Sharon James Cellars — Attraction in Newbury Township

Let me start out by saying that Sharon James Winery has really been a great place to go early in the evening for wine and food. The prices are very reasonable and the wines are delicious. Last winter, my lady friend and I enjoyed some of the best food Geauga County has to offer. It is a special place, and the atmosphere is totally amazing! Coming from the East Coast, I know good fresh seafood, and Sharon James did not disappoint. I had a shrimp diavolo dish with linguini on that was simply divine! The shrimp just melted in my mouth. The flavor was outstanding! We have visited a few times since then and always had great food and good service. However, I am afraid to report that on our last visit, things had slipped. The summer specials board had significantly less pasta dishes on it. There was a real lack of variety in the pasta selection. I did order the pasta and meatballs on the board, but no linguini, just cavatelli. It was good, however, but couldn't hold a candle to the Shrimp Diavolo. Secondly, service had severely slipped. It took us about 15 minutes to place our order, and the wait time was close to 35 minutes. We were tired and also hungry. When we tried to get the attention of our server to refill our wine glasses,she could not be found? I do know that the business was handling a larger engagement outside in their patio area, but I felt a complete inadequate response from the service in the restaurant. The food was tasty and good. When the time came to order dessert, the server took our order, and it took another 20 minutes before I had to get up from my table to intercept a server to see about our dessert order?? They served the dessert, and all efforts were made to pay the bill at this time, as my friend and I wanted to leave for the evening. My big takeaway... Sharon James needs to bring back the spectacular menu they had on pasta nights, and they need to adequately prepare to increase staff during special events. Sadly, at this point, I can not...

I tried to make reservations here for a group of 7 and was told that all reservations had been given out, but we could show up as walk-ins to be seated "first come, first served." I let my friends know and we decided to try for a table anyway, knowing that we might need a plan B. We all showed up within a 10 minute time frame. There was actually a large table available in the pavilion, which was in a very nice setting and close to the lovely patio. Each of my friends was directed there as she showed up. However, the hostess was horribly rude to each person separately, and acted put out to have to explain that we needed to go inside to order food and wine. Having no outdoor servers is not unusual for an Ohio winery, but she made it sound like we were being punished for not having reservations. We were all pretty annoyed by the time everyone had gotten there. The music was also really bad. It was enough to put us to sleep...very slow and boring, but not the type you can connect to emotionally. Overall, our brief experience was so uninspiring that we ended up just leaving without ordering anything, and going across the street to Zeppes, where they also have a really nice patio, the waitress was thrilled to have the business of 7 ladies looking to have dinner and drinks, and the music was lively for a Saturday night. I might try going here again at some point (and I will update my review if I do), but I will probably think of other, more fun places before I even remember about this place. They need to give their employees lessons on etiquette (or make them work for tips so that they care about being nice to the customers). They also need to get in good bands that bring a fun atmosphere. If I want to be put to sleep while drinking wine, I will just stay home and enjoy...

Please do not go here if you have children. It is NOT a family friendly establishment. The GM aggressively asked (so the whole patio could hear) that a child in our party stop tapping on the heater. 30 seconds later he came back clearly angry that the child was near the Hostas and was combatively arguing with my wife and friend. His demeanor and approach was very unprofessional. I then proceeded to go inside and get the check so we could leave. The waitresses were saying they were so very sorry which I responded thank you and it was ridiculous. The GM then overheard me behind the bar and shouts "What is ridiculous!?!". I then responded that they are only children. Then the other GM approaches me and justifies their actions by saying this is a classy establishment. She says this as the Co-GM is yelling at me from behind the bar in his cut off t-shirt. This was quite honestly the worst customer service dining experience I have ever had and upsetting for our family and friends. I do want to thank the waitresses and chef that came up to us an apologized for the actions of the GM. The food was also good and the grounds were very nice (I just wish families were welcome to...