Eggspectation at Metro Centre

Reviews 4

EV

Evan Nevermore

I would have expected a new restaurant in town to hit the ground running, but was surprised to find that eggspectation has fallen face first and does not appear to even know it. To be honest, with a name like "eggspectation" and silly puns littered throughout their menu ("Salad-itude"..."Grab the day by the eggs" ?) I would have expected to walk into a place like IHOP, or maybe First Watch. Instead I found that the brand identity of eggspectation is a really good example of dissonance. I didnt understand the choices that were made in decor or in planning of the space. A lot of the things they chose would like to suggest sophistication (I think they were going for shabby-chic) but things like an unusually large paper place-mat that somehow was too small to actually cover the whole table and made me feel like a kid and should have crayons and color, to the music that they were playing just didnt fit. The floors are concrete and the ceilings are high and exposed which made it extremely loud, which you can tell they considered because there are acoustic dampeners hanging from the ceiling which were effectively useless. Its just strange, the brand seems to be fighting with itself. If that were the only flaws, I would happily overlook such minor things. Moving along to other points. The food. Oh goodness, the food. I ordered the Tuna Burger with fries ($16.95) and my wife ordered the Lobster Benny ($18.95). The food came very quickly, which normally I would think would be a good thing. Though what made us quirk our brows was that it came so fast that they couldnt possibly have cooked it in the time that elapsed. Our dishes werent quite cold, but they certainly werent hot, nor warm. Id say just flat out room temperature. My Tuna burger was bland and under seasoned, the flavors I did pick up on was an occasional bit of lemon and fishyness of the Tuna - which is how it tastes when it is not fresh. The bun was good, but I was very underwhelmed. The flavor of the Lobster Benny was more present, but the lobster was rubbery and also tasted pretty fishy. The English muffin was good, and the fries were okay despite being room temperature. Honestly, for what we paid, the food sucked. Id rather go to Woodberry Kitchen and pay similar prices where I know they wont just shove your meal in a microwave or something, or make it ahead of time and let it sit - which is what I would guess what eggspectation does. And last but not least...the service! We were seated pretty quickly, the hostess was friendly and a few of the other staff members. These were good signs. I dont know if our waitress was having a bad night or something, and I would like to give her the benefit of the doubt and say she isnt normally like this though I will tell you how I felt. We were seated and the waitress came over and gave me what I felt was a condescending look. I shrugged it off and thought maybe I was reading too much into it, though as the meal went on it was becoming clearer and clearer that we must have rubbed her the wrong way. She brought us ketchup for the fries without us asking but failed to notice that our water glasses were empty. I noticed she was sticking around and chatting with other tables, smiling and being friendly. I wasnt sure why we werent getting the same treatment? Odd. I also noticed the manager was checking in at all the tables around us, but conveniently skipped over us. Thats a funny way of making your customer feel welcomed. To top it off, while we were waiting to pay our check another waitress spills a glass of ice water all over another customer. The manager eventually comes over to apologize and amusingly enough, no one is sent over to clean up the huge puddle of water that is now on he floor. The puddle that other waitstaff are now walking through. On a smooth concrete floor. We waited at least 10 minutes before our check was processed and by the time we left, it still hadnt been cleaned up. In fact, the same waitress who spilled the water was now standing in the puddle, taking orders. Yeah. We wont be back.

AN

Andrew Pippa

First time patron this Saturday morning. Very busy and a bit of a wait (10-15 mins: not as long as Miss Shirleys by far) but my wife and I opted to sit at bar for full service. Waiter Gregg was terrific and refilled our coffees without needing to be asked. Food came out fairly quickly, given the crowd, and was very tasty. I had the Classic Eggs Benedict; wife had Florentine Benedict with portabello mushrooms. Lyonnaise-style potatoes were a bonus: bacon and onions made it special. Looking over the Happy Hour menu and drinks offerings we will return. If youre looking for a Friendlys or IHop breakfast keep going. For a unique dining menu with eye-tantalizing atmosphere and comfortable counter stools...stop and smell the hollandaise sauce! UPDATE: Visited again on 7/7/16. We were seated and the maitre d seated us and offered to bring us specials menu. Waited five minutes with no maitre d, no waitperson. Approached staff member informing of our wait. A server named Christina approached our table and profusely apologized, stating she was going to make up for this. Her service and attitude was impeccable and positive, and we thoroughly enjoyed her charm. Five minutes into her introduction, after she took our orders, the maitre d arrived with the specials menu. Too late; we already ordered! Other than that enjoyable visit. Kudos to Christina, a top-notch member of Eggspectation Metro Center.

IV

Ivana Alwaysmore

I was mortified to see anything but amazing reviews. Especially the overly-didactic one written by the extremely self-involved person with way too much time on his or her hands. This place is great. The food is fresh. Its far better than anything around here. They are brand new and really busy. So busy that it takes (sometimes) a very long time to be seated. Thats what happens when an area is in desperate need of a good restaurant. It is so upsetting to see that anyone would be so thoughtless and insensitive and without conscience to suggest that a worldwide chain entering a new market having a few startup hiccups wont be around long. So much for having faith in a solid customer base in this area. If this amazing restaurant doesnt stay around long, it has little to do with what they have to offer and more to do with the dismissive jerks that dont have anything better to do with their time than write nasty reviews. In the last few weeks the service has improved, so have the wait-times and since we eat here at least a few times a week, I hope youll take my word for it. I plan on being back lots and lots of times.

DE

denia clark

Server/ bartender wasnt very knowledgeable of the menu or latte flavors Customers do not want to see associates eating while rolling silverware. Should be done in the back of house. Too many associates eating at the bar. Seems that there was plenty staff(4silverware rollers) on duty so that the hostess could have a proper meal break. Very unprofessional for her to have to jump up from her meal to seat guest. I blame management for that. SANITATION!! Bartender cleaned the fridge doors with a rag and cleaning products served a drink and meal never washed his hands. TIP: sanitation is especially important when you have a customer watching you and you are handling food. I understand on a busy day it may just be a rinse here and there but it was a very moderate day. WASH YOUR HANDS BEN! lol I wish I got paid for this. Hope this review helps other customers and management as well. I couldve made a better BLT sandwich at home.All in all Ill stick to the Ellicott City location.