Magnolia Room — Restaurant in Cape May

We made reservation and had the last seating time available and our service and dinner reflected the end of the night effort. We were attracted by the live jazz jam session and wanted to experience this fun and energetic happening. We arrived 20 minutes before our dinner reservation at 8:40 pm and let the hostess know we arrived. We waited patiently at the King Edward Bar in a crowded room in the corner. After 45 minutes we went to the hostess and she did not have a table available, she offered a table next yo the front steps, adjacent to the makeshift porch bar, which had a revolving line of people being served as they camped out on the front lawn, listening to the jazz jam session. No thank you, we didn’t want a rowdy crowd invited to our dinner table. We waited another 20 minutes and she sat us at a table on the side porch, no lighting, the waitress brought us a few candles. We had to use our phone flashlight to read the menu. My husband ordered prime rib rare, well it still had marks where the jockey was hitting it and came out cold and inedible! My salad was awful as well. We were so tired, but tried to salvage the night listening to the jazz jam and vowed never to eat there again. Yes, we paid the bill and left a good tip. No, we didn’t make a fuss, just chalked it up to bad management and an unorganized kitchen. So disappointed. Go for the jazz, have fun with a few drinks, but eat dinner...

Two years ago we had their Sunday buffet. Will never return. The broccoli salad was delicious. That was it! Yeast rolls tasted great but dry. That was the theme. Taste Ok but dry. Dry macaroni and cheese, over cooked.. Dry chicken, dry hunks of ham. Blackeye peas right out of a can. Average. Buffet not worth the price. Oh yes, the seafood salad is sea leg salad. Crab LIKE ingredient. We heard they will serve real crab on fourth of July and Labor day weekend Sundays.

We enjoyed talking with the chef during the two weeks we stayed at the hotel. She actually agreed with our assessment. She said there is a very long term employee in the kitchen. She is always reminding her of the way they have always done it; she becomes a glorified cook with little freedom to improve the quality and presentation of the food she prepares. Yes, the black eyes peas are always out of a can, that is the way they have always done it. Even the owner's son Dillion (the manager) told me he knows why the chicken is dry.

PS: Don't write a negative review while staying at the establishment. We felt threatened and with no uncertain terms, evicted...

Booked an 8pm reservation and asked specifically for outdoor dining. Hostess said not a problem. Show up a bit early, hostess tells us outside isn't available, we'd have to wait up to an hour. Fine we'll take the inside. Ended up leaving an hour later, all of the outdoor tables were completely cleared. Obviously they didn't want to bother, which is fine. Then don't say it's available when booking. Poor service on their part. On to the dining experience. Waitress was fine, attentive. The food, well that's where the experience is soured completely. For the price of the food you'd expect something good. You'd be dead wrong. This place was known for it's fried chicken. Why did my fried chicken look like and taste like KFC? Pretty dry. The biscuit may have been a brick. Others weren't thrilled with their plates either. Some okay, but nothing special. Definitely not worth it. Disappointed and would never come back. I never leave reviews unless they give me a reason to, good or bad. This is one where I feel I truly wasted my...