Latitudes Seafood Restaurant

Latitudes Seafood Restaurant
Bel Air, MD 

It's always exciting when a new restaurant comes to town especially when its about 4 miles away. I was looking forward to visiting a seafood restaurant. The days of seafood restaurants in the past was a time of relaxation and enjoyment of the fresh catch of the day from both a appetizer and dinner standpoint.
I could go to Yelp to read the reviews but keep in mind that being a food  instructor, I know exactly what's going on in the food business.
I went with my wife and another couple and once we opened the door, the volume level was overwhelming. It was happy hour and the bar was packed. I couldn't even hear myself talk. I expected a more sedate atmosphere but the layout of the restaurant was open.
The hostess brought us to the table and our waitress was friendly and  professional. I took a look at the menu and noticed that the appetizers were just ok but the prices were very expensive. I tried the Hellfire Shrimp, fried shrimp made with a spicy aioli sauce. My buddy ordered a Jumbo Bavarian Crab Stuffed Pretzel.
When I got the Hellfire Shrimp, the shrimp was literally soaked with the aioli sauce when makes me think that whoever prepared it did it way in advance just to get the dish out to the customers rather waiting for it to be fried and then adding the sauce over it or the sauce was either too watery. I don't know but the dish was sure as HELL from HELLl! It was terrible.  As for the Bavarian Crab pretzel, not from Maryland at this might be a Maryland delicacy, the pretzel was huge but cold, wasn't fresh and a gob of this Maryland crab spread was spread on top. Not very impressed.
I believe that "Appetizers" are a reflection of the entree  to come. 
My wife ordered the fish and chips and looked nothing like the traditional fish and chips. I ordered the Chilean sea bass, my buddy ordered a fish taco dish and his wife ordered a seafood pasta dish. To my surprise the Chilean sea bass was quite good with a butter lemon sauce and although it wasn't a big piece, it was the right size for the price and completely sufficient enough for my appetite.
Dessert was ok, had some vanilla ice cream over a brownie.
Here's my take on Latitudes, if you want a social gathering, the happy hour is perfect and take advantage of the price cuts with the appetizers, but if you want a quiet sit down dinner atmosphere, you might not want to go here. The place is similar to Miller's. The prices are high so in this climate of high inflation, what in the world was Latitudes thinking when they opened their restaurant. They are a chain with 2 locations in Virginia, I hope they are doing better. I don't think Latitudes fits into the Bel Air, area. I think we need a more modest restaurant that gives better value for the money.
On a scale of 1=10 with 10 being excellent, I give Latitudes  a "4" rating

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