Reviews for The Kings Contrivance in Columbia, MD
Great atmosphere, foods, and service. All of my family members were impressed.
Reservations recommended. We had lamb chops, filet mignon and crab cake. The crab cake was delicious!
My husband and I went for Father's Day. The staff was great, the atmosphere nice. The food was good, I had the lamb chops which... were delicious, the vegetables were good but the portions were very small. My husband had the pork chops. They had a good tastebut was just a little too tough for him. He also said that the vegetables were good but portions were small. We thought thatthey were going to bring bread to the table. We waited awhile and decided to ask the waitress and she said that the bread wasand extra charge. We ordered the bread but felt like the bread should have been complimentary. Read more
Dec 2021: I'd go back, but I was a bit disappointed with some of the food for the price we were paying. We had a group of ten... and appreciated the first private room inside to the right. We had one of each appetizer. The shrimp scampi smelled a littlequestionable, but the others were loved. My gumbo (pic) was blah. Flavors all blended, so it all tasted about the same, tho Idid appreciate the chopped green onions on top. But that's saying something isn't it? That the most memorable part of the flavorwas the green onions. My vegetarian wife's baked ziti (pic) was also a bit bland. She didn't even take the leftovershome. Everyone roundly loved the desserts. I have a pic of the Key Lime Pie and the Chocolate Mousse Tiramisu. There were twostrange interactions with the maître d'. First, after making the reservation weeks earlier, he called my wife back and said shewas supposed to get back to him. She believed the reservation was set, yet he curtly informed her that "she forgot." Well evenif a misunderstanding occurred, that is just RUDE. He also said "the dinner hour in Howard County is 6pm." And I've heard thisof him from a friend in the past. Wow, nobody wants to hear pretentious BS like that. Second, when desserts were wrapping upsomeone remotely upped the music to an extreme volume. It was so loud I had to quickly find the smart speaker myself and turn itdown. When I asked the maitre d' about this annoyance, he lied to me and said the device cannot be controlled remotely. Umm,it's a smart speaker. That's how they work. I'm taking a star off simply due to these strange interactions with the maitre d'. Read more
The staff tried. The food was wedding food, and not oh wow that is great wedding food just eh I can eat some of this to... survive. The Maitre D came at the end, when our card had already been taken, and asked about the meal. We were polite but lethim know we were not satisfied. We told him we understood staffing trouble and he told us the troubles they were having. He saiddessert was on him but then said bill had already been rung so he gave us a note for the next time? he took our plates of dinnerwhich had barely been touched and when asked if we wanted a box and we quickly said no he didn?t once offer a refund or anycompensation beyond the dessert. They are dreadfully understaffed so taking 30 minutes for a drink, having empty water glassesfor another 30, an hour until apps are all understandable with the staff issue. My dirty martini wasn?t dirty. My husbands mintand cucumber mojito had no mint the second time. The only food that was what we would call in the range of good was escargotand the fried oysters. The Brie tasted as if it had turned. The seafood chowder was bland, the Cesar salad was soggy, the ribeyewas COVERED in bland brown gravy, chicken piccata was flavorless and a bit chewy and all the vegetables seemed to be ready forpurée they were steamed and no detectable seasoning. We actually asked an hour and a half in to cancel the entrees if notstarted, we just wanted to leave. The waiter said they were almost ready and being people who hate to waste or inconvenience wesaid okay we will wait. We shouldn?t of, the meal and tip was $200 and we still had to get another meal that night. It was our10 year wedding anniversary and our original plan for 18 & 21st was canceled due to a flooded kitchen. This place wasrecommended as somewhere to dress up for and get great food. It would make for a romantic wedding venue and had we just gone fora drink we may have had a different view but the food, it just was not good if you like flavorful food, or . Read more
PURE EXCELLENCE! If only I could eat here everyday. The escargot are a garlic buttery perfection and they give you this fresh... bread to sop up every bit of garlic butter sauce. The Seafood Bisque is thick and delicious and included shrimp, crab, scallopsand even had a bit of rice which was a pleasant surprise. This is one of the best bisques I have ever had. I was too full butbecause every dish I saw come from the kitchen looked like pure heaven I decided to be greedy and get the Scallop and ShrimpAngel hair pasta. It was pure deliciousness. The seafood and pasta were perfectly prepared and every bite made me wantanother. I came back during Howard County Restaurant week and ordered the identical meal and it was exactly as delicious as thefirst visit. Pure heaven in the form of delicious food! Read more
Charming restaurant, good food, staff is fast and dedicated.Perfect for dinner for 2 or family. I advise you to make a... reservation. No noise so you can have a conversation while enjoying a comforting meal. You must try the Key-lime dessert. Read more
Not sure I will be back. Was there a few months ago and services was mediocre at best. We've had this same server before and... she was way more fixated on one particular table than the others. I ordered the lobster pasta and waitress immediately replied"well, there are only four left" I said "well now there should be three". Was she waiting for royalty to arrive so they couldorder? Why say that to anyone? Shouldn't all guest be treated the same? Be careful before you end up with serious issues onyour hands...people know when they are being treated like they don't belong. No goodbye, have a nice day...nothing... Read more