McCormick & Schmicks: A Restaurant Review

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants were started in the 1970's and now have more than 80 establishments across 26 states. Known mainly for their seafood, the menu offers few other choices. We dined at the McCormick & Schmicks on the South Side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For a restaurant known for their seafood, the food and prices leave a lot to be desired. A word to the wise, have appetizers and dessert but skip the entrée.

The atmosphere at McCormick & Schmicks is nice. Not dressy, but not too casual. Nice jeans and a polo shirt for the men or capris and a blouse for the ladies. We had reservations since the website recommended them and it was a Saturday night. However, they were not needed. During our visit to McCormick & Schmicks, they were never overly busy and the wait was never over 5-minutes.

We started our evening at McCormick & Schmicks off with a couple appetizers. The Crab, Shrimp, and Artichoke dip with fried pitas was divine. The dip was very tasty and had a nice sized portion. We also had the Coconut Shrimp with horseradish marmalade and tropical salsa. McCormick & Schmicks provided us with another great appetizer. However, you only get 5 shrimp. Our night was off to a good start so we were hopeful.

As our entrees arrived at McCormick & Schmicks, we were beginning to realize we had made a mistake going there. The portions are small. My husband ordered the Crab Cake dinner. The Crab Cake dinner consisted of two 3oz crab cakes served with tartar sauce. Not a fabulous top-notch tartar sauce, just your ordinary mayonnaise and pickle tartar sauce. Along with the Crab Cakes, McCormick & Schmicks served a rice pilaf and summer vegetables.

Friends who were dining with us ordered the Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon with a Peach BBQ glaze. Now I will admit the Sockeye Salmon was good. However the mild tasting salmon was overpowered by the Peach BBQ glaze. Served with mashed potatoes and summer vegetables, the meal was not very filling and left you wanted more.

Finally I will end with my dinner at McCormick & Schmicks. I had ordered the Stuffed Salmon. Let me first say the stuffing was amazing. A crab, shrimp, and brie cheese mixture that would have completed the dinner nicely had it not been overpowered by the fishiness of the salmon. Imagine going up to a fish just caught out of the lake and licking it. That is what my salmon tasted like. Mashed potatoes and summer vegetables were served with the salmon.

To finish our dinner at McCormick and Schmicks we had dessert. Now just to give you an idea how small the portions were I never have dessert. In fact, I generally bring most of my meal home if we have appetizers. My husband and I shared a dark chocolate bag, filled with passion fruit mousse and fresh fruit. It was the perfect combination of a light mousse with the intensity of the dark chocolate. Our friends shared the upside down apple pie with cinnamon ice cream, which they said was equally as good.

McCormick & Schmicks is not someplace I would recommend going to. The prices are high for the amount and quality of the food you receive. The atmosphere is casual and quiet. The service is good but a bit slower than you would expect. Like I stated above, if you have a desire to eat at McCormick and Schmicks order appetizers and dessert, but skip the entrees.