Joe's Waterfront — Restaurant in Boston

Great location and a traditional American pub-type menu. It's kid-friendly, too, but a comedy of errors by the kitchen made our visit disappointing.

We were seated right away (and had a reservation, but we showed up way early and they were nice enough to seat us even though they appeared to be very busy). Our waiter came by about 10 minutes later and explained that they were very busy so it would be advisable to put in our entire food and drink order right away; he'd be sure to space it out so that our Buffalo Chicken Dip appetizer would arrive first. Transparency like that is appreciated, but only if things go according to plan.

Our drinks arrived about 10 minutes after that. Minor delay because the bartender was waiting for clean glasses to become available. Again, appreciate them for letting us know the reason for the delay.

About 20 minutes later, our entrees arrived. No idea what happened to the Buffalo Chicken Dip, but I mentioned it to the runner and they weren't sure either, but they asked if we still wanted it. We said yes, because my kids were looking forward to trying it.

The entrees were tasty enough - Fish Tacos, Calamari, a BBQ Pulled Pork Flatbread, and Fish & Chips. My flatbread wasn't grilled or baked or anything - just a few pieces of pulled pork, red onion and scallions on top of a Naan with a BBQ sauce base. It would've been better if it the bread had some crunch to it.

Our waiter was as surprised as we were to see that we hadn't received our appetizer. And we had finished our meals by the time he came back to check on us. He mentioned that they'd comp it for us and wrap it up to go. That's fine with me, but...

We were boxing up our flatbread leftovers when the appetizer arrived, except it was Buffalo Chicken Tenders, not Buffalo Chicken Dip, and it wasn't wrapped to go. We explained the problem to the runner, and she said she'd have them re-make it and we'd get the incorrect appetizer comped, too.

I don't know if they ever re-made it. We had waited about 15 minutes, the runner never came back, we had already paid the bill, and we weren't going to sit there waiting any longer to find out. No manager ever came to check on us - I'm not even sure there is a manager here - but they NEED one in this establishment. Our waiter apologized again and told us the kitchen staff had like a hundred tickets waiting in the back and it was just chaos back there. Really though, the chaos...

We went here tonight for dinner. We made a reservation through open table. When we got there we asked to sit outside as they had a ton of open tables on the deck. We were told that they were booked. I was kind of perplexed as this was not an option through open table. I then found out that outside was first come first serve and that you could not reserve the outside seating……Yet they were clearly not even near half capacity for their outside seating. They also did not have a line waiting to get in. I was confused. More than half the tables were empty. We accepted what the rule was. We were seated. Our waitress did not even come by to get us water for 10 minutes. The bread took another 10 minutes to come out and when it did come out it was a beautiful boul of bread, unfortunately we were never given anything to cut the bread with. We only had butter knives and completely destroyed the bread. When the waitress finally came around and we asked for a bread knife she had no idea what we were talking about and asked if we wanted a steak knife. I said yes. Another 10 minutes later she brought the steak knife and said she was looking everywhere for it and could not find it…. Which I know was a lie because she was seen at many other tables. We ordered dinner. My husband ordered shrimp scampi. The shrimp was jumbo (which is fine but he doesn’t like jumbo). It should have been specified on the menu as it usually is with other restaurants. It was never stated on the menu that it was jumbo and if it was he would have chosen a different meal as the smaller shrimp are not the same as the jumbo. We asked for more bread which never came. Our son ordered the pasta and butter as he is a 7 year old picky kid. His pasta was severely under cooked, needless to say he didn’t eat it. We were never asked if we wanted another drink. The whole experience was just bad. I really wanted to like this place. We were ready to leave 10 minutes in. Also our pepper grinder was completely empty and when we mentioned it to her she said she would take care of it but never did. When the meal came I asked if they had fresh Parmesan and they said “no”, but then said “yes but we would have to take the whole block out of the fridge!” The atmosphere was nice though and the wine was good. We will...

I have been a regular customer at Joe's Waterfront restaurant for quite some time and have always enjoyed their delicious food and excellent service. However, yesterday, May 18, around 7:30 pm, I had a disappointing experience that led me to leave a one-star review. Let me explain what happened.

Yesterday evening, I decided to order takeout for dinner. When I arrived at the restaurant to pick up my order, I informed one of the hosts about my presence. One of the hostesses informed me that the kitchen was backed up and it would take an additional 15 to 20 minutes. I stepped aside and noticed a brown bag on a table to the right (where the pickup orders are placed). I wondered if it was my order, but I couldn't check because a gentleman was standing beside the table.

After waiting another 10-15 minutes, that gentleman received his order directly from one of the hostesses and left. This prompted me to go and check if that order was actually mine, as it had been there since I arrived. To my frustration, it was my order of fish & chips. I became upset and called the attention of the hostess, expressing my disappointment that she had not checked before informing me about the delay. Instead of offering an apology, the hostess simply stated that they had just placed the bag there. Her dishonest response further irritated me.

Shortly thereafter, a lady in her 30s, who claimed to be the manager, approached me in an arrogant and aggressive manner. Without attempting to understand the issue at hand, she insisted that I couldn't speak to her staff in such a manner. While I was upset, I was not being disrespectful. I took my bag and decided to leave. As I glanced back, the "manager" gave me a sarcastic smile and waved goodbye (as a provocation). This behavior left me questioning the image that Joe's Waterfront wants to portray.

Despite this single incident, I won't let it deter me from returning to Joe's Waterfront, as I believe the actions of the "manager" do not reflect the establishment as a whole. Therefore, I left a one-star rating to express my dissatisfaction with...