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In Dining Reviews

By Amy L. Schubert Food Writer Photography by Damien Legault E-mail author | Author bio More articles by Amy L. Schubert

Published May 26, 2008 at 5:28 a.m.

Tags: mccormick & schmick's, mayfair

I must preface this review by saying that I have eaten at McCormick & Schmick's in Washington, D.C., and McCormick & Kuleto's in San Francisco, and collectively, they were two phenomenal dining experiences.

That said, I visited the new McCormick & Schmick's, 2550 N. Mayfair Rd., in Wauwatosa, with high expectations. And to say I was disappointed would be a huge understatement.

McCormick & Schmick's has restaurants in 26 states, and the Wisconsin edition is a lovely new construction of wood and stained glass, highlighting a beautiful wooden bar and a stained glass dome reflecting the Wisconsin Flag and our day and date of statehood (May 29, 1848).

The menu here is similar to their other restaurants in that they provide a rotating list of nearly 30 types of fresh seafood flown in daily at the header, and various presentations of each below in the general menu. The menu is printed twice daily -- for lunch and for dinner -- so while some standard selections like shrimp cocktail ($12.95) are always there, others will slightly alter or phase themselves out at the end of the season.

Our first visit brought with it one of the more odd dining experiences I've had in 30 some years. Our server, although quite friendly, was blatantly struggling with all the information she needed to tell us about the menu and our options. After many long, awkward pauses, she lost my attention completely when my dining companion asked if they had any soft shell crab available since it is now in season (soft shell crab season commences early in May and goes through early July).

She said no, but then corrected herself and said blue crab was soft shell crab so he should order that because it was the same. She was, of course, correct in that soft shell crab is blue crab in its molted state, but the two are quite different in texture and in the way they are eaten. Soft shell crabs are a delicacy because you can actually consume the entire crustacean, while the blue crab on the menu appeared predominantly in lump form as a stuffing mixture for another entrée or as a crab cake.

A server during the second visit referred to my dining companion as "dude" and me as "hon" while waiting on us. This felt a bit inappropriate when paying nearly $30 a plate.

Food here, too, seemed to face some challenges. A chilled seafood sampler ($39.95) featured king crab (minus the claws), jumbo prawns, a ramekin of blue crab, crackers, tomatoes, cucumbers, oysters and smoked salmon roll-ups. Compared to similar platters at other restaurants, this was terribly disappointing, and while our oysters were well separated from the half-shells, each was riddled with flecks of shells. We were unsure of how to eat the blue crab in the ramekin, and our server admitted he didn't know, either.

Two of our entrees suffered the pains of a too-hot grill, which gave the grill marks an unpleasant charred taste on otherwise pleasant dishes. The halibut ($27.95) was otherwise flaky and delicious. The accompanying green risotto had a bit too much parmesan for my taste, but was otherwise decent.

Steak and fried shrimp ($29.95) had the same charring problem but was successfully cooked to temperature. Chilean Sea Bass ($27.95) with oyster mushrooms and pancetta was flavorful, but needed to be cut with a knife. Baked crab stuffed shrimp ($26.95) came with a bland lemon butter sauce, asparagus and carrots.

Other items we sampled were at average. Based on the amazing happy hour traffic McCormick & Schmick's runs, these options are likely more worth a visit between 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close on weekdays, where choices run from $1.95 to $4.95 with minimum drink purchases.

10 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by Bad Fish on Dec. 8, 2008 at 9:24 a.m. (report)

Recently (12/6/08) ate at Mc and Schmick and it was terrible. Food was blah. To be more specific, the appetizers are almost all fried except for the cheese dishes. Our waitress was flighty and barely knew were she was. Didn't know the beers they had in stock, constantly forgot things, and I believe forgot our food. I say that because after a overly long time our food came out and it was barely warm. Mashed potatoes were dry, and my pan fried fish oozed oil. It was also cashew crusted which I should have just ordered a peterson's nut roll with oil. The nut roll would have had more of a fish flavor. It was easily the worst eating out experience I have had in years. I will never return.

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Posted by Wine2Dine on May 28, 2008 at 4:46 p.m. (report)

I once heard a quote that "What starts in chaos ends in chaos." This holds true to the new restaurant chain McCormick and Schmick. I have first hand experience with both corporate giants and small business owners. The reasons M&S is failing is explained in many levels. First, corporations are entering into Milwaukee markets at increasing high levels. They bring their prosporous restaurant theme and incorporate it to the Milwaukee market. They bring their shining stars to dazzle the new employees like tokens at a fair. But what they don't do is deliver. As soon as the ground is broken they move on to the next best location leaving behind them a trail of dust or in this case treachous current. Second, another reason that this location is set to fail is that there is not a proper management team put into place. Corporate trains new restaurants with the best, but leaves without even a proper foundation. If I was a successful corporation, I would install at least one successful corpoarate manager to make sure that things were being carried out to their standard. If A chain is left swimming sideways thru a rough current what can surely happen within this structure. Yes, There is a personal strategy for a server to have great knowlege of a product. I myself try to learn as much as possible but the restaurant has a business to run. On-going classes should always be held. Refresh, try new things, and re-cap. Be positive, train with enthusiasm, not threats to lose your job. Managers are put in place to inspire and train the servers to have knowledge not to show great power over underlings. Managers have a great responsibility but the growth of your company is within your servers. They are after all your sales people. Management step up to the plate! Finally, If your going to sell a product at S&M have the product consistant. The chef team has to be consistant. Plate the same items everytime, and for god's sake don't plate your Maine Lobster Tail with mash potatoes. Every shellfish conouisseur knows that it should come with red potatoes and corn! Have your plates resemble common seafood faire. The chef at M&S is by far the best seafood chef I have ever met. He creates New York style dishes. As a chain you have to staff for the business. The chef cannot be everywhere at once. He would be a star in his own domain. Corporations are not the way to please the palate. In short, McCormick & Schmick: Step it up and show Milwaukee what seafood restaurants should be!!!!!!!!!!

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Posted by mitchgat on May 27, 2008 at 11:17 a.m. (report)

In Milwaukee, as is the case with many other cities our size and demographics, it seems that you can NEVER please anyone. Those who make comments like "Milwaukee is 10 years behind the dining trends on Chicago" or "Milwaukee doesn't have professional servers that other cities have. Our service staff is made up of people that do it as a second job or just don't have the ability to server at the level that high class dining commands." I can only ask... are you people serious? Furthermore, are you talking about Milwaukee today, or 15 years ago? I guess I must be the most clueless person in town, as I just don't understand how someone could actually come to the conclusion that the dining trends in Chicago can in any way be compared to Milwaukee. I also don't see how someone could say that our service staff is made up of more people who do it as a second job. Off the top of my head I can think of 6 people I know who work in downtown restaurants and being a server is their primary income. They actually make a VERY decent living. I travel a lot, to places known for fine dining. Although Milwaukee may not have the quantity of restaurants that New York, Chicago, Montreal, Las Vegas or even Atlanta has, there is DEFINITELY the quality... in food and service. I'd like to add that to me, there is a greater consistency and sincerity in the service I receive from places in Milwaukee. Just because your in a fancy restaurant, with a fancy chef in the kitchen and an expensive and "trendy" dining room, doesn't mean the food or the service will match. If the formula for good service is personable + attentiveness - pretentiousness, then most Milwaukee restaurants are doing it right. Milwaukee DEFINITELY has an identity crisis. Just like Kansas City, Indianapolis and a host of other similar sized cities that always think that the grass is greener some place else. If the folks making the negative comments about Milwaukee's dining scene, were commenting about our dining scene years ago, I would agree 100%. But to ignore the influx of excellent dining, chain or locally owned, that has popped in Milwaukee in the past 5-7 years is to display the exact inferiority complex Milwaukeeans needs to get rid of.

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Posted by curlyboy1978 on May 27, 2008 at 8:40 a.m. (report)

Amy - have you ever given a positive review? Seriously you are one picky food snob. M&S is just a typical chain so why your expectations were high..I dont know.

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Posted by Walkin2Dine on May 26, 2008 at 9:13 p.m. (report)

Establishments should maintain constant training & etiquette for their entire staff to ensure that all know what is important of the restaurant.

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