Tom F.
Yelp
Oh boy, have times changed. This restaurant, once our favorite, is no more. We've been coming here for over 25 years, but new ownership in the past couple of years has driven prices up, reduced portions, and killed the quality. Just look at this image--supposed to be Boneless Grilled Chicken and Baked Shrimp. The grilled chicken is smaller than the cup of mashed potatoes.
We arrived on the hour during a not-so-busy evening. We were seated within 5 minutes, but then we sat for 25 minutes before anyone came to us. We received two dinner rolls, and they were hard. The waitress took our drink order, but I was ready to order food too. She left and came back 5 minutes later with our drinks, then left again to take the order of another table that came in after us. Another 5 minutes later, she returned. So, 35 minutes in, and we finally got our order in.
It wasn't busy this August 30, 2024 Friday evening at 6pm. The middle room had only 5 tables filled, with another 5 open. The side room with the salad bar had a few tables in use and the rest empty. There was no reason for the slow service.
We got the side salad as part of the meal. Not much to choose from--just salad, cucumbers, and some pasta. After eating the salad, we waited and waited. Another 30 minutes passed, and people who came after us were already eating. Three tables that came after us were served and eating a lot of food.
Our meals finally came out 40 minutes after we ordered. The grilled chicken was cold, hard, and terrible. The mashed potatoes were cold. The shrimp was decent but there were only four shrimp on the plate.
When the waitress came back around 15 minutes later, she asked about our meal. I told her it wasn't good. She just wanted to give me more food. We'd been there over an hour, and I didn't want to wait another 30 minutes for an overcooked meal. The chicken was so dry it scratched my esophagus going down. I drank half my cup of water because it was so dry and I thought I'd choke. I didn't eat most of the food because it was cooked wrong.
That was a $21.99 meal, and it was honestly the worst meal I've had at this restaurant. The 15% tip was very generous and not what I should have paid since the attention wasn't there tonight. 90 minutes later, we paid the bill and left.
Sadly, we will not return. There are plenty of other restaurants around that will be better choices. The owner came out at one point and didn't even come up to us, just looked at us. He ran over to an elderly couple to accommodate their favorite spot but had to hurry up the people at that table too. That was very rude of the waitress to go over to where the couple were sitting and put pressure on them to hurry up and eat so that an elderly couple could sit at their favorite seat. Put them at another seat since there were plenty open.
This owner is destroying the reputation of this business. If they're going to hike up prices and cut portions, they should at least offer something new and exciting on the menu. Keeping the same menu for over 20 years while doubling prices and reducing quantity is a recipe for disaster. It's no wonder loyal customers are frustrated. Maybe a complete rebranding with a fresh menu would help, but it seems like they've got a lot of work to do to win back longtime customers trust.