Oxbow Inn — Hotel in Town of Arietta

We visit the Oxbow Inn several times a year. The food is consistently good and they have a nice selection of draft beer. However when we received the bill of 192.00 for 9 of us, there was a service charge of 6.75 added to the bill. I asked the waitress what the charge was for. She said that we didn't pay cash so they added a service fee. As we left, I mentioned it to the bartender who has worked there for a while and recognized us. I mentioned that it would be nice if we were notified ahead of time we would have to pay extra. I pointed out that it is somewhat disengenous to charge extra without the waitress telling me. She said it's on the menu. It actually says on the front that the prices are for cash. It should actually be on the bill as the front page of the menu has only the name and address of the restaurant with no other pertinent information so most likely people will just open the menu without looking at the front. Just kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth of an otherwise nice place.

The owner response is posted below. However the point seemed to be missed that the notice is not posted in a spot most people would normally look. It is posted on the front page of the menu and other places in the restaurant. I had the cash with me, but since it was a party for a family member, I paid the bill. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it and if I started counting cash at the table, my family would have insisted on chipping in and I didn't want that to happen. I wish the waitresses would notify their customers as this isn't standard practice at most restaurants. Most restaurants accept credit and debit cards because it increases their business. Unfortunately I feel like I am making a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be. It just should be posted on the bill or on the front of the bill folder where people actually look when they...

My experience at this restaurant has always been amazing. I actually am both an employee and a frequent customer at the Oxbow. The owner works hard, can do every job in the restaurant, and is a pleasure to work for. I'm writing this review in support of her, the restaurant, and all of the hard working employees. Too often we get the bad review from the disgruntled customer who seems kind in person and then rips the restaurant apart on this platform. A man did this very thing last night. Does he realize that we are normally closed in October/November and that we are working with limited staff/menu to try to keep a restaurant open in our town during the slow season? Obviously he is not a local or a beloved regular vacationer.

This man came in, was seated immediately, but was hard to please. He was unhappy with the fact that fish fry came out more quickly than his chicken. He did have to wait a few minutes. We were down a cook all evening since our owner allowed the cook to attend a funeral and she herself stepped in to cook all night by herself. We have cameras, this man did not wait the 30 minutes he claims he did. This man was also unhappy that his sodas were not free refills. He had to pay for both of the sodas that he drank. Lastly, in his review he was displeased that his credit card company charges a service fee. Is this unfair of credit card companies? It sure is, but use cash like the rest of the people that are annoyed by the service fee. We small business are not in a position to pay your credit card usage fees.

In retaliation to his "terrible" experience, Jeff left us an awful review and tipped the waitress 8%. All I hear about is how young people out there aren't working hard.... well... this waitress is a hard working full time student going to college. Hopefully she will be able to use your tip to purchase a...

Pros: beautiful location, lovely atmosphere/ambiance, clean and well maintained. The owner(s) clearly invest in the establishment.

Cons: food quality/flavor is wildly inconsistent. Party of seven last evening (8/23/25): those who ordered pasta dishes were reasonably pleased, although the prices of these dishes were too high. This isn’t fine dining- a plate of riggies can be made for $6-7 depending on ingredients used. Charging $25- especially with Utica (and it’s far superior offerings) being just 45 mins down the road was pretty shocking. One party member ordered a Reuben and he was pleased, although the garlic Parmesan fries were disgustingly over seasoned. The two member of the party who ordered fish and chips were MASSIVELY disappointed. The fish was clearly fried and frozen at the factory where it was produced. We’re talking bottom-shelf, Walmart quality, frozen fish. Advertised as “battered cod”. Yeah…no. This was twice or thrice fried minced pollock. Terrible. The accompanying french fries were similarly atrocious. Twice fried to reheat what may have been a palatable offering two hours earlier (we arrived at 740pm and were finally seated at pushing 830). We got the scraps- clearly. Aside from that- the experience was ok. The waitress was pleasant but lacked any sort of human personality. She also left for the day prior to the conclusion of our visit- apparently a family matter. That was totally understandable. What was absolutely NOT understandable was that she did not- even once- inquire about our feelings about the food. That was a huge red flag.

Bottom line: cute place. Beautiful bar. Come here to get cocked and nibble on the offerings- don’t arrive sober and remain sober and expect...