Hannah H.
Yelp
About a 1-1.5: We had heard from a dear friend about KitchenCray, so we wanted to check them out for brunch on a weekend. We decided to make the trek to the Lanham location, as it seemed to be their original post.
I had read some reviews that they serve a limited menu on the weekends, but this didn't seem the case - we were provided the full menu with a beverage list; there were some specials wrote in chalk on one of the boards, and the server stated that the kitchen was able to prepare those as well (even though they were specials from the evening before).
We ordered:
+Crab Tots - the tater tots were perfectly fried and super crispy; these were topped with shredded crab meat and an aioli drizzle; I wished that they were more generous with the sauce, as it only covered the top layer of the tots, and there weren't any sauce left to use with the underneath layers
+Wings - we went for the dry rub of Old Bay; these were absolutely NUKED - I mean, I love my wings fried hard, but these were to the point where the bones were disintegrating; not sure how the kitchen would allow this to be served to patrons? Pretty shameful.
+Shrimp & Grits - the grits were super thick and creamy; some of the shrimp were not trimmed and prepared well; this also included turkey sausage, but only 3 thin slices of them - these could have been pan-fried or something, because they looked like there were just steamed and put in the dish as an afterthought
+Jerk Fettucine Alfredo - this was pretty inedible - while the pasta was cooked al dente, the chicken was stringy and had a weird texture, and the flavors were just off-putting; we couldn't go past a bite
Overall, we just couldn't see the justification on the prices of the items with the quality that was being served - the nuked wings were $19 (!), the Jerk Fettucine Alfredo was listed at $25+ (!), which was served with chicken, not seafood. I mean, come on...
Service felt nonexistent, and I wished we were checked in more often so we could share our experience. We also weren't fans of the electronic payment, as we like seeing a paper check for an itemized bill. And, lo and behold, we didn't know that there was an automatic 18% gratuity added to all checks, even though it was written in fine print at the bottom of the menu - it just seemed like a dishonest or a bamboozling tactic when they still automatically have a 3%, 5%, and 7% gratuity pop-up for you to add once you run your card - pretty annoying.
Located on the first floor of a business building with plenty of parking.
Glad we were able to check this place out, but wouldn't return.
+nuked wings
+lack of quality in preparation of dishes
+18% gratuity automatically added to all checks
+nonexistent service
+plenty of parking in lot