Adele’s

The food at Adele’s was good but the customer service was non-​existant.
I’m a UMD staff member who ate at Adele’s with my colleague today. We went to Adele’s with the intention of using a buy one get one free coupon from a staff flyer. The coupon did not have any expiration date on it but when we went to pay, we were told by our server and then her supervisor that the coupon expired in November and they could no longer accept it. Their rationale being that the top part of the flyer (the part you tear the coupon off of) stated that the coupon was only good for November. This was not printed on the coupon itself. If it were, I would have known that it expired and I wouldn’t have tried to use it.
The supervisor was not interested in discussing the matter with us, only stating his position and walking away. As a staff member, I like to support UMD run establishments, like Adele’s. However, I’m too put off by the lack of customer service to consider going back. I have to question if my colleague and I received poor treatment because they assumed we were students (we are not nor should students be treated differently) or if it was something else. What would Adele’s have lost if they let us use the coupon? $ 15? What would Adele’s have gained if they let us use it? Continued customers. I hope that Adele’s reads this review and reconsiders a) how they treat students vs staff/​faculty, b) what customer service actually is, and c) how to make coupons that clearly state the terms and conditions so that there are no «miscommunications».

We came here with a group and got a table near the window. They never brought us any food or even water until we called them out.
Pretty sad to admit I’m a UMD graduate.

(2.5 stars) I only go to Adele’s when it’s the end of the school year to get rid of my dining points. I would NEVER go here if I wasn’t a student and actually had to pay with money. Very subpar food and awful service.
The only reason why this place gets stars is for the Truffle and the iconic UMD glass that you can take home.

Don’t come here unless you have a lot of extra dining points. Food is gross and inconsistent. Way overpriced. Smith Island cake is decent. One waitress gave herself a 77.00 tip instead of a 7 tip that was on the receipt… Needless to say he called his card company and declined the charge. Clear racial bias by white female hosts when it came to seating parties. I have gone with friends twice and been discriminated against.

Thursday’s Prime Rib is the best. Crab Dip & Toasted Ravioli are pretty good appetizers. Smith island cake is the best dessert :)

«Wish I could give it zero stars blah blah blah.» But seriously Adele’s is complete garbage and I’m reasonably sure it was only established to rid students of their meal points and deceive them into thinking its drastically better than the dining halls (it isn’t). I guess it also provides a decent amount of student employment, which may be the only positive thing I can say. The furniture, carpet, and decorations are all something you’d find in a cheap hotel lobby.
Not saying this is true of all waiters there, but it was almost like ours was trying to get us to leave before the food ever came. He was completely inept and made the experience awful. At one point, after half an hour with an empty cup, I got up and filled my own.
«Stop giving the guy a hard time. You couldn’t do his job any better.» You’re right, I couldn’t. THAT’S WHY I DIDN’T TRY TO BECOME A FUCKING WAITER.
Ever picked up what you thought was your own cold beer, taken a sip, and realized that it was someone else’s half empty, room temperature, flat beer? That’s what it was like digging into my plate of pasta. Coincidentally, our crab dip appetizer was served at about the temperature I like my beer to be.
In closing, I warn all parents taking their freshman children to dinner to stay as far away from Adele’s as possible. Just because it’s on campus and convenient, does not mean it’s worth spending money on. You might be wasting your money on their tuition, but don’t waste more of it at Adele’s.

If you have dining points saved up, you have family visiting, or there’s a special someone you want to have a relatively fancy dinner with but still be on campus, then Adele’s is the perfect spot. I loved the view of the Shipley Field from Adele’s. Be it with family or friends, I always had a good time at the restaurant. I thought the menu also had a good variety. If you are a Terp, you must dine at Adele’s at least once before graduation. :)

I was at Adele’s (or the building that holds the café, student union and etc.) for the Conference on Racial Identity Development. We (various academic researchers, of varying capacities) rotated several rooms on the third floor. The rooms appeared clean and the maintenance crew were pleasant and efficient. The catering crew (which was from the UMD kitchen) were friendly and surprisingly served pretty good food. There was a chicken, fish and veggie option that hardly anyone expected to come back for second helpings of, but found their way back as the dessert made a grand entrance.
Since I can only review the service and facility, Ill skip the boring details about how one of the researchers dropped the f-​bomb during a panel discussion of inequalities, WP (you can message me about the WP reference if you’re really interested) and minority empowerment.
Overall, it was a great conference experience, improved with the efficiency and hospitable qualities of the employees.

heard great things.
food was not that great
service was super slow.
would not go here if i had to pay.

I know most people don’t treat this as a real restaurant, but Adele’s certainly has its strong points that I would love to give it credit for.
First off, there are two spectacular vegetarian dishes: the mushroom ravioli and the home-​made veggie burger. Both of my non-​vegetarian roommates will even order the veggie burger instead of a real one, it’s that good. The mushroom ravioli can even be ordered to go, a major hit on my meal points.
Speaking of points, not using real money is a plus; but remember, you have to bring real money for the tip!
For non-​vegetarians: my roomies say the crab dip is addictive, and some dishes to try are the Chesapeake Alfredo and the jambalaya. For dessert, I suggest the Smith Island cake, because it’s the state dessert! How many chances do you get to try that?
While the wait may often be long, the service itself is satisfactory. Most of the waiters tend to be knowledgable on the food, such as the dietary restraints. Go early in the semester and the wait will be minimal to none, but always avoid Adele’s during the last few weeks of the semester: the wait can be over an hour long and the food will be hastily prepared.

Terrible service and alright food. The only way it can possibly stay in business is by taking advantageous of a fresh crop of unsuspecting victims every year and students who have extra dinning points.

«I wanna go somewhere nicer with him for dinner. We’ve been seeing each other for like, three weeks, mostly at frat parties or like, in passing on our way to class, but still. I think it’s like, getting serious.»
«Where you gonna go?»
«I-​D-​K. Like, somewhere nice, ya know? Classy.»
«Adele’s.»
“Ohmigah, you’re so right!“
This is the conversation I imagine many Terps having when deciding when to go to Adele’s. Adele’s is the «fancy» restaurant on campus that students go to during the end of the semester to use up their dining plan points, or to treat themselves to a nice meal mid-​semester, or to take their parents to lunch when they visit, or to take someone out on a date.
There are a lot of junk reviews here on Unilocal for Adele’s, namely 2– and 3-​star reviews, but it’s not that bad. For a college kid used to spending near-​to-​nothing on food and eats college cafeteria food most of the time, Adele’s is really great.
At night, it packs with hungry students. Service is kind of slow, so you’re making a commitment when going to Adele’s to eat. I go with bigger groups of people, usually with five others, and it takes quite some time for the food to come out. However, when with just one other person, it’s much faster. I guess that’s a given at all restaurants, though.
The food, as I said, is good. The crab dip is INCREDIBLE. I repeat, INCREDIBLE. I love it. It is so warm and smooth and creamy and buttery and crabby OMGI Seriously so great. The garlic mashed potatoes are amazing also, definitely substitute them in instead of fries! Most of the stuff is really great, definitely a good place for food.
WOW, talk about dessert. The Maryland Trough is the way to go. You get a HUGE trough of ice cream, brownies, whipped cream, toppings, etc. It’s $ 21.99 with the souvenir glass trough, but you can request no trough and they actually give you more and it’s in a big bowl and it only costs $ 7.99. Really delicious way to end the meal. Also filling.
Adele’s supports Terps. Adele’s, you have a special place in my heart.

I don’t know where people are getting 3 and 4 stars for this place — they must eat at some real dumps where they live. I’d be embarrassed to take visitors and faculty candidates to this place. The service was okay, and pretty much the only reason I’m giving it 2 stars, but nothing would make it a 4 star restaurant. The burger I got could probably be used as a hockey puck. It was also cold because it was sitting out for a while before it was served to me. It also took about an hour for our food to get served to us.

It breaks my heart to give Adeles 3 stars, but truth is I’d never spend real money here… good thing that’s not what it’s meant for though!
This is the only place you’ll find college students, wearing sweatpants and flipflops, eating a steak and lobster dish– pretty funny if you take a minute to look around.
Their appetizers are definitely the best bet in terms of menu items. They’ve got great crab dip, spring rolls, and portobello quesadillas… not what you’d expect from an on-​campus restaurant!
Service can be slow and the staff isn’t always too friendly, especially around the end of a semester when students are trying to use up their dining points. But hey! We’re all students here so no hard feelings, right?

Why would you ever eat here when you could eat at 251 North?

While visiting my daughter on campus, we had dinner at Adele’s. I am giving this place 4 stars because it is located on University of Maryland’s campus and the food is great. The atmosphere and food is that of a 4 star restaurant. There were plenty of students dining there. When I went to college we only had cafeteria food, so I was surprised. I had the crab dip (appetizer) flank steak, mash potato, garden salad, and apple cobbler with ice cream (made in the dairy on campus). Our waiter was just okay and her service was not up to the standards of that type of restaurant. I will give her 2 stars. she needed some fine tuning in the” Art of Serving”.

Adele’s is the one «nice» restaurant on the campus of UMD at College Park. Due to College Park’s lack of any viable option for a business-​casual meal that wouldn’t embarrass the host, Adele’s is the go-​to place for interview lunches and parental visits.
Renovated around 2002, its menu reflects a turn of the millennium sensibility that already feels tired and out-​dated (remember the lobster ravioli fad?). Since I’ve actually experienced the pre-​2002 Adele, I have a strong suspicion that the current menu may well last until the second coming.
The food consists of mostly uninspired American fare with pseudo ethnic fusion aspirations. As another reviewer advised: stick with simple dishes like pasta and steak.

Would I EVER spend real money here? No.
Would I spend my extra dining bucks here? Yes.
Adele’s is the place to go when you are tired of the oh so divine food from the wonderful dining halls of UMD.
This year they changed up the menu and got rid of many of my favorite desserts like the lava cake and cookie pizza.
Most of the food here is a hit or miss. To be safe stick with the pasta and steak dishes, they are all pretty decent. The fried mozzarella appetizer is a good pick.
Don’t forget to purchase the $ 25 brownie bowl, it’s big enough to share for 4+ people. You get to keep the giant pimp cup when you are done.
If you do go to adele’s go before 5pm, or else there will be a LONG wait.
The service of this restaurant needs to improve. It takes them forever to get food out.

I used to work here. Food was better back then. But it’s still ok, I guess. I like to imagine everybody in the kitchen running around panicked without my fearless leadership.
There are some serious problems with wait times during «cut weeks» when freshmen’s dining points expire. That’s when every idiot on campus descends on us like ravenous wolves to order well done steaks and brownie bowls. The kitchen is not nearly large enough to accommodate the huge dining room and sudden influx so tickets accumulate really fast and it’s a hot mess. I don’t recommend coming then.
All other times, try the crab cakes or chesapeake alfredo.
The flat iron steak is pretty annoying to make. So don’t order that.