The Alley — Restaurant in Ashland

Just starting off by saying this review is more on the waiter and the drink vs the restaurant and the food. We were at the restaurant on June 19th, 2021 around 7pm. Food we ordered, jalapeno cheese curds, chicken bacon ranch Mac and cheese, and whitefish BLT sandwich with bbq waffle fries. Cheese curds were good. They were frozen ones that were deep fried. Not handmade or anything, but decent. Ranch dipping sauce that menu said was included with them was good. Mac and cheese, hot and fresh and tasted good. BLT sandwich was good. A little dry, could use a little more sauce. Bbq Waffle fries were luke warm and nothing I could taste on them would make me say they were bbq flavor, but I ordered some of that ranch dip for them, so all was good. My wife ordered the regular old fashioned, when she asked what type of brandy was used, the waiter said. I don't know I only drink beer. Then he stood there, after a few seconds he stormed off and went to the bar to ask, and he yelled across the bar and yelled what type they use. I ordered the blackberry old fashioned. Drink menu showed they were supposed to have the luxardo Cherry's, the blackberry drink did, the regular had maraschino cherries. I also ordered the pecan old fashioned. It was the worst drink I ever tried. It tasted like cheap amaretto and a splash of sprite. Not even a garnish. Now comes the reason why I rated so low. Our server, Chris. From the moment we got seated, his tone and answers to any question was like he was bothering him. His answers were either I don't know, or a very short, rude answer. When he delivered our food, he pretty much threw it down on the table and ran away. He never came back to check on us. He didn't greet us, or provide his name. ( We only found out his name as we looked on the receipt) he didn't thank is or even say bye when we left. This all could be at least a little understandable and accepted if they were busy, but they were not. He hid most of the time in the corner under the stairs at the servers station, on his phone or talking and laughing with another server. When we brought up the very bad drink, his reply was "what do you want me to do" I told him I don't want it or anything else. He comes back a few minutes later with the bill and shows that he took it off, and he said he told the manager and his manager said that it was a disgusting drink and that no one ever likes it including the staff. If no one likes it, why do they keep it in the menu? Also when receiving our bill, I noticed they charged me for the ranch sauce that was supposed to be included with the cheese curds. His attitude and un-professional behavior, along with the lack of consistency and things not being what they advertise, makes me want to write this review. We will not be back to this restaurant or any others associated with it. I recommend to...

We dined on Saturday, July 20th, 2024. We were told it would be a 20 minute wait to allow the kitchen to catch up on orders which we understood and appreciated. We were then sat and we ordered right away knowing that it could be a while (they weren't very busy; about half of the tables were empty). We (table of four) had our food less than 30 minutes but discovered very quickly that fries are not included with the burgers (our first sit down dining experience where they weren't included and it's not listed on the menu to forewarn diners). Our waitress (a tall girl who had one other table) rudely snapped at us that they are extra and then walked away before asking my husband if he wanted to order any nor did she refill our sodas. Thankfully another waitress saw our shocked faces and came over, asked us our concern, then took my husband's fries order and two minutes later served him some hot, fresh fries. After that no one asked if we wanted refills (couldn't get our waitresses attention who was standing and talking with her coworkers) nor anything else. My fish was dry (fries were good!), my son's poutine was greasy and salty, and we were left without soft drinks to complete our meals. We finally got our waitresses attention for the bill and waited another ten minutes after asking (again just standing and talking to her coworkers) got her to bring our bill. The menu should state that fries are extra and the wait staff should let patrons know when they order one that the price is the burger only but fries are just an additional $3 and are worth it (we enjoyed them). We were in the area hiking for the weekend but disappointed that our dinner experience started out positive and ended up negative. Grateful the second waitress saw our reaction and covered for our primary waitress who became extremely rude after...

A few years ago their rating would have been 4 to 5 stars. Not even close anymore. A coworker and I ordered the Thai tuna salad from The Alley a few weeks ago. The tuna was cooked only half way. Literally half of the tuna steak was RAW in the center! I called to let them know and the male manager got snarky and told me that is how they serve it. 🤮 After telling them under cooked fish is not safe and it does not state anywhere that they serve it that way he finally agreed to replace it. I told the GM about it and she sent my coworker a gift card but it was a horrible experience After that experience I should have known better. Last weekend I ordered Lava cakes for myself and some coworkers. The fresh fruit was not fresh at all! It was fermented and smelled like vinegar. When I called to let them know they asked if I wanted more fruit. No. No, I do not. The fermented juices soaked into the cakes so the whole thing was gross. My coworkers and I are done ordering from The Alley and The Deep Water...