 |
| From "The Grille's" Facebook page |
This replaces Venegas Prime Filet right at Maple Lawn Boulevard and Rte 216. It's calling itself American and Mediterranean. Not sure what that will mean.
They have a Web site and a Facebook page. They had a private event there this week with desserts -- at least according to photos posted on Facebook. But the Web site doesn't seem to have a menu yet, and they link to OpenTable but don't yet appear on that site's drop-down lists.
On a "Maple Lawn 2.0" Facebook page, Javier Lecha said they would post the menu in the upcoming week and aim for a grand opening in early October.
Let me know if you hear when they're opening. From the photos on Facebook, the dining room looks ready.
9 comments:
This is potentially good news! Opening up a medi/american place BEATS a steakhouse any day!
Met the new owners, not impress with them, there is a Cuban food Restaurant in Burtonsville , do we need another one with fancy decor.
American/Mediterranean sounds like pasta,Spanish tapas,paella,lamb chops,sea food, and so on, not my type of food or for a community like the one in Maple Lawn. WE NEED a" Cracker Barrel Restaurant " in that corner. Maybe on the next time around, since fancy restaurants on that corner don't last long.
"Fancy restaurants on that corner did not last long" because they were not choosy when hiring, and did not invest time or money in staff training. No matter how good the food is, you cannot charge Maple Lawn prices for Laurel service and expect to draw repeat business. (Before you brand me a snob, I worked in Laurel restaurants for years. I have nothing against Laurel service... at Laurel prices.) I hope
The Grille succeeds-- empty storefronts are no one's friend. But if they plan to charge upscale prices, I hope they have a plan to provide an upscale experience.
Lets see if this place can beat "the curse of the corner." Two steak houses have tried and failed in that lot, and i doubt this will be anymore successful... Good luck though.
I have met the owners and the chefs. They all seem like very experienced people. And I would much rather have a fancy overpriced restaurant here in Maple Lawn. I think this is the kind of thing that Fulton/Scaggville people are look for. If you want a cheap dirty place then drive to Laurel!!!
As for "THE CURSE OF THE CORNER" I think you need to keep quiet until you know what really happened and why Venegas went down! I doubt you'd be talking if you knew the real story.
I really wish the best of luck to the Grille.
The new owners have idea on how to run a fine RESTAURANT . Was there last night for the soft opening, what a mess. They own a mid price CUBAN food eatery and a bar. They have no notion on fine dining . The food is nothing but a semi copy of the Cheese Cake Factory/Houston Restaurants.
My husband and I have now eaten at The Grille 7 or 8 times. I guess we keep hoping that they will work out the kinks and get better. We also like the owners and want them to success. Unfortunately, they need help in basic restaurant techniques - hostess on duty at all times, up to date menu (even if it's printed from a computer daily), review prices and bring them in line with your market and adjust your portion sizes (some are too large while others are too small). Lastly, while they may be making money with their happy hour, if they want diners to return they will need to do something about the noise level from the bar. We sat in the farthest table from the bar and we still could not carry on a conversation with our table mates due to the bar noise. One evening they had live music and then it was impossible to carry on a conversation with just my husband.
We had a party of 11 adults and 2 children for Feb. 14, 2015, to celebrate my fiancé's birthday and Valentine's Day at The Grille @ Maple Lawn. I made the reservation a couple of weeks prior and even went to the restaurant to see it. While I was there to scope the restaurant out, the manager showed me a space that was currently being used by another party and told me I could reserve that particular space and I could bring in my own decorations. We discussed options for the table set-up and I opted for a U-shaped set-up. When I arrived on Feb. 14, they had one long table set-up in an entirely different area that was very tight and inconvenient for our large party. It was so close to 2 walls that, in order for anyone in our party who was sitting on the long side of the table that was against one wall to get in and out, everyone on that side had to get up and move out single-file. On the other side, another party's table was set-up parallel to ours so closely that our server had to walk around their table to go from end to end at our table. I spoke with the manager and expressed my displeasure - letting her know that I had spent money on decorations for the set-up they promised me and that someone from the restaurant should have called me to inform of the change. She apologized and said she'd pass that on to the staff. It went down hill from there. The service was HORRIBLE. It took a long time to get our food from course to course. The lobster bisque was bland and luke warm. The entrees were not hot. My fiancé ordered surf and turf. They forgot to bring his surf (shrimp scampi). My sister specifically asked for her steak to be cooked medium. It came out well done. They offered to remake her whole meal. When they brought it out, they set it down in front of a lady at another table. Once it was realized that it didn't belong to that lady, the server picked it up from that table and placed it in front of my sister. UNACCEPTABLE AND UNSANITARY!!!!!!!!! Someone from the restaurant came over to ask about our experience and we were candid that it was not good at all. I felt bad for my guests and felt their Valentine's celebration was ruined, not to mention my fiancé's birthday celebration. The restaurant owner (who never came over to say anything to us) took my sister's meal off the bill and an addition 15% off the entire bill. We appreciated that but it didn't make up for the bad food, HORRIBLE service, the inconvenience and shear inconsideration. DO NOT GO TO THIS RESTAURANT, if you want a good experience and good food.
Post a Comment