The Local on The Avenue

We visited The Local restaurant at White Marsh (Honeygo Boulevard) on Saturday, September 13, 2025, arriving around 6 PM and not leaving until close to 9 PM due to long delays with our food.

Here are the issues we encountered:

The appetizer of a half-dozen oysters took over 30 minutes to arrive.

The complimentary cornbread wasn’t served until after the oysters appetizer, leaving us hungry while we waited.

After the oysters finally arrived, we realized there was no silverware in sight. I had to walk around the restaurant to find the manager directly, since our server was absent, and by then I was already starving.

The first beer I ordered took a long time to be served, and the server never followed up to see if I wanted another.

It took another 30-40 mins for our entrees to arrive. The food itself was mediocre at best. I ordered the steak (about $50), but it tasted no different than what I could get at a local diner. The fries were limp, oily, and not crispy.

What struck me most was the irony that The Local advertises itself as offering “elevated comfort food” , yet my experience was the exact opposite. The delays, lack of attention to detail, and disappointing food quality did not reflect the standard this restaurant promises

P.S. I do want to give credit where it’s due — the host that evening was wonderful. They were kind, attentive, and quickly arranged outdoor seating for us with very little wait.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 1

Payton was great! Service and food super yummy. The band, actually 2 beautiful girls were so talented and made the environment so awesome 👌

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

HAPPY HOUR!!!! We sat outside at the bar and had an amazing time. Didn’t catch everyone’s name that served us but Rachel was amazing. Atmosphere and customer service were perfect! We ordered the following:

Peach basil smash: 10/10 best drink of the night
Feeling spicy: 8/10
Paradise punch: 8/10
Baja bliss: 7/10
White sangria: 4/10 pass
Old fashioned: 8/10
Chargrilled oyster no bacon: 9/10
PEI mussels no sausage: 9/10 loved the tomato. Fra diavola like.
Local wings: 7/10 low count for price but not bad
Chicken sliders: 10/10 the BEST sliders I’ve had.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Our server Domenico was very pleasant and kind! Kudos to him for his exceptional service. The blackened salmon cesar salad was fabulous 👌 👏

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I went today and got the blackened tuna appetizer and caesar wrap. Both were amazing along with our server Gary.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

This is a modern and cool place. The food was yummy, but definitely unique to this restaurant. Do not go in expecting something familiar- even if it sounds familiar.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Food was not comforting at all. The Halibut was extremely dry and the noodles were too sweet and spicy. The crab cake was good. The crème brûlée looked like wet banana pudding. Crab chowder was salty. Service and atmosphere were great. My meal was free and I would not accept another free meal from there.

Definitely one of the best restaurants ever. The ribs are amazing. The beet and goat cheese salad with honey balsamic is excellent. Salmon sandwich- terrific. Staff, David, friendly, attentive and accommodating. Compliments to the chef and management 🥰

Well, food took around 30 minutes to come out.
My chicken Parmesan was good. $30 on the menu which I consider extremely pricey. For my surprise on the check $35 for it because I said yes for the pasta that I thought came with it.
I was never informed about the extra charge and I’m for sure not coming back for a ok $35 chicken Parmesan.

This is a local seafood establishment. The food is succulent here. They have indoor and outdoor seating. We sat outside at one of the Bistro tables and it was lovely. The staff was happy to be of service from the time we entered the door until we departed. It was a great time!!

The food is really worth the money. The beef Wellington beats Gordon Ramsey. The steaks are cooked to perfection. All the sides just taste fresh. I wish I lived closer.

Top notch service from Bartenders Jaime and Jay, server Izzy and hostess Liv. The staff at Fallston location is usually also on point some of our favorites include server Vic. The drinks are always on point and served to perfection with plenty of accompanying food recommendations. Liv was a delightful hostess who was cheerful and kind. Server Izzy was helpful and accommodating. Now for the food…what to start with. We visit this location and the Fallston location often, you can tell that whomever runs this place, prays at the altar of Anthony Bourdain, and I am so here for it. The menu options are always innovative and delicious. They are however a little pricey for the demographic of this area. Over the four years that we have visited this establishment we rarely have had any trouble. The only thing that I would steer you away from is the beef Wellington the one time I got it, It was overcooked and flavorless and not worth the money. And the lunch chicken sandwich that I had today was dry and flavorless. Some of our menu favorites are the charcuterie, hands down best in Baltimore, county and city!!!, the beef carpaccio, the crunch wrap, any burger or soup and don’t sleep on the cheesesteak egg rolls. Both locations are clean and well staffed, the restrooms are so immaculate you could eat in there, lol. Now for my big complaints, the drinks are overpriced and the party planning fees are RIDICULOUS, this is not NYC OR MIAMI, this is eastern Baltimore county, these are hard-working blue-collar people who rarely can pay $5000 just to rent one room in a strip mall, especially When we have a well established other restaurant business location less than a mile away who will only charge you $875 to plan a party of 25 with a full four course menu, why would anybody waste $5000 to have a party in a strip mall?

Kendall server and Danielle (mngr) were both great and very accommodating. The egg plant sandwich was a bit too bready however Danielle helped the situation. The drinks and food were good. Staff excellent, pricing is fair and they have a happy hour menu, Wednesday happy hour is all night. Great atmosphere/ ambiance. Plenty of parking.

The local use to be my favorite place to go and always had such an inviting atmosphere! We went a week ago and things have drastically taken a turn for the worst.

The food and menu has changed. They offer so much less and it just honestly isn’t that great anyone.
Our server, Lindsay, was the absolute worst! She was sarcastically rude more than once to the point that we just asked for a new waitress! She would say be snarky and say things like yeah well I only have two hands, when we inquired about something. I though I know servicing a party of 6 can be overwhelming, we honestly weren’t asking her or being impatient. My 6 year old cousin asked her a question and she blurted out the same with such attitude! The manager seemed nice but I feel she didn’t really take our concerns seriously, as we saw her laughing and joking with that waitress 10 minutes after we asked for a new one!

I later found out that they changed managers at the Whitemarsh location.
I will never go back to that location. It was such an unpleasant experience.

BEWARE!! Anyone trying to use a gift card; there are 2 separate ownerships and white marsh will not honor gift cards from Fallston. When purchasing the cards you’re told they are for both location. NOT true. Embarrassing and not customer friendly. Sad! 😩