Pates Restaurant — Restaurant in Chatham

Have NEVER been so upset leaving a restaurant!!! I had made reservations for my husband and I's 21st wedding anniversary dinner based on hearing about it from guests at my store and friends, I work on Main Street in Chatham and talk to people EVERYDAY about where they should eat or where they've been to eat, and was very excited about booking this for our special occasion. When we showed up for our 7:15 reservation the restaurant was very busy which I was so excited to see, we were seated at our table next to one of the doors with a table of four right next to us, our waitress was very sweet and we ordered our drinks which were great. Then this woman/manager comes over to this table of four and introduces herself, then proceeds to squeeze a chair between my chair and theirs, where if I had to get out of my seat I wouldn't have been able to, she had a notebook in her hands and apparently was planning this couples reception. They kept getting up and down from their seats, going over seating and where things were going to take place, IN THE MIDDLE OF DINNER!!! About a half hour to 45 minutes of it, and my husband and I clearly annoyed, are dinner arrived. My filet mignon was burnt, asparagus way under cooked, had to send my drink back because it was completely different from the same one I had ordered all while listening to this buisness plan take place and this managers rear end in my face getting up and down several times and squeezing back into the chair that didn't belong where it was. Well I had finally had it, I ate NONE of my dinner(which by the end of all this I just left the food on the table and didn't even bring it home all $47 of it that's how annoyed I was!!!) and the staff could tell by my face how upset I was. With the staff knowing this, they told this so called manager and she then approached our table to ask my husband and I if everything was ok?? I responded with "I didn't realize we would be sitting through a business transaction while we were in the middle of our anniversary dinner and how I didn't feel that it was very professional. The response I got was SHOCKING!! She responded with "well I'm sorry you feel this way!!" And then walked away. Then turns around and says " Well we do this all the time!!... SERIOUSLY!!! As a buisness person I would have apologized and offered maybe dessert/drinks ect. I have worked with the public for over 25 years, I thrive on making my guests experience one to remember and NEVER would I conduct buisness amongst my guests in my business during buisness hours like that, and if this did need to happen I would take them to an area away from guests.There is a time and a place for that and it's not while people are trying to enjoy/celebrate and spend their hard earned money having dinner. And as I said in the beginning, I work on Main Street in Chatham and this experience will truly keep me from recommending Pates to anyone looking for a place to either celebrate a special occasion or...

Please ensure Anthony Silvestri receives a copy of this email. Please do not delete this, as feedback, regardless whether it is positive or constructive is beneficial for any business. We have been frequenting Pate’s for more than 25 years, and our parents patronized the former restaurant under Bob Gardner for many years before that. We dined with a party of six on Friday evening, 11/30 and experienced a very disappointing dining experience. Here is a brief recap of some of the issues, which are not representative of the countless amazing meals we have enjoyed over the years: Upon arrival and when being seated, we asked a young male host (who may have been the manager that evening) if he had anywhere to store coats (it was a cold evening). His response was curt and bordered on rude…”No. you can put them on the back of your chairs”! Our party ordered a bottle of Flowers Pinot Noir, the server came back and informed us that bottle was not available. A second selection was made, and similarly we were told that bottle was not available. Disappointing we had to settle on a third choice. The server, Amy, provided lackluster, almost curt and uncaring service throughout the evening. She asked that we pass drinks and food items to others around the table, rather than delivering them to our party directly. At the end of the dinner service, we asked for a specific dessert item (your famous Snowball), and were rudely told to wait, she had to clear the table before she would bring the dessert menus. The Potato Chip-Crusted Cod Fish was overcooked and extremely dry, almost inedible and severely over-battered! The White Bolognese was also a real disappointment. The pasta was overcooked, the spinach and peas were overly wilted and mushy and the dish was served at a tepid temperature. The Korean Fried Broccoli was far too spicy, overpowering the dish, and overcooked-the broccoli was limp and unpleasant. With a bill of $600 and based on years of positive experiences, we expected more. Utter disappointment is an understatement. Not sure we will continue to patronize, or recommend one of our favorite Chatham restaurants again. We hope the feedback is used to improve the experience for others...

DINERS BEWARE... This is the 1st time I have ever written a review, and feel strongly consumers are aware. Yesterday, July 27, We made a reservation, only 24 hours in advance for a party of 4 and was looking forward to a nice dinner with our parents. Unfortunately one of us tested positive for Covid, and in a effort to be socially conscious we called to cancel our reservation and were told $100 would be charged to our credit card. So, three of us decided to go and upon our arrival we were told our credit card will be charged $25 because one in our party did not show. Pate's has a new policy requiring a credit card to make a reservation and if you need to cancel within 24 hours your credit card WILL BE charged $25 per person. The policy reads "No-shows or cancellations less than 1 day in advance 'may be' subject to a charge of $25.00 per person". 'MAY BE' is falsely stated and misleading, and the disclaimer should accurately read "WILL BE" charged $25.00 per person. We were told the only way to avoid this charge was to order a dinner to go. Honestly, we were shocked and dumbfounded by such an arrogant policy and lack of appreciation for the consumer. In 25 years of enjoying Chatham as a 2nd home, our family has never experienced this and we will never return to Pates. Our waitress was very sweet and relayed our grievance to the manager, who in turn deducted $25.00 from our bill, only because it was a Covid situation, however the restaurant still charged our card used to make the reservation.

There are very good, successful, long standing restaurants in town that are difficult to get in to but welcome you and appreciate you. They don't require a credit card to make a reservation and don't need to charge your credit card because of a cancelation. Pates is not...