My 95 year old mom and I arrived for a treat out after an appointment in town. The facility was clean and two families as well as another older couple were dining. We arrived 5:45ish on a Thursday afternoon.
The greet staff and the waiter were friendly and helpful. He brought us our water just the way we like it - me a room temperature and he refilled it promptly at the right time.
The Senior Menu was hard to see as I had forgotten my reading glasses and mom is nearly blind. We did ascertain that with our $20 we could each get an item from the Senior menu, which is normally enough for each of us.
Mom took the roast beef with a side salad (nice and big) and mashed potatoes (full of air and a bit runny- two scoops). The roast beef was delicious and very tender. They didn't have french dressing and the portion was very small. She asked for extra gravy as no one serves enough gravy with their meals. There was plenty on her plate. The gravy was tasty.
Not being a fan of roast beef and allergic to wheat and shellfish, I settled for the crispy fish, (I usually order grilled as I don't like crispy) , with a side order of green and yellow beans with garlic butter. The waiter assured me they'd be soft and done- not "chinese". I was only allowed one side. I asked for tartar for my fish and seeing the size serving asked for two more to stretch over the fish. The beans were NOT done and I had two tartar containers of unchewable strings from the beans. The flavor combination was really good.
The fish was good but given the price overall, over priced. If I had scraped off the crunchy (again, no other option for me), I would have had very little to eat.
It was just that serving size was a nice sample. Mom generally has enough left over when we go out to have lunch the next day. I had had a grilled onion all day and would have been content with a full meal such as I usually get when we do go out.
Imagine our shock and dismay when the bill came and we were charged $1.00@ for the gravy, the second salad dressing, and each "extra" tartar sauce. Fortunately, I had an extra $5.00 bill on my person. I usually keep such to help mom with a tip when we go out. I gave the waiter the money for the bill and could do none other than let him keep the change for the tip. He deserved better as company policy is not his fault. He'd done good.
We did speak with him directly about warning us that there was a one dollar charge for sauces as not everyone can see that in the menu. We also spoke with the shift manager about our unhappiness related to our meal and that we were leaving hungry.
We had enjoyed the restaurant replaced by IHOP, and I have enjoyed IHOP in the past. We are glad we tried it, but seriously doubt that we'll be returning to this location. We are far better off to go to a restaurant down the street and use coupons to get $1.00 off a meal deal, although that gets us back to burger and fries or fish baskets.
If you want pancakes, IHOP may be good but not on a limited budget and not for an evening meal. They need to have a grilled option for people not wanting crunchy food and when they say the vegetables are cooked done- they need to be cooked DONE. read more
