I'm not even sure where to start with this review. It was with no exception the most bizarre dining experience I have ever had (and I believe my companions would agree). Was out at Sodus visiting with a friend. She was entertaining a friend visiting from England. We tried to get a table at a different restaurant but had a 90 minute wait to be seated. So we ventured down the street to Dock's Waterfront. You couldn't have asked for a more beautiful view of the bay all open air so made for an even more pleasant location. There were very few people dining there and we were able to get a table easily. A lovely young waitress came to introduce herself and it quickly became apparent that she was quite inexperienced. She handed us the menu but did not give us a drink menu. My friends wanted a Bloody Mary and the waitress needed to ask the bartender if they served them. Since our friend was from overseas was interested in prices so she could compare them against the English currency and asked for a price for the drink and again after consulting the bartender we were told $8 that we would be charged as though a "well drink"
We proceeded to order our food and after a VERY long wait (45 minutes or so) it arrived (again remembering that there were very few other diners) we found this a bit odd. Two of us ordered the salmon, one ordered the Mahi Mahi and the other a wrap. The plating for the two salmon dinners were very different. One person got a large filet and other a teeny piece of fish worthy of two good bites. It was so dramatic that we brought it to the waitresses attention. She was uncertain how to handle it so had to bring another person over whom I assumed to be a manager (we later found out she was the owner). By the time she got there they had started to eat the dinner because we had waited so long we were all very hungry. The manager/owner seemed to be almost annoyed with us and said "what would you like me to do" , putting the onus on us to solve the issue. She offered to make up another dish but considering how long it had taken figured that wasn't a great solution, but it took her up on her offer. The people who ordered the salmon said the dish was very good and had no complaints about the taste.
I ordered the mahi-mahi which was a bit tasteless but the mango relish on top was very good, but was only a small dollop. There was coleslaw on the side and I think some rice. Wasn't completely impressed.
Then the bills arrived...my companions who ordered the bloody Marys were charged $16 per drink They were not loaded ones just a mixed drink, nothing to write home about. We again called the waitress over to question and that's when the "owner" came over with an actual drink menu where they were listed at that price. We told her what her waitress had told us and she started to argue with us Just kept holding up the drink menu and basically saying Too Bad. I questioned why she would not stand by what we were told and she just said NO!!! She then said that if she were to reduce the price it would come out of the waitress's pocket and that "she could buy our drinks". I said that seemed unreasonable and shouldn't be on us because she hadn't properly trained her staff and she proclaimed that "she should know better, she's been there a month". We said that that wasn't going to happen and she stormed off. We had been chatting with the young waitress throughout and she was as sweet as could be, and quite upset over the mistake. At that point, I paid my bill and left. My friends stayed and chatted with her, trying to comfort her as she had gotten quite upset over everything.
This could have been handled very differently. She clearly had improper training, didn't even know the names of wines and every question we asked she had to consult someone else. Because she was so sweet we gave her grace. Unfortunately, her manager humiliated her in front of us and chose to not stand by the prices we were quoted. Such a foolish mistake for a business owner. As now we will go back to Rochester and share the story with our friends. For the small amount of money she would have had to absorb. It would have been worth making it right with us and allowing us to leave with an acknowledgment that she had handled that well. A lesson that was lost on her. Considering that Sodus Point has such a short high season, this seemed like a very foolish error in judgment.
And the story goes on... While I was waiting on the street for my friends to come out of the restaurant, I see the manager and the waitress outside the kitchen door and she is appearing to give her dressing down rather than talking about what went wrong and how to handle things properly in the future. Again, I had to witness the humiliation of this sweet young woman and pray that she has found alternative employment with someone who does not manage by intimidation read more