We booked long in advance for a special Anniversary dinner at Anna's Table last month. We had very much enjoyed the previous owners restaurant for going on 20 years but we were looking forward to the this new venue. Judging from the reviews, many folks have had terrific experiences. Unfortunately our experience was not to par. Although we got there on time and made our reservations many weeks in advance, we were seated at what the server referred to as the "Chef's Table". We asked to be re-seated at one of the other open tables (couples that had not yet arrived as yet or had later reservations), but we were told that they could not do that. As it worked out, the chef's table is more of a kitchen counter. The two chef's made no attempt at all to introduce themselves, nor to communicate in any way.
The wine was nice, and some of the food was really quite good. The petrale in particular was very nice. At the other end of the scale, the crab cakes were very bland and not that good. Perhaps the most unpleasant and disappointing aspect of the dinner was the poor service. Many aspects of the service was more in line with dining at the Screw and Brew pub down the road, then in a nice dining room. By that I mean reaching over folks to pass you plates, same with taking them away, removing plates before all the dish was eaten, hurrying you along, etc. In general, perhaps because we had chosen the 6PM seating, it felt as if we were being rushed out so they could turn the kitchen counter for another seating. We left as soon as we finished our wine. I noted this poor experence on google reviews, and I quickly got a public response from Chef John and Jenny, asking me to contact them to give them an opportunity to welcome us back. I thought that was a nice gesture so I immediately reached back out to them by email and explained in greater detail the situation that had happened on that Sunday night. That was over two weeks ago, and they have not acknowledge my input, nor made any effort to get back to us. Perhaps the public note on google was meant to show their concern to others.
At the end of the day, my suggestion to those making reservations would be ask if the table your are reserving needs to be turned quickly, and secondly, if you wish to have a nice romantic dinner and talk to your partner, then I would suggest that you make note that you do not want to be at what they refer to as a Chef's Table. THe noise from the kitchen is such that you really can not talk to your dining partner. read more