The House at Gatewood — Attraction in Hillsborough

We gave them another try after not going for over a year. COVID... . The restaurant was less crowded, but also much better managed and organized. Our server was very busy but efficient and he did a great job and had some support from others. The food was also ok. I'm upping this to 4 stars. Nice improvement!

Old 3 star review starts here: On a warm, sit outside type of evening, the House at Gatewood has a very nice atmosphere. Unfortunately, because it's the only restaurant in our area that has a setting like this, they seem to have decided to neglect service and convenience. They also allowed the quality of their food to deteriorate significantly since they first opened. At least they appear to have allowed that if our last visit was any indication. Their other mistake is that they seem to allow smoking at the outside tables, or if they don't allow it, they haven't taught their staff to mention it isn't allowed to patrons. The issue we had with service, is that the staff does not seem to have any system in place to keep track of what table gets what order outside or when drinks from the bar are ready. We were offered entrees that were for other tables three times while we sat and waited for our meal. We also waited 30 minutes for our first round of drinks, and just as long for the second. If you walk up to the bar, you can get a drink in a few minutes. If you order from your table, you won't. We were told the bar and the kitchen were backed up. I guess they prioritize the people who walk up, which is logical, but the variance is a bit extreme in this case. We've also found that the kitchen can't prepare even appetizer orders in less than an hour.

Having said all that, we did have a very nice 2 1/2 hour dinner visit. It's a nice location, the weather was perfect, and we were with friends. Also, to be fair to the staff, I will say that our waitress, while overworked, was pleasant, as were the rest of the staff we interacted with.

All the problems I see with The House at Gatewood, are related to management. Their decision not to allow reservations for any parties under 10 appears to be a way to get you to sit and wait for a very long time. I understand they want you to keep ordering drinks so they can make money, but they have pushed that too far. The fact that they haven't come up with a system to organize and keep track of table orders is surprising and disappointing. The quality of the food has previously been okay, but was never a reason to visit the restaurant. On this last visit, our third, it was a reason not to visit. They appear to be relying on the uniqueness of the setting and lack of restaurant competition in Hillsborough rather than maintaining the quality of food, working to provide good service, and making a visit convenient. The setting won't carry them indefinitely. If it's raining or cold, or if you don't want to sit outside where people may be smoking, there are better choices. We've been three times, and during this last visit the group consensus was that we will give them a few months to improve before we consider going back again. So we aren't ruling them out. We're just hoping...

BEWARE, FUTURE BRIDES! I usually don't write reviews, but I want to inform others about The House at Gatewood's unprofessional and insensitive owners.

Earlier last year, I met the owners, Jen and Ron, to discuss having my dream wedding at their restaurant in December. As Covid cases worsened, we decided to keep the original date in December but keep the ceremony small and push our big wedding to November 2022. Jen and Ron agreed, so we proceeded to put a deposit down to save the date. Well, to put it bluntly, your deposit is entirely useless.

To further elaborate, Jen won't contact you as the bride. Instead, she texted, not called, my mom in March to deliver this ridiculous news: "We need to discuss the date in November. Unfortunately, we can no longer do 11/5 or that weekend. We can either change the date or give your deposit back. However, the restaurant won't be useable that weekend."

First and foremost, have the decency to call me, the bride, about this news, not my mom. Secondly, please explain how you define "won't be useable" when it comes to a venue? When we asked Jen to explain what "won't be useable" meant, she wouldn't respond. We have concluded they probably had another bride or event that wanted their space for the entire weekend. Jen decided to be selfish and take the event with more dollar signs than consider someone's feelings.

So here I am today with no wedding and my dream dress hanging in my closet and facing the expenses of my photographer, DJ, and florist. My advice to Jen and Ron is to think about who you hurt, especially as business owners. You have kids of your own, so I hope they don't have to face the heartbreak I'm dealing with today.

Now when I think about it, you NEVER even apologized. Future brides leave it to the professional because the owners are far from professional and...

Wow! This well kept secret scores big! Another place in Hillsborough you can get oysters! I saw the Seafood display at the bar and had to get some. Peel and shrimp cooked and chilled perfectly. And the cocktail sauce packed just enough punch. I decided to go with our waitresses recommendation, the Chefs Specialty as she described it. Brisket by the pound. I laughingly only ordered one pound, ate every last morsel! The tangy sauce they put on the side was the perfect compliment to the smoky beef that had that incredible crust on the outside but so nice and moist inside. My wife went with the Cornmeal Freid Catfish, gluten free by the way. Crispy outside moist on the inside,she loved it. Even though I was deeply involved with my pounder, I managed to swipe a couple bites of fish, very tasty. The atmosphere was very nice. Uniquely farmhouse decorated and very clean. They have a 100% on their wall! It was wet outside from the rain but it looked like a real nice place to dine outside, fire pit and all. I saw an Egg type grill out there too! You'll see by my other reviews, I like good food and I'm not one to complain much,but I am not easily impressed. House at Gatewood, welcome to Orange County! Keep doing what...