Gabrielle Rose
Google
Town used to be one of my favorite restaurants in the area. It was our go-to spot for date nights, visits from family, and special occasions. But after our most recent experience, my husband has no interest in returning, and I left feeling really disappointed.
My in-laws were visiting from Amsterdam to spend time with us and our one-year-old son, and we decided to go to Town for lunch. Since they don’t take reservations, we joined the waitlist and were told it would be about 20 minutes for the next available table. Once they realized we had a dog and would need outdoor seating, they said it could be another 10 to 15 minutes. We were fine with that.
We considered going somewhere else, but when I checked the online waitlist about 20 minutes later, we were listed as first in line. I noticed we were marked as a party of five, even though it was just four adults and a high chair. There were still several other groups listed after us, so we figured we’d be seated shortly. But another 10 minutes went by and everyone else had already been seated while we were still waiting.
At that point, I went in to clarify that we only needed four seats and a high chair. The host explained that they couldn’t place the high chair at any of the available tables because it would block the walking path and be considered a fire hazard. I completely understood the concern, but the patio is set up in two rows of tables. One row faces the street, and the other faces the sidewalk, with a path running in between. We were not asking to place the high chair in the outer sidewalk-facing row. We simply asked to place it in the space between the two table rows, where there was still plenty of room for servers to pass through without issue.
What made this even more confusing is that just a couple of weeks ago, my husband and I had dined here with our son for our wedding anniversary and were seated outside. That day, we did exactly what we were asking to do this time — placed the high chair between two tables in the middle walkway. It was not a problem at all and caused zero issues for staff or guests. No one questioned it then, it was actually offered to us, and it worked out perfectly.
By this point, we had been waiting for 45 minutes, and they still couldn’t give us any estimate on how much longer it would be. There was one large outdoor table that clearly would have worked, but it was still occupied by a group of three who had already paid and were just sitting and chatting. They remained there for at least 20 more minutes. That table seemed to be the only one they were willing to offer us, but there was no effort to turn it over, no suggestion to ask the guests to move to a smaller table, and no alternative options were offered.
We explained again that we had a baby with us who would need to nap soon and asked if we could just place the high chair in the center walkway, like we had before. There was even an empty table across from it, so there would have been more than enough space for staff to pass through. Still, they refused, saying the servers would not have enough room, even though we knew from personal experience that wasn’t the case.
It all just felt unnecessarily rigid and lacking in empathy. We were not asking to bend any major rules, just hoping someone would try to help us find a solution. The lunch rush had slowed and we had been patient, but the unwillingness to accommodate a family with a small child was disheartening.
We eventually left and ate elsewhere. My father-in-law was frustrated and it turned what should have been a lovely family lunch into a disappointing experience. I don’t know if we were asking too much, but the whole interaction made it feel like families with babies are not particularly welcome here.
After years of enjoying this place, it is hard to want to come back.
(Photo showing the experience we had prior - no issues with the high chair in between the two rows of tables, especially around vacant tables)
