Michael’s Cafe Raw Bar and Grill

Michaels has great food craft beers prices well and comfortable atmosphere, But you should inform your customer about your patio table policy, many in writing at the door. The confusion for moving from table to table to standing is disturbing to all your guest. I understand your restrictions and limitations but you can do better

My wife and i were there for a lunch. Efficient service .I really like the seafood club with sweet potato fries. It is a good place. You are always assured quality and a good special.

Usually I would give this place 5 stars, but not after this evening. The service was terrible. We were told we could only order steaks cooked medium. We were told three times that bread was in the oven and we would get bread soon. It took 30 minutes for a bowl of soup to be brought to the table. I don’t want to go into more and nit pick. I think the restaurant had remodeled to be larger than they can truly accommodate so they sacrifice on customer service.

Pleasant people, attentive and kind bartenders. Can’t take good service for granted. Best set up for a night out. Can’t wait to be back!

Was there for mother days brunch. Service was solid. Seated right away. The food. Oysters in raw bar chilled and great taste. Steamed shrimp was over cooked, and hard to peel. They ran out of prime rib for a period of time about 30 mins. The deserts were out of a box. All other stations the food was good. Free mimosas for the ladies 95 percent orange juice. $ 30 a plate I would expect food to be better that what was put out. This establishment is known for good food, but pricey. I feel a little let down. I won’t return for brunch menu, but regular menu I will.

Really nice bar area inside but I got the crab cake sandwich and I did not love it. The crab cake was small and flat and I tasted mostly the bread/​roll and not the crab. I’d go back though and try something else.

We have been dining at this popular Timonium haunt for 25 years. Over that time Michaels has had its ups and downs with the preparation and presentation. With the renovation, kitchen expansion and a new chef, Michaels is again giving its diners a great dining experience. Last night we had a variety of meals to demonstrate how the kitchen is meeting the needs of its customers. I had one off the specials, pan sautéed salmon over spinach and orzo with shrimp and cherry tomatoes. This was one of the tastiest meals that Michaels has presented. The portion was so generous that I gave away some of my shrimp and salmon to my dining partners. My husband had the lobster crab cake with a large side salad and beets. He said that the food was prepared well and tasted good. My son had a cup of chicken noodle soup and a generously sized Greek salad topped with grilled shrimp. He ate it all and did not complain. That’s my son’s way of showing it was good. Our server was efficient and very attentive. She brought us hot bread and kept filling our water glasses to the brim. All in all a 5 star Unilocal meal. We will return soon.

This was our first time at Michael’s even though we’ve lived in the area for years. The experience and food was great. I had the crab cake, which was cooked properly with very little filler –very tasty. My boyfriend had a burger which was cooked to his specifications and he loved it. Our appetizer was the seared ahi tuna, awesome!!! The Moscow mule cocktail was really tasty and well made. The atmosphere on the patio was perfect and beautiful, nice jazz/​blues mix at a good level (not too loud) –perfect conversation level. The overall experience and service I give a A+.

I took my Mother here for her Birthday Thursday evening. I have not been here since their huge renovation some time ago. We entered through the back of the building which seemed like the main entrance. The atmosphere was cozy, perfect lighting with dark wood furniture and lots of earth tones. The main dining room was an awesome space, very high vaulted ceilings and lots of great energy. We were greeted and seated right away. Our server was Emily and she was friendly, professional and fantastic.
We started with some cocktails, my dirty martini was on point and a nice portion. We ordered the fried green tomatoes with jumbo lump and Salt Pond oysters. The app was enjoyable, and I highly recommend the Salt Pond oysters, they are incredible. My Wife ordered the 5oz. crab cake and Mom and I both ordered the Filet with crab imperial. The filets were prepared medium rare as ordered and the imperial was done simply perfect. Our sides were hot and the plates were presented nicely. Our dessert was yummy, we had the hot fudge brownie with vanilla ice cream. There is a decent wine selection and craft beer menu as well.
I am giving Michael’s a 5 star review because they delivered the total package, excellent service, excellent atmosphere with fresh and delicious food. Don’t expect Michelin level, white glove style service here, it’s more business casual, go and relax kind of spot. For the price point offered and convenient location just off of I83 you can’t beat it. There is also an outside patio with a cool bar. We will go back and have drinks and food on a sunny day!

Food here is still wonderful, wine list still excellent, Duckhorn cab almost as good as good the Silver Oak they have had for years. Service on this Friday night was so slow, this place was slammed, but worth the wait. For these prices, over $ 100 per person with drinks, service should have been increased, but crab and steak still 5 star as was everything ordered tonight. Lamb rack special tonight was outstanding. Mary was such a great waitress with all the stress, she is 5 stars too.

Michael’s Café is hands down, my favorite place for brunch. I’ve been several times and only had one experience about 6 months ago when I wasn’t very pleased, and that was only because I was unaware that they were renovating the kitchen and had a very limited menu.
Today, I went back for the first time since they renovated the kitchen and updated their menu and was really pleased! They kept some of the old items but added a few new ones! I ordered the pork belly benedict (one of the newer items which was absolutely delicious) with bacon on the side and my boyfriend ordered the chesapeake benedict, which is one of his favorites. Everything was perfect! The pork belly was cooked perfectly and was nice and crispy, not greasy like pork belly can sometimes be. The bacon was also crispy and delicious. As usual, my boyfriend loved the chesapeake benedict that he ordered.
Drink wise, we usually get the bottomless mimosas but decided not to today. I got the sunrise margarita (another one of my favorite drinks there), and my boyfriend ordered the orange crush. He was looking for the Jameson crush on the menu, but he didn’t see it listed, so he went with the orange crush. Hopefully the Jameson crush is still available though! Both of us really enjoy that drink and were bummed for a few seconds when we didn’t see it listed on the drinks menu.
Our sever was really sweet and nice. She checked in on us often (but not too often), and was great with offering refills. The staff here is always awesome and friendly and whenever a friend asks me about a good place for brunch, I always recommend Michael’s.
As usual, Michael’s Café was great! Delicious food, amazing drinks, and awesome service! I’m glad that we stopped by to check out their new brunch menu since the kitchen has been renovated — it was well worth it! I will definitely be back here again.

We stopped here for dinner as we were in the area for a show at the Maryland State Fairgrounds, which is right nearby. The food was unexpectedly delicious, and portions are pretty generous. But the service we had this night was really bad, and that certainly affected the experience. By 8:30 p.m., the server should have known how the Fish Special was prepared, and not told us «any way we wanted.» That was also her response about the salad dressings: «anything we wanted» and she couldn’t name what they had, but what I then said I wanted (cucumber wasabi), they didn’t have. She also brought out the wrong item ordered, kept disappearing, and in general, gave frustrating service.
That being said, the crab cakes (non fried) were delicious, with very little filler, and the fried oysters were also a winner. The ahi tuna appetizer seemed delicious. My boyfriend wasn’t sharing, so that means it was really good! Coleslaw was also excellent. We ordered way too much food, as we also got bowls of cream of crab soup, so with the salad and sides that came with the meal (we didn’t realize it came with so much), we definitely got more than needed. But it was delicious!
We went back 2 nights later since they serve food till late, and most other places were closed for food service by then. Service was much better on this night, and we have to recommend Mary, as her service was completely opposite our experience of 2 nights ago. She was really excellent!
Food again was good, we were just disappointed the regular menu wasn’t available. It was late so we only wanted some soup and a couple appetizers, particularly the ahi tuna app. But it was Valentine’s Day Weekend, and they had a limited menu. That was annoying as it was not yet Valentine’s Day. In fact I usually avoid places that change their menu for New Year’s Eve or Valentine’s Day, but our choices were limited due to the time of night. We did split a crab cake dish, and the crab cakes were huge and delicious. They did rustle up some cream of crab soup for us, something not on the menu that night, and dinner finished with them giving me a rose and a chocolate truffle.
If we are back in the area, we would definitely eat at Michael’s Café again. But we’d request to be seated in Mary’s section.

Don’t come here on holidays. Michael’s is great for easygoing fare like their seafood club sandwich. Unfortunately, we came here on Valentine’s day. They had a very limited menu with limited appeal, and the prices were eye watering. If I wanted to spend $ 50 on a steak, I’d go to Benjamin in NYC and get a much better one. They refused to make a crab cake sandwich, probably to force people to go with the crab cake platter. Although they weren’t listed on the menu, they were willing to get people soup. They were selling an awful lot of soup. We will continue to come here on regular Saturday nights, but you can do much better for the price on Valentine’s.

Make reservations, gets very busy. Try the crab cakes, pretty good not a lot of filler.

Wow! I don’t know why I’m not eating there every week! I had not been in quite some time and to be honest didn’t understand the rave reviews or daily packed parking lot.
My husband and I we’re looking for a really good take out dinner to celebrate our anniversary — we wanted dining out food at home.
Anyway, we ordered the Fried Green Tomatoes, Crab Cakes, Oysters… it was quite a feast. Everything was cooked to perfection and absolutely delicious. The Fried Green Tomatoes were so good I’m thinking about the next time I can have them already.
We will definitely be putting Michaels into our dining and carryout rotation!

We were in Baltimore for a few days and headed to Michaels’ for a bite to eat. When we lived in Phoenix, it was a No Baltimore County favorite destination. Food was as good as we remembered, but pricy. Two iced teas, two crab cakes, a shared salad and dessert was over $ 60. for lunch! The fries were not included in my sandwich price. Everything seemed to be extra. Boo Michael’s! Guess they needed funds to help pay for the ongoing kitchen renovations.
Our server, Karen, was busy but magnificent! A keeper! She was professional and friendly. Very down to earth lady and made our experience memorable. Great job Karen!

UPDATE!
After seeing my review, Steven contacted me and sincerely apologized for the poor service. He also let me know that the girl who waited on me was no longer an employee of Michaels. He asked me to stop by the hostess station the next time I was in for a gift card. This evening, we hosted my coworker’s retirement party in the bar area and it was lovely! The setup was perfect, the food was delicious, and the servers were more than delightful! I am very happy to say that I will be back very soon and am looking forward to it!

I’ve been back again and the overall experience was good. The server was friendly and attentive. Food was good.

Awesome crab and shrimp dip, excellent cream of crab, and amazing crab cakes! No filler and huge chunks of crab! Live music outside made a great atmosphere!

Outstanding food, drink and service every time we visit Michaels. Great selection of craft beers and very warm atmosphere. Both bars are very cozy and inviting and the formal dining is excellent as well.
The valet is a nice touch as sometimes parking can be tough.
My wife and I are always pleased and leave content. We will visit again!