Leslie W.
Yelp
Before flying out to MA, I did my research on places to try in the Vineyard. I was really looking forward to eating at the Artcliff, but maybe we went at the worst possible time, I was so disappointed!
I realize that I probably could have gone to the manager to "fix" what I didn't think was right, but much of it was not "fixable." I don't have any reason to believe that the management wasn't worried about "front of house" business, but the lack of guidance for the front was evident, to me.
We went around 10am on a rainy Thursday morning. There were about 20 people waiting on the porch outside. Deb put in her name and we waited outside. I figured maybe 30 minutes to be seated. We waited almost an hour. (It was about 52 minutes, by my watch.)
When inside, they sat us a small 2-person table right inside the front door. Jeff had to sit on a chair on the side of the table, blocking the flow of traffic. The waitress asked him to move up, but there was no place to go! Right then, 2 four-person tables opened up. Rather than move us, we were relegated to the small tables. I didn't mind, but the front door swung open several times and almost smacked me. I am a big man (working on getting smaller). I am 6'2" and weigh over 300 pounds. I was ok with being at a smaller table, especially since we waited so long and I didn't want to wait for a bigger table, but the hostess really could have been more vigilant for situations like this and suggest table changes to accommodate those of us who are larger in size.
A young lady came to pour some coffee, but we didn't have any creamer. Jeff asked the waitress for some, she never brought it. He had to get up to grab it from the counter. The waitress brought the drinks and didn't return.
At one point, the creamer got tipped. I got up to get a rag from the waitress. She didn't even bother to ask what had happened or come to assist us. I was a little stunned. I realize they were busy, but how can you be so busy that you can't check on a probable spill?
Deb and Jeff got their food before me, which I anticipated. Deb got some pancakes that had strawberries baked into them. They looked great. She said that they were "light as air." She also got a corned beef hash for the table. It had big chunks of potato and little chips of corned beef. The corned beef had a great flavor.
Jeff ordered the breakfast enchiladas. They had black beans, eggs, salsa and avocado/guacamole. He liked it. The sauce had a slight vinegar taste to it, which reminded me of Tabasco. He said that the tortillas were a bit hard.
I ordered a frittata, which I figured would take a bit longer, as they are baked. So, when my food came a bit later, I didn't mind. The crock had potatoes on the bottom, some bacon, some tomatoes, scrambled eggs and a bit of melted cheese on top. They may have thrown this into the oven to melt the cheese, but It wasn't a traditional frittata. I was expecting something more like a quiche or thick omelette. It wasn't bad but it wasn't what I was expecting. A few of the potatoes in my dish were burnt solid. A little burnt part adds to the flavor of food, but this was too much. I asked for the multigrain toast. It was good. I asked for a little jam and they brought out a delicious mixed berry jam that was locally made. It had a wonderful flavor, without being too cloying or sticky. A bit more pectin would have made it perfect.
The waitress just wasn't attentive. I find that distressing, as we were paying good money The only time she got attentive was when we asked for the check. Then, she was hovering. I had to ask for refills on my water and iced tea.
I don't know if the time of day or the season was the reason for the slow down, but I don't recommend going when it is busy. I gave it 2 stars for the corned beef hash and the jam. The rest was just mediocre.
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