Elm Square Oyster Co. — Restaurant in Andover

We were recommended Elm Square Oyster Co., so we gave them a try. Upon arrival and unaware of the lack of parking, we had to street park a block away. After entering, we were asked if we had a reservation, we did not, but luckily they were able to seat us. They brought us to our corner table in the back room. We were given water by the hostess and she said your waiter will be here shortly. So there we sat for roughly 20 mins until he showed up to take our drink order. After taking our order it took another 20+ mins to receive them. He asked if we wanted to try any oysters, we informed him we didn't have the Oyster menu, so he said I'll go grab you one. Another 20 mins later he returned and asked us if we knew what we wanted? I replied, the Oyster menu! He apologized and ran off to get it. When he returned, we gave our complete order. Now we have been here an hour and have no food. The Oysters finally showed up, and I must say were the smallest Oysters I've ever had in my life. Our first plate arrived, and it was given to my girlfriend saying it was her bisque. 10 mins later Another waiter shows up and said that was for another table, but she had started eating it so they left it. Then our waiter returned and said that was for another table but it's the same thing I had ordered, and her bisque was on the way along with my son's burger. They slid the plate to me, and at this time I'm mortified. There were 3 scallops and 3 tiny tiny pieces of pork belly in a bed of cream corn for $48. 😆 I ate the entire plate before my girlfriend and our son's food had come out. The burger looked good, She said her bisque was good, we also got crispy clams that weren't all that crispy at all. And what little was on my plate did actually taste good. As far as food, it tasted good. However, they dropped the ball with service, leaving us in a corner with little to no customer service for far to long, bringing the wrong plate to the wrong table at the wrong time, most plates were extremely over priced for what you got. The staff looked chaotic and confused. At this point, I'm slightly aggravated so we asked for the check. We left there almost 2 hours after arriving and I was starving. I'm still undecided whether or not to give them another chance, but it's not...

A place where everyone knows your name. Truly. From day one we had an amazing experience. We were looking just for a good meal out and got so much more. Our first time there was excellent- the owner came to our table (not because of a complaint but because that’s what she does) she was friendly and chatting with us as well as all the other staff. We left saying “this is a perfect spot for a special occasion dinner that you don’t have to go to Boston for”…… & then BOOM! We’re regulars 😂 They got us hooked! Turns out we want fantastic food at a reasonable price all the time & they have NEVER disappointed us. I also feel it’s very important to mention that during COVID they were FABULOUS Roseanne really cares so much for her clientele and most importantly her staff. This was one of the few places we felt so safe at to eat during the pandemic. They were all so good about cleaning/ seat spacing (you literally saw her measuring to make make sure the spacing was correct). We all know restaurants took a big hit during this time- but safety was her biggest priority- and kept you up to date on social media. And if you wondered if the food / service quality changed during the pandemic - NOPE -...

Went here last night for the first time ever. My entree was wrong and they did not do anything to rush fixing it (it was pasta that wasn't supposed to have meat in it). There was no apology while I sat with no food for 20 minutes. Then when the bill came, I asked if I would be compensated for the error/wait and I was met with dumbfounded shock by the bartender/server to which I replied "you are supposed to make things right with the customer" and then I was told "don't get mad about it!" WOW. I cannot ever say that I have ever experienced customer service as bad as that in any restaurant.....ever. The service overall was quite slow from the start but we kind of let that go, the food (appetizer, salad) was overall pretty good, drinks were creative, the atmosphere is nice but I won't ever go back based on that interaction as my business is clearly not appreciated.

Follow up note: I received a personal message from the owner of the restaurant, saying that’s not how she runs her business and asked me to call her and give them another opportunity to provide better service . I always appreciate when a business makes an effort to make things right. I thought it was important to add this note...