however it quickly turned bad from there. Plenty of open tables throughout at this time. However we were brought to the diner side which was mostly families with unruly small children. We were seated among three of these families in the absolute worst two top I've ever been seated at -pushed into the corner against the server station. This table location is so bad, it should be taken out. Meanwhile children are shrieking nonstop and their indifferent parents just act as if nothing is going on. As a parent of two young girls, I have a lot of empathy for them, but their non-confrontational parenting style on display here goes a bit too far. If your children are shrieking and you cant soothe them quickly, leave. One child was in a full blown meltdown upon arrival, never got better and began wailing and crawling along the bench against the wall far away from her parents and stayed there in a meltdown for over ten minutes until dad finished his drink.
The only bright spot in this visit was our server who was excellent, I think she was the only staff member that night who knew how to smile.
I wish I could say the same about our food. It was poorly cooked, badly presented, and so dried out I kept choking on it as I ate it. The milkshake I ordered to try to salvage the meal was watery and not creamy at all. It also took forever to arrive, prompting our server to thank me for my patience. Seriously who can mess up a milkshake? Johnny's can.
If it weren't for the lack of other viable alternatives in the area, this place would have died off by now due to its poor quality, tired menu and a staff that can never crack a smile. But since its really the only option in the area it will continue to coast by on its location and its perceived potential.
You'll have a better experience at the McDonald's in Hamden than here. Trust me its worth the extra drive.
Tony, you can do better. We all love you and appreciate what you've done for the city, but unless you can turn around the operations here, you're just milking your neighbors with a substandard experience. I want to believe that this can be turned around, but its been so long since this was good, that its hard to see it ever happening.