DISH Bistro

Not a bad place for Sandy Spring,Maryland.

Its a real shame when a comfortable somewhat upscale restaurant/bar with live jazz music moves into your area but can't deliver. Dish Bistro was about 5 weeks old when we visited on a Saturday night in November at 7:15. The restaurant claims itself as a martini bar offering California fusion food... but where is the martini menu? They had none - just one example of mismanagement. We were seated at 7:15 and waited about 15-20 minutes before the server came by to take our drink order - the server was pleasant but unorganized and thank goodness we ordered the appetizers at that time. One of our friends wanted coke - but they ran out, his wife asked for a Pomegranete martini - they did not have that either. What a joke! Another disappointment was no bread or bread sticks and butter. It's not that big a deal but first impressions are everything in the business and they had no clue. Guess what DISH Bistro??? If you run out of bread or coke - run to the Safeway or Giant down the street and GO BUY SOME. After drinking on an empty stomach for 20 minutes you want a little something to go with your meal. After asking our waiter what the holdup was on the appetizers he said they are working on it - this is after forty-five minutes of wait time - inexcusable. It finally arrived and the calamari was overcooked and chewy. On a high note we ordered black bean cakes - an entree to share for the table as an appetizer and that was very good - a good choice for a vegetarian dish. Live music was good but loud and tough to have conversation during the meal since the restaurant is barebones with a tin roof and nothing to absorb the sound. After 1 hour and 15 minutes our food arrived. My friend and I ordered Lamb chops - they served a substandard cut, not the lollipop kind, but they were cooked at the right temperature and tasted fine (but we were starving at this point). The sides were pretty good. Both shrimp dishes were tasty. We did not order desserts or coffee or after dinner drinks as they only offered a flan and a strawberry or raspberry cake.



In closing, the restaurant is mismanaged and its a shame. The kitchen is either understaffed or mismanaged and when you spend 100.00 for two you expect a nice meal and a nice experience... I went to the owner to describe the experience and he acknowledged some faults and said he would change things took my card and told me he'd call me to make things right - its been SIX MONTHS and he has not called so obviously he doesn't care. I spoke to one of the bartenders and she said the owner looks at his place as a nightclub, not a restaurant - how about sharing that with the rest of the world. Cocktails are way overpriced at 12.00 and the owner said the price is high because there is no cover charge for the music. Ok, I get that but what about when there is NO LIVE MUSIC - at 12.00 in Sandy Spring MD??? That's a big mistake and rip off.



DISH Bistro has the location, has the music, just doesn't have that "it factor" and missing key ingredients to make it another worthwhile visit .....unless they get their act together.



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