Andrew Long

Review of The Briarhurst Manor

I've had a few days to think about our experience ...

I've had a few days to think about our experience at Briarhurst Manor. We had a reservation for the final night of our summer vacation and we were excited for an elegant experience. The restaurant called us twice in two days to confirm our reservation and to note any dietary needs, which made us even more excited for the experience. It was me, my wife, and our three-year-old son.

Our son is used to dining out with us and we brought his iPad with us so that he would sit quietly through dinner, which he did. My wife and I both ordered the five-course meal, which included a starter, bread service, an intermezzo, entree, and dessert. Starter, drinks, and bread came quickly, though the 'artisan' bread service was three limp pieces of reheated sourdough bread.

Then things went down-hill. As the table next to us, also enjoying a five-course meal, went through their entire service, we waited one hour and fifteen minutes between the starter and the intermezzo. Then it was another hour before our entrees came. My wife's 'prawns' were a little smaller than jumbo shrimp you can buy in the grocery store freezer aisle, and my venison Wellington was overcooked and the pastry soggy. The venison was so hot inside when it arrived, a type of hot that can only be achieved by using a microwave. Our son's sliders, which we ordered with only cheese, came out with all the fixins', which our waiter quickly took back to the kitchen for a redo. It was 45 minutes before they came back.

I ordered the beef tenderloin in place of the microwaved venison Wellington, and it was served on a bed of instant mashed potatoes that were so over-worked that they were an embarrassment to the potatoes and to the tenderloin. After three hours, we asked for dessert to go.

After speaking with the manager, it is my belief that the service was so terrible, and the meal so subpar, because establishments see a family with a child and assume low tips, noisy behavior, and lack of taste. We even confirmed with the one other table seated in our area that our son made no noise and was hardly even noticed during dinner. I felt especially bad for our waiter, David, after speaking with the manager because the manager basically blamed the entire experience on our waiter's lack of experience.

Our meal was comped, though we did pay for, and tip on, a nice bottle of 2017 Caymus Cabernet even though the menu advertised it as a 2009. When I asked about why the menu and the actual bottle were different, the manager again blamed our waiter.

Imitation luxury is how I would describe this experience. An unbelievably elegant setting with beautiful surroundings and terrible food and service. What stands out as even more upsetting from this experience is that the table next to us seemed to have a very fine meal and excellent service.