Rebecca F.
Yelp
The food at Hooper's in Ocean City was fine, but this review is entirely about the service -- specifically our server, Gracen F. -- which was, without exaggeration, the worst service I have ever experienced.
We came in as a party of four and sat down ready for a good meal. Grayson came over after a long wait and we placed our drink and appetizer orders right away: waters, three cocktails, and a pound of steamed shrimp to start. Simple enough.
Thirty minutes later, we had only two waters, a beer, and one cocktail. That's it. My drink didn't arrive until 45 minutes after we sat down. That should have been the first sign of how the evening was going to go.
When we ordered, we made it clear: appetizer first, then entrées. After the delayed drinks, we ordered our main courses. Instead of shrimp, the first thing that came out was... a side of corn. Just a random side dish, dropped at the table with nothing else, no explanation, no drinks, no appetizer. When the shrimp finally arrived, the entrées immediately followed -- but they didn't even come out together. They came out one by one. By the time my meal showed up, one of my friends had already finished theirs.
The pacing was an absolute disaster, and to make it worse, Gracen never once checked in on us. She never asked if things were correct, never asked if we needed anything, and never acknowledged the mistakes. One of the items that came out was wrong, and she looked completely lost -- almost as if she didn't even know what was on the menu. Instead of trying to fix the situation, she just avoided the table.
After the food mess, we sat for another 20 minutes waiting for the check. There was a POS system right next to her station, so it wasn't like she didn't have the tools to speed things up -- she just didn't bother. She was disengaged, inattentive, and frankly not nice throughout the entire evening.
We ended up with a bill of over $200. Despite everything, we still tipped her over 20% because we work in the industry and we understand what it's like. But this? This was beyond just being busy or having an off night. This was careless, unprofessional service that completely ruined what should have been an enjoyable night out.
I truly cannot understand how Gracen F. is employed here. One server's lack of effort and organization took what could have been a great experience and turned it into one of the most frustrating, disappointing restaurant visits I've ever had.
