Ackerly's Grill & Galley Restaurant — Restaurant in Alton

A Mixed First Impression at Ackerly's Grill & Galley Restaurant

I recently dined at Ackerly's Grill & Galley Restaurant, a place I've been eager to try for its reputed seafood offerings and living right down the road. With entrées averaging around $20, I anticipated a delightful culinary experience.

Ambiance and First Impressions

Upon entering, we chose to sit in the quieter dining area to the left, seeking a more secluded atmosphere away from the bustling bar and main dining space. The area was peaceful but could benefit from brighter lighting, as the dim, yellowish hue didn't quite complement the setting. However, the restaurant's cleanliness was impressive. The high ceilings and hanging lights were spotless, free from any dust or cobwebs—a detail that didn't go unnoticed and is often overlooked in similar establishments.

Menu Limitations and Appetizer

Our dining experience hit a snag early on when our server informed us that several key menu items were unavailable: haddock, pork, short ribs, meatballs, and lobster. This was disappointing, especially since I was craving haddock—the primary reason for choosing a seafood restaurant. Undeterred, we decided to start with the fried pickles appetizer while re-evaluating our entrée choices.

The fried pickles arrived after about 30 minutes. While the wait was longer than expected, the generous portion size compensated for it. The pickles were perfectly breaded and came with a dipping sauce that I absolutely loved, though my companion didn't share the same enthusiasm, leaving more for me to enjoy.

Entrées and Service Observations

For the main course, I opted for the steak and cheese sandwich, requesting extra veggies. My companion chose a basic cheeseburger, specifying medium-rare doneness and no onions or tomatoes.

Unfortunately, our experience with the service was less than ideal. Despite being seated within view, our server seemed preoccupied, frequently tending to other tables that arrived and ordered after us. It was disheartening to see those parties receive their meals before us. At times, our server appeared frazzled, possibly overworked, often pacing around the front area or conversing with other staff members instead of checking on us. This made it challenging to request drink refills or updates on our meals.

When our entrées finally arrived, there were several issues. The cheeseburger was cooked medium to medium-well instead of the requested medium-rare and still included the onions and tomatoes we had asked to be omitted. My steak and cheese sandwich looked underwhelming at first glance. It lacked the extra veggies I'd requested, suggesting that our customizations were overlooked. Additionally, I was expecting shaved steak but received a different preparation, which might have been my oversight in not reading the menu thoroughly.

While the steak and cheese sandwich wasn't bad, it didn't fully satisfy my craving. It left me wishing for better attention to detail, both in the kitchen's execution and in the service provided.

Final Thoughts

Overall, my first visit to Ackerly's Grill & Galley Restaurant was a mix of highs and lows. The cleanliness of the establishment and the generous appetizer portions show promise. However, the unavailability of key menu items, the service hiccups, and the meal inconsistencies were disappointing.

I believe in giving places a second chance, especially when potential is evident. I'll be returning soon, hopeful that this experience was an exception and that the next visit will align more closely with the restaurant's reputation. Everyone can have an off day, and I'm optimistic that Ackerly's will deliver a more enjoyable dining...

If you are gonna say on your website that you do take out your staff should not be hanging up the phone on customer continously. Just tell me that your too busy for take out! But now you've lost a local customer due to that lack of basic decency towards a customer that comes in regularly. *In response to the response of my review. I was on a land line in Barnstead and each time I called which was 7 times in total over the course of an hour, someone on your staff picked up the phone and I could hear the noise of the restaurant in the background and then it was hung up. What you should be asking yourself as an owner is why didn't your staff mention to you that someone kept calling over and over at about 7 times if not more? ( my husband said it was 9 times) You would think whoever's watching your phones would be irritated and say something if a person was calling and hang up or as you suggested, call drops? And just to let you know, I love your food! We eat there min every two weeks and I'm writing this review because this is not the first time this has happened! Your restuarant is busy because you have great food! Unfortunately You may also have an employee who is decided for you, how much business you do on a Saturday night.Thank you for the response, as the owner it shows that you care.

Update.*your response was appreciated and makes sense. One thing I would like to apologize for is that I should have gone to you first in person and instead was frustrated by my experience and thought the worst of your staff. I have changed my review due to being in the wrong in the way I handled this. In all honesty it's easier but cowardly of me to put a review instead of giving you, in person the opportunity to rectify or investigate the issues. Thankyou for having a restaurant that is one of the best in the...

We used to love Ackerly's. We ate there regularly and also brought lots of friends there. Always had a great meal. Since Covid, we stopped eating in restaurants but just recently started getting takeout again. Picked up a meal tonight and it was awful. I got the Seafood Creme Rosa, which I've had there many times and always loved. It was one of the worst meals I've ever had. It was an odd orange color (not the typical creme rosa, looked similar to Chef Boyardee!) and had a very strange medicinal taste of some sort. The shrimp that was in it was overcooked and dry. I picked out the shrimp and the small scallops and threw the entire pasta in the trash. The garlic bread had been packed inside the takeout dish with the pasta and thus was soggy. I threw it away after taking a bite. The stuffed mushrooms had a dry bread crumb mix on top with a tiny bit of dry chopped up seafood, possibly clams, I scraped off the stuffing and just ate the overcooked mushrooms. My husband's black and blue steak was okay and cooked properly so he gave me half of his dinner. So sad because we had been really looking forward to the type of meals we used to...