Old Lyme Inn

This is my first ever review of a restaurant and I am writing this because I was not only disappointed at the lack of service on Mother's Day of all Days but the unprofessional attitude shown to my family. Mother's Day happens every year so this busy day could not come as a surprise. The restaurant was under staffed and the kitchen was overworked. Our party of 7 family members waited Three hours for our pre determined, fixed excessive price, offering less than par meals. Initially we stood for an hour in a hallway waiting for a reserved table. Once seated we waited another hour with water while we requested bread and placed a beverage order. Time passed while we were ignored. Drinks arrived but apparently we had been given our quota of tiny rolls because we never received any more than one each. Our unsatisfactory meal arrived. Picture steaks served with table knives!! I could go on but I suspect by now you have the picture of a very unhappy family. I wish to mention that I am a 78 year old Grandmother and I have never been so insulted by a restaurant or their lack of service in my life. Not even an apology was offered to us. Save yourself the humiliation and Please choose another establishment for your future gatherings. Jane D.
1 7 years ago (15-05-2018)

Came here for Mother's Day 2018, and we knew it would be busy, but our reservation was for 1:30pm and we left at 4:30pm. We waited 40 minutes to be seated, even with our reservation. Every aspect of the meal was incredibly slow. Some parts of our meals were cold, the waters were never filled up, and it was impossible to get drinks. The excuse was "we can't make people eat any faster". If you're not going to provide good service, at least be apologetic about it.
1 7 years ago (13-05-2018)

Very overpriced for the quality of food. Inexperienced waitstaff, and incredibly long wait times. Definitely will not be returning ever again.
1 7 years ago (15-05-2018)

Went for Mother's Day Brunch - so I'll start by saying perhaps they were over-crowed and it affected the overall quality of the meal and service. But I'm going to leave an honest review of my experience and food. The place is beautiful and charming. They had a live jazz-band playing at the perfect noise level (when was the last time you didn't think "it's too loud"?) so kudos on that. Really nice atmosphere. Friendly staff. All good so far. The food was what I"m detracting the stars for. I had the halibut which was completely tasteless on top of green mush with unflavored squishy starch balls. It had no salt, no pepper, no spices, nothing. I could have thrown the whole thing in a blender and spoon-fed it to a hyper-sensitive 5 month old. My husband got the filet-mignon .. which was cooked perfectly through but tasted overpowered by a burning flavor-- I'm suspecting an overuse of liquid smoke, maybe? They had "mac and cheese" on the menu for children, which I ordered (it arrived after the adults finished their meals-- mistake on the kitchen staff's behalf - as I watched the waiter write it correctly on the order)- and they put down a piping hot skillet (they broiled panko crumbs in the plate) in front of my 2 year old who promptly went to grab on. Thank god I saw the mistake coming and averted his fingers. But really?? Who thought that one through? Put an oven-hot plate in front of a child? Ouch. The service was bad- but not because of our friendly waiter- but because of what I believe was an overworked and misguided boss who kept bringing things to our table without telling him, making mistakes, bringing wrong orders, cleaning away silverware without being finished with our meal, etc. It's just bad management style on her behalf. You can see her servers getting frustrated. And anyone who works in the restaurant business will tell you that they don't want other people touching their tables without consultation. We were also served espresso instead of cappuccino- but at that point, we were tired of waiting and wanted to wrap up. So overall, on a non-holiday for lunch .. it might be a nice place to sit out on their outside porch area. But the food has suffered from what I will assume is complacency from the strong reputation of the inn. Bottom line - you need to reevaluate your head chef. You need new blood. It's time, OLI.
3 7 years ago (14-05-2018)

Let's just say - skip it! I would truly give a negative star if that were possible. I cannot believe this restaurant has been in business for a long time. I might have expected this from a restaurant that had just opened and was training staff but at least they would have a manager who you could address. We arrive at 1:30 for a 1:30 reservation and waited until 2:30 to be seated with the comment - how'd it get so late, oh well, we can't make people chew any faster" - what!!! Anyway, got a round of drinks at 3:15 and deperately put in our order. We thought our waitress might have walked out the door but we went hunting and found someone who located her. Our food came around 4 - one member of our party sent received mashed potatoes and veggies that were ice cold- 3 of us ordered filet and no steak knives were on the table and once again, no staff available to ask for help. A woman who might have been a manager or the hostess - not sure - offered to remove one of the meals from the check. This did not happen and when the waitress came to collect - a good 15 minutes later, we explained the check had not been adjusted so she took it and it was changed. We asked her if the gratuity was already included and she said no but further review showed it was clearly a seperate line. i was there with my family and extended family and everyone one of us tolerated the behavior of the staff because we did not want to ruin this gathering for Mom. I would also mention that this was a fixed price menu with only 5 entree selections!!! A well run restaurant would never have this type of problem! Stay away! Hopefully this review will spare others from this horrible experience!!!
1 7 years ago (16-05-2018)