Copeland’s

My husband and I always wanted to try Copelands, however we decided we’ll visit on a special occasion. Finally, my husband decided to bring me to Copelands on my birthday. We heard many great things about the restaurant and were really excited, however we were extremely disappointed by everything. When we entered the restaurant, the hostess greeted us and another server walked us to our table. The server never introduced herself and never asked us for our drink choices. She simply set down the menus and walked away. A few minutes later comes with two glasses of water and a plate of biscuits and sets it down on the table and walks away. Nearly 20 minutes passed by before a server took our order. Not only that, our food also took no less than 25 minutes to arrive. Not only that, a server brought somebody else’s food to our table and we noticed at the tables beside us that the wrong items were being brought out. Finally when our food did arrive, it was room temperature at best, the sauce was dry and the eggplant in my dish was undercooked. The server quickly dropped off the food and rushed off before we even had the chance to ask for silverware and napkins.
We did generously tip the server but that was in no way a reflection of our experience but merely compensation for his work.
All in all, from the moment we were highly disappointed and will not be returning and neither will we be recommending Copelands to our family and friends.

I’m not a fan. I came here once with my professionals group and thought everything was amazing. I started my meal off with drinks; crash & burn and then a martini, so honestly we can’t trust that opinion from anyone.
I came again with my guy a few times and although not a fan of spinach dip, the fried bowtie pasta was fun to eat just by itself. The chicken wings on the appetizer menu are actually pretty good. If I recall, I think they are baked wings.
I’m here again and I was hoping to have crawfish of some sort, but they don’t have any dishes with that. I had the catfish w/​crab with Mac & cheese. The catfish needed salt; wasn’t very flavorful. The plate had a garlic butter and I should have read closely, that is a huge no no for my diet. The crab was backfin, more meal than meat. If they had used lump, it would have been a perfect compliment. The Mac & cheese, although a direct breech of my no carb rule, was just ok. It was spicy and I didn’t expect that not was I pleased wit
The service here is polite, attentive, honest & professional. No disappointment in that department.
They have really good happy hour specials, so my guy loves coming here for those– half priced drinks & appetizers, not to mention some $ 5 drinks.
Although this place is not my preference, I’ll be more vigilant in choosing something more healthier the next time he suggests we come here.

Have not eaten here in 9 years. Looks the same. The environment is dark romantic if you will. The food was good fresh. My only minor complaints my sides tasted like they came from popeyes. Since Copland and popeyes are owned by the same person well guess what.
I like the jazz wings and the Gumbo. The Gumbo was very flavor full. One suggestion have another gumbo on menu that is more traditional

Last Sunday, my friends and I dined during brunch. Despite the Unilocal reviews, we really enjoyed the food and the service. The selection of food was great. There was even an omelet station with egg whites as an option. :-)
I’m looking forward to going back for the Saturday Blues brunch.

I love this place because I used to frequent the Alexandria location years ago and the food is just as good. I’m only giving it 4 stars because it felt like the heat was not working last evening and they were out of the chocolate fudge cake. Both the entrées were excellent and the waitress was quite lovely.

So my boss recommended this place so I decided to check it out.
1. They took at least half an hr to take our order. We actually had to flag someone down to take our order.
2. The food was mediocre. Not too much flavor in the food what so ever.
3. After we paid, the waiter said if we could tip in cash because if I were tip on my ATM card, supposedly he would not get all of his tip. I explained to him that I do not have any cash then he said there’s a well fargo down the street. I was shocked. The funny part is I did not even bank with Well’s. then he said there is a ATM in the gas station. At that point I was ready to GO!

Typical mediocre Columbia fare. Looks ok from the outside but the food is not very diverse (lots of high calorie/​meaty dishes). Service is ordinary. Good low traffic location and good parking.

Before my wife and I had children this was one of our favorite dinner destinations… Fast forward almost 8 years and 3 children later, horrible economy, and 3 children under 7 we don’t get here all that often any more.
This past weekend we decided to celebrate my wife’s promotion by doing brunch. My wife had been here a few weeks ago with some of her friends and she has been chomping at the bit to get back. I am glad we did.
Copeland’s Sunday Jazz Brunch is just about as good as it gets. I will warn you they open at 10am on Sunday and you need to be in the door by 10:30am or you will have to wait.
The Sunday Jazz Brunch has 2 options there is a buffet or a Brunch menu. We opted for the buffet ($ 22 for adults and $ 10 or so for kids)
The buffet was spectacular to say the least. All items were fresh and not dried out of over cooked from sitting too long. There was someone actively making sure the pans were never less than ½ full and was very helpful in answering my questions as to what was in each dish.
My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the music as well as the food and service. Our waiter Brian (I hope I remember that right) was attentive and also joked with our children when he stopped at our table.
My wife made a remark that she might want to break tradition of 8 YEARS and come here for mother’s day instead of going to the Rusty Scupper in the Baltimore Inner Harbor (see my review) for a few reasons. The variety of food was greater, I didn’t have to pay for parking, and to top it off the brunch was ½ the price! Though who knows what the price will be come mother’s day.
The only negative was, and this is due to my own dietary restrictions. The omelet bar/​station had only pork meat items. I made mention to the Manager and he told me that he would talk to his corporate office and see if they could add something that wasn’t pork. I was pleasantly surprised that he was open to the idea and then he told me that he was a vegetarian and he fully understood about my dietary concerns. That right there made my day. Most of the time those that don’t understand don’t care and they feel it is «my» problem and I should have to deal with it. He took a genuine interest and I thanked him for it.
Bottom Line: I will be back more often. My wife, children, and I ALL really enjoyed every aspect of the Sunday Jazz Brunch. This is how it should be done.

We went to Copeland’s because the wait time was only 20 minutes in comparison to 1hr+ in nearby restaurants. It has a nice ambiance, but service is slow and I thought the food tasted ok. I had a Catfish Po-​boy, which I thought lacked some sort of kick. Decent but forgettable.
The only highlight would be the complimentary beignets, which were pretty good. They even gave us a second batch. :)

I’d like to say that this review is a 2.5
I use to love Copeland’s the food was exceptional, the service was great, and the ambiance was just sexy. Now, not so much.
I think that in the more recent years, the food and the service has declined. It appears as though the prices have increased, the portions have shrunk, and the food is not as good as it once was.
On this particular day, I went with a friend, after 9p. There were no more than five tables being occupied. The service was glacial at best. It kind of sucked that there was so much time between sitting down, receiving a greeting, ordering etc. considering the lack of people in the restaurant.
The food, I got the jambalaya pasta, it was okay, my date got the fettuccine, his was alright as well. I’m usually wowed here. This time, not so much.
Slightly disappointed, no longer will this be a regular.
Now wait, have y’all tried the brunch that they offer? If it hasn’t been damned by the masses it was delicious and reasonably priced…
Update to come soon.

Worst «creole» food I’ve ever tasted.
I’m new to the area and had a craving for creole food. I mentioned that to a new friend and he took me to Copeland’s without telling me where we were going. He stated that he hadn’t visited in years but thought the food had been decent from his past visits.
Well, let’s just say he figured out why he hadn’t bothered to go back over the years. The food was horrible. Absolutely nothing southern about it either…
I had the gumbo because I LOVE gumbo. My grandma used to make it when I was a kid so I grew up having it on holidays and special occasions. The gumbo’s base tasted like paste and the seafood in it didn’t taste good. After that I knew the meal forthcoming meal wouldn’t live up to my expectations.
My friend and I both had the «blackened» fish that turned out not to be so blackened after all. It was nothing more than seasoned fish that honestly didn’t taste very good. I had the green beans and the red beans and rice as my sides. The green beans were way too salty and while the beans were good I’d bet any amount of money that they came out of a can.
Our waitress was pleasant but she did seem to be in a rush. She inquired about us desiring desert before we’d even gotten though half of our meal.
If you’ve never had creole/​southern food then you should know that Copeland’s isn’t an accurate representation of it.

I guess it depends on what day you go and when compared to some of the other reviews I have read. The food and service was great as I went out with friends. The portions were huge and the prices were very reasonable.

This place sucks. Slow service, expensive, and the food isn’t even good. the crab cake and shrimp Alfredo was overly salty. Jumbalaya pasta had no flavor. And our steak filet small plate was cold. Don’t waste your time or money. I would give this place 0 stars if I could.

The place is dark, the décor is dated, everything seems like it needs a good cleaning. The water came in those cheap plastic beer mugs that are meant to imitate glass.
Their Classic Martini came to me barely chilled; I asked that the next one be cold, and it was, but it was also missing the olives.
The food (when it arrived; service was slow) was just OK.
On the whole, this place feels like it’s past its prime. Like it used to be good, but the management has gotten lax.

The Sunday Jazz Brunch at Copeland’s in Columbia was amazing. Plus the «In Da Cut» band was perfect! What a great way to get ready for the week

I typically love love love this place but my most recent visit… made me sad. I mean the spinach dip was good as usual, the chocolate cake for dessert was sinfully decadent and the service was fantastic. What hurt my feelings? My go to dish– the fried catfish platter.
You see, as the recession has hit all facets, people have made adjustments over time. In the restaurant industry, that has become very evident as they have downsized menus, bought lower quality items, stopped buying certain items all together, etc. The catfish platter is supposed to come with a generous amount of catfish along with fries, onion strings and hush puppies. Keyword: GENEROUS. Problem? My dish was not generous in the amount of catfish. I could think of other words that end in «ous» like humorous or parsimonious, which can define my plate.
I decided to take a step I rarely take. I went ahead and posted a comment on the company website. Normally, I just complain about food/​restaurant stuff to friends, post on Unilocal,threaten to move out of the area, rant about the greatness of the chicken finger sub, yada, yada, yada. At some point, someone steps up and buys me a milkshake and all is good in the world again. Nope, no milkshake could stop my fury on this occasion!
I was quite happy to receive a voice mail from the general manager a few days later indicating that the dish was poorly constructed, they remedied the situation by getting a new slicer that would help evenly distribute the catfish with the fries and onion straws and would also go over with the kitchen staff what the ratio is supposed to look like. Now that’s some good customer service!
I look forward to seeing the catfish platter returning to it’s glory again soon!

I remember when Copeland’s used to be on Rockville Pike and we went there a few times a month. It was just a great place to eat but since it has been moved out to Columbia the service has gone downhill because I do not remember it being that bad. I can never give this place five stars simply because of the service but this time around the service was on point. My mother and I went to enjoy a evening meal and the service this time around was good.
When we first arrived it was a little before 3 pm and the place was empty. Yes totally empty on a Saturday when most places are either packed or picking up a little steam. Our server was Jessica and she was friendly and explained everything to us in great detail. My mother ordered the small plate steak la bouchere and she also ordered the crab stuffed shrimp. I held off on my order but decided to go with my usual order of pasta, shrimp and crab cakes in alfredo sauce. The food came out piping hot and fast. For once everything was as I ordered. Usually I find fault something but this time I really couldn’t. For the first time everything was perfect.
When my food came out I had ordered that my crab cakes be broiled and they seem so small. So I had to order a crab cakes appetizer to make up for the lakc of crab in the meal this time around. I also love their tiger sauce and got an extra side of that as well. My mother enjoyed her meal and ended ordering to go a popcorn crawfish appetizer with extra tiger sauce (something we always get when we come out here).
Pros:
1) The food is actually tasty and cooked well, I have yet to have a problem with my food concerning the taste or it being under/​over cooked everything comes out just right
2) Ambience/​Atmosphere – I am sucker for recessed lighting and smooth jazz music that plays when I visited. They do live music for those who enjoy it on Sunday for Sunday brunch (which I have yet to try and don’t plan to anytime soon)
3) Prices – the pricing isn’t all that outrageous but I do feel the meal I usually order is not worth $ 17 for the dinner portion
4) Their signature/​classic drinks which I enjoy. If you decide to drink go with the Woo Woo and Peach Bellini
Cons:
1) Being located in Columbia isn’t the most convenient and I prefer the Rockville location which I never understood why it was shut down. Also their franchise doesn’t go but to so many big cities which is disappointing.
2) Service – this is the first time in a long time that service has been good compared to the several times I have been there before. I found myself waiting for long periods of time before I was either seen or serviced for refills and to go boxes. Even when the place isn’t packed I find the service to be even worse. This still remains a problem

This place was one of my favorite go to spots, but they have really gone down hill. The Cajun food is supposed to be spicy, the creole is supposed to be upper scale; they abjectly fail on both ends. It is all rather pedestrian.
I wish they would get back to being Copeland’s.

After a hard day at work, going to Copeland’s is just what I needed. We first walked in and were greeted by the hostess. She was sweet and took us to our table. Very nice décor and clean. Our waitress, Erin, was also very nice. She told us about the special of the day, which was Fat Tuesday…$ 5 appetizers and drinks. Oh boy! I was super excited and got a crash and burn punch bowl. This drink was huge. My boyfriend and I couldn’t even finish it and didn’t want to, since it had seven liquoirs in it (one of them being Bacardi 151). That drink is a sleeper! Tastes just like punch. Yummy!!!
Anywho, we also order the buffalo rolls. Delicious! I had the veal copeland and my date had the blackened chicken. Both dishes were amazing. I wanted dessert, but was too full.
I would definitely recommend Copeland. It’s great for dinner with anyone… a date, family, and friends. Copeland’s…you are awesome!

At Copelands, I tried the crabcakes and shrimp alfredo for 15.49. It includes Twin fried crabcakes, on a bed of angel hair pasta, topped with a light shrimp Alfredo sauce. It was very delicious but I felt like I was eating a pint of butter. The crabcakes were filled with a lot of crabmeat but it was a little too salty (for my tastes). I also tried the Calamari for appetizer, which was nicely breaded and the sauce compliments the calamari very well.
Service was not so great. Once we got our food, our waitress ignored us. We even had to wave her down just to get the check.