09/22/08

Best Fish in Austin

by heatherinaustin

I happened in to McCormick & Schmick's one afternoon with my family and was SHOCKED. The Service was upscale, the atmosphere was incredible, and the food was TERRIFIC. i had a white fish that was tender and moist. Overall i highly recommend dining here.

• Pros: spacious & great service
• Cons: downtown parking

02/27/08

Great Seafood, Amazing Service - Ask for Jonesy

by jasoni

Our first trip to M&S was on our anniversary in late April of 07; I made our reservation using opentable dot com and left a note that we were celebrating our 7th anniversary. When we arrive we were escorted to a private table with curtains and then were handed their menus with a note printed on top wishing us a happy anniversary. It was classy and my wife thought I had put a considerable amount of time into planning this dinner, but I hadn't. My wife and I wanted Alaskan King Crab Legs, but they weren't in season. Our waiter told us to try back next February, so we immediately thought we would come back on Valentines Day 08. Our Anniversary dinner in 07 was fantastic, all I really remember now is how good the service and oysters were. Lucky for us when we went on Valentines Day this year we had the same server, Jonesy, and again he delivered a truly remarkable meal to my wife and I. I am not a chef, but I have over 10 years of professional cooking experience and I highly recommend M&S; ask for Jonesy and you won't be disappointed.

• Pros: Service, Food, Presentation, Preparation, Wine Selection
• Cons: If you want cheap seafood, try Long John Silvers

11/26/07

Don't waste your time

by austinbydayandnight

Read the reviews giving this place only 1 star. They are correct. I'd never been, was counting on the 4, 5-star experience, and was sadly disappointed. The ambiance is nothing special. The elevator music, the "pre-fab" decor - pure chain restaurant fare. The food - mussels as an app were "fishy" and disappointing, the filet was chewy, but with a good flavor, and the stuffed shrimp left a bit to be desired. My boyfriend had the crab legs - again, we'd had far better.

Worse yet, the waitress kept trying to shove the "McCormick and Schmick's" cookbook down our throats for the low, low price of $20. Ugh - what an ironic item to sell; the food is hardly worth replicating! The wait staff had that "corporate" up-sell mentality that doesn't know when to give up and just let the diners enjoy dinner.

Absolutely not worth the time. If you're in the neighborhood, try Gumbo's and skip this overpriced slophouse.

• Pros: Didn't get sick after I ate it
• Cons: Didn't get a good meal either