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We dined at All Set for the first time a few weeks ago. I must confess that I am Friends with the Owner and Chef as well as one of the bartenders.

Right at 5 pm on a Saturday, we had the Chick Peas Fries and some Oysters and Clams to start.

The fries were good fresh tasting and accompanied by two dipping sauces. The oysters were Wellfleets and they were expertly served. Chef sent me a few others to try but I forget their name. Clams were ultra fresh tasting as well. The point here is the presentation. It doesn't get much better IMO. Care was taken with this. Well thought out and executed.

We ordered the Salmon (Norway) and Short Ribs. Both were great. The Short Ribs were classic comfort and the Salmon was perfectly cooked. I really enjoyed the lentils with the salmon ( I was not sure I would). The point so far is that you can tell that they care about what they're putting out!

Dessert: I forget exactly what it was. One lighter one with Olive oil vanilla ice cream? and one chocolate peanut butter slice of decadence. I believe the recipes for dessert were crafted by the former pastry chef at Volt.

Bottom Line is that we were served fresh food with care in a beautiful and inventive setting. They are a young restaurant and an independent one as well. I would definitely recommend ALL SET to anyone. Even the kids menu is well thought out.

Please pardon my lack of detail. Ooh! The bar serves up some fun drinks. I had a Perfect Storm and with dessert a "Grape Drink" the latter of which was my favorite of the two for its inventiveness.

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I haven't had the chance to post prior, but did do a search to see if there was a thread started yet. As there wasn't one I lost my opportunity to post at the time I had it, so thanks for getting the thread started!

We dined here on Thurs evening to celebrate my father's birthday. I was pleased with the service and how well taken care of we were. We were off to the side so weren't in the "mix" of any activity, which was actually nice. Only downside was the cold air blowing directly down on the table. Oh, and I do think $8 for bottle of cider is rather steep. I'd pay that for a pint downtown. Guess now that cider is becoming more popular, prices are escalating. Or maybe I'm just out of the loop, which is more likely.

As to the food, all thoroughly enjoyed their plates even though we did not have a variety of dishes. My father and I had the softshells (off menu and if they are being served you'd be wise to get these) and Mr. S, my sister and neice all had the brick chicken. My mom had the tuna salad, which was prepared exactly to her liking. No complaints, and that is not an easy feat!  The brick chicken was a very large serving and a bargain at $22.

Several of us chose the asparagus as a side with was pertectly prepared. Not overdone, not underdone, and very sweet. Two of us had the fish tacos and I do highly recommend these. Think of a perfectly fried piece of cod (as in fish & chips) inside a soft corn tortilla with delicious topping. Mine was altered for my allergies but was delicious even without the slaw and avocado lime ranch dressing.

And while we were really too full for dessert, we decided to share for the occasion. We ordered the same chocolate peanut dessert as skipkendall and the ice cream cookie sandwich. A gratis dish was brought for my father which was appreciated and unexpected. A light cake with meringue and berries, and was just perfect for his taste. The chocolate peanut dessert was said to be delicious and is described on the menu as a "Dark Chocolate & Roasted Peanut Semifreddo, Chocolate Peanut Crumble, Roasted Peanut Ice Cream." Though I could not partake, I was more than happy with mine. Skip-if you had the olive oil cake, I think you had what they describe as Boston Cream Pie. I'm tuned in to that since it is one of my favorite desserts, yet I couldn't order it due to the non-traditional olive oil in the cake. While I was heartbroken at first, I was certainly not sorry I got to try the ice cream cooke sandwich.It was actually two-chocolate fudge cookies with caramel chocolate pecan ice cream. This was so good that I didn't even want to share!

I know we will return as it has enough variety for our family to dine together and everyone enjoy. And I felt well taken care of with my allergies. They haen't been open that long, but based on this experience are running on all cylinders. Good to see another locally owned operation in the same spot of another old one.

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We had dinner here last night. Managed to dodge the downpours coming and going. The place appeared to be full, except the bar which had at least 1/2 dozen stools free. At the host stand we were offered a table in the bar area or, with a short wait, one in the dining room. I asked "what's the difference?" Hostess said the dining room is quieter. We opted for the dining room. If the bar is noisier, we would not have been able to hear each other across the two-top. We were seated in the front corner, right next to the window, and had to speak with raised voices. On to the food...

Clam chowder: The broth was tinted tan? Probably because of all the bacon used in the prep. And bacon is what I tasted -- no discernible clam flavor.

Chorizo clams: Chorizo herb crumb topping was well executed. The six clams were the tiniest littlenecks I've ever seen (micro necks?), and I cook them quite often at home.

Fish and chips: This was a big plate of food, with a generous portion of fish atop fries that covered nearly the entire plate except for the portion taken up by a corn muffin and an ice-cream-scoop-sized serving of cole slaw. The fish was good, moist with a crisp batter coating. I did not try the slaw or muffin. The fries were dull (I really don't enjoy fries unless they are the double-fried variety served at any competent bistro).

Crab cakes: Two generous cakes that were, unfortunately, devoid of flavor. The pepper shaker couldn't revive them. Maybe these were made with pasteurized meat or maybe I'm just a crab cake snob who is hard to please. The accompanying spring succotash tasted mainly of the butter it was swimming in.

Service was excellent, from the friendly greeting at the host stand, to the charismatic waitress, and the helpful wine program director, who guided us in choosing a very nice Falanghina. I thought their list of whites was pretty creative and diverse for a MoCo restaurant.

The food, one cocktail, and the wine came to $130 after tax, before gratuity. You could certainly dine more cheaply by forgoing the most expensive entrees (crab cakes, steak, and market price for the rockfish were $34-35) and sticking to beer.

It was a nice evening, even if the food didn't shine. I'd be willing to give them another shot but will order differently next time.

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All Set manages to take the nautical theme- which can be kitschy- and make it appealing.  The previously dark Golden Flame- is now light and bright.  I really enjoyed the chickpea fries- light and crispy with a unique flavor.  My tuna nicoise salad would have been much better had the lettuce not been drenched in dressing.  I couldn't finish it due to the overdressing, although the tuna was nicely prepared.  There wasn't much to distinguish this dish but I wasn't expecting anything unique.  My husband had fish and chips and thought they were just okay- not at all crispy.  My friend had an edamame burger, which she really enjoyed.  I had a taste and it was surprisingly good.

We really liked dessert- ice cream cookie sandwiches.  One is a chocolate fudge cooke with sour vanilla ice cream, another a chocolate chip cookie with peanut ice cream.

I can't rave about All Set, but I I liked it well enough to try again based on location.

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Realized I hadn't written this up yet in spite of having dined four times already. I think it's because it's kind of mediocre place, nothing to incite extreme dislike, nor anything especially exciting. I think the biggest problem that plagues it is inconsistency. Some things can be quite good, others can be pretty bad.

Food in general is pretty good. Oysters are great for happy hour, and on one visit, we went specifically for my father to satisfy his oyster craving. Apparently oysters are ridiculously overpriced in Japan. Something I wouldn't have expected from a country where pretty much everyplace is within an hour or two of the ocean. I think there were 3 or 4 options for oysters that night.

Also during happy hour, several other appetizers are discounted so we made a meal before a concert at the Fillmore one night. The fish tacos were definitely the winners for that meal.

Wife has gotten the seafood pasta twice, once when it was a special, and now it has been added to the menu. It's a nice assortment of seafood with pasta and fairly generous as well. I had the lobster roll on our last visit which was generous with the lobster, but a little bland on the seasoning. It's described as a tobasco lime mayo dressing, but very little tobasco taste.

Biggest problem we have had in dining was once when I ordered the special for the night, a scallop risotto. They clearly had forgotten to make it when everyone else's entrees came out and mine was missing. I said  I would get something else since risotto can take a long time to cook, but the waiter insisted it would be right out and it was already being made. Well it wasn't. In the meantime they brought out an order of the vegetarian mushroom risotto gratis. This gave the interesting opportunity to compare the butternut squash risotto that accompanied the scallops with the regular menu item. I liked the mushroom risotto better from a taste standpoint, but it was overcooked so the rice was a little mushy. The butternut squash was really lacking any butternut squash flavor and tasted very bland after the mushroom version. On our last visit, we noticed that there is no longer a risotto option on the menu. To make up for the mistake on the risotto, we were given a discount on the meal, though I told the manager I would have been just as happy if they had been honest about the mistake and allowed me to order something that could have been cooked faster.

Generally service can be hit or miss. Servers will disappear for long periods of time, especially if you're seated outside the main areas of the dining room/bar area. These side area would either be the two booths on the right as you enter or the side room on the far left.

It is very kid friendly as they have a treasure chest of things to keep kids busy, but interestingly, no crayons though the kids menu has a picture for coloring. Also, the toy box is noticeably lighter from our last visit. Pretty sad that people can't be honest with toys provided by the restaurant and think it's OK to take them, or let their kids take them.

It's a nice option for dining in Silver Spring, but nothing to make it destination dining.

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After not eating at All Set for so long (it's been open for nearly a year, I believe), I've now been there three times in the past month - once for a happy hour, and twice for dinner. There is a mixed blessing to this - good sign is that I gladly returned and likely would again, but the bad sign is that I've only been willing when paying less than full-price (an event with all night happy hour pricing, and two dinners with Spotluck app discounts), and that is likely the only way that I would find value in the restaurant. As other reviews (both on this site and professionally), the restaurant charges as if it aspires to something close to fine-dining, while it is merely an enjoyable and tasty if slightly unrefined local restaurant.

On the first visit (which was the happy hour), we sampled three solid to very good appetizers. Unsurprisingly, the fish tacos were the standout taste-wise, though not overly large. The chickpea fries were also very well-received by the group, and the white bean hummus was tasty and served with a variety of vegetables and flatbread.  All of the drinks were good, though only a couple of cocktails (the Cranberry Bog and the House Punch) were on the Happy Hour menu. I believe we sampled three or four off the full-price cocktail menu across the group and enjoyed all of them, with the Perfect Storm as my favorite.  I think that with Sidebar closing, there is an opportunity to improve their happy hour business by offering a deal on all of their fancy cocktails (doesn't have to be a $6 price point, necessarily, but full price of $12 adds up quickly).

On the second visit, we had dinner - and really enjoyed. I got the crispy skin salmon with the lentils, and my dining companion asked for them to put a piece of salmon on the salad, which they happily did (and I believe charged the price of the entree for a full piece of salmon, which actually ended up being a bit bigger than mine). Thought it was strange for a seafood-focused restaurant of this caliber that they didn't ask how we wanted the salmon cooked, but both pieces came out moist, tender, and flavorful. The lentils and the salad themselves were nothing to write home about. On the third visit, we went a bit lighter - the fish and chips and the chickpea edamame burger, both of which were tasty. I thought the fries and coleslaw that came with each were mediocre. I would be more likely to get the burger again - it's a relatively unique offering  for the area, whereas the fish and chips at McGinty's is as good or better and with either a more generous serving for dinner or the mini-option available at a happy hour price point.

The restaurant is bright and welcoming (not too kitschy considering its nautical theme) and the service was friendly and attentive, if not expert. The noise level varied across the restaurant (we sat outside once) - I can't honestly imagine having a quiet dinner if it's during happy hour, as the bar area runs alongside almost the entire waiting room.

Overall, a nice addition to Silver Spring and a good option - but where just a drink and an entree can come to between $40-50 per person with tip, maybe not an everyday option for a lot of residents of still gentrifying downtown Silver Spring, who might prefer to go out to someplace hipper or more "special occasion" feeling for their splurge meals.

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On 8/14/2016 at 10:14 AM, ElGuapo said:

All Set is donating 100% of their sales on Monday, August 15 to help those displaced by the Long Branch Apartment Fire.

According to an e-mail I received from someone very involved in the relief efforts, All Set ended up donating $12,820.

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All Set Restaurant & Bar in downtown Silver Spring will donate 100 percent of its sales on Tuesday, May 31 to the victims and families impacted by the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, according to a post on the restaurant’s Instagram account.

https://www.sourceofthespring.com/silver-spring-news/2793802/all-set-fundraising-for-uvalde-shooting-victims-and-families/

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