The Porch Light — Restaurant in City of Watertown

When we arrived it was packed and there was a group of people ahead of us. We were all told there was a 30 minute wait which was fine. It was packed and busy so me and my dad understood. But only a few minutes later me and my dad were seated and we got our menus.

My dad ordered the lumberjack burger with fries and I got the chicken tenders with mashed potatoes and gravy and a small chicken noodle soup as those were the specials of the day. For drinks my dad got a Coke and I got the homemade lemonade. The Coke came in a can and I was glad to hear refills are free of charge so that’s nice. But if you want a cup and ice for your soda you’ll have to ask for it. The wait was quite long. It was clear the place didn’t have a ton of employees working on the floor and in the kitchen and the place was bustling. I will say the aesthetic is cozy, but I wouldn’t call it relaxing as it was loud. Lots of chattering and also screaming babies. I feel this is simply because the space is quite small so it’s cramped.

We got our silverware but then waited a bit more before our server brought out our food. The food looked scrumptious. And while both me and my dad enjoyed our meals, one big problem, they weren’t hot. They weren’t cold either, they were lukewarm. Which says to me our plates were sitting out for a bit before our server picked them up and brought them to us. Again, I get being understaffed and it being busy, like you have a million things to do but that's unacceptable. It's a shame as the food tasted delicious. The mashed potatoes and gravy tasted like Thanksgiving, the chicken tenders came in 5 pieces which is quite a generous portion, they were nicely fried and tasted great. The soup was honestly standard chicken noodle soup, not much to say about that. And the lemonade, I can tell it’s homemade which is nice, and I can appreciate it not being filled to the brim with sugar, it was refreshing, but don’t expect it being super sweet, see if you can ask for sugar packets if you get the lemonade. I cleaned my plate because again the food was good, but it wasn’t hot which was disappointing considering how long the wait was.

And while I was waiting for my dad to finish, I saw several people come in through the door waiting to be seated, and when one of the girls came to talk to them they left. I found this odd, as there were several tables now open. That must’ve peeved them off. But then I heard what the girl was saying to some of the people, they were backed up and couldn’t take in anymore customers. Uh oh. I know that people will be excited to come here, but when they find that even though tables are open, they can’t eat here, they may not come back. Hence why some of the 1 star reviews on here. Word travels, first impressions are everything and not everyone is understanding, so it makes me fear for the long term business of this place.

Our meal in total cost us about $42 plus $5 tip to our server who was very good to us. Sure the wait was long but we were treated nicely.

Even if you want to support a local business, the long wait time and lukewarm food don't make it worth it. The menu selection isn't bad, it's standard diner fare but good for what it is, the service was fine on my end, even if the wait was long, the food quality is great but it being lukewarm should never have happened. I feel for some of the issues, those can be fixed with time. But the issues like the building’s small space, can’t be fixed and so it’s very loud and chaotic, I wouldn’t choose this place for a dinner date. I feel this building just doesn't make for a good restaurant. It's too small. The fact that the place gets backed up after a while and has to turn people away I feel shows how screwed up the systems are. So the fact that the wait for food takes forever and there's that chance you might be turned away says everything. I wish I could rave about it, but until things improve, there are far better places that deserve...

i got there today at 11:40am, after i saw their post on facebook about closing at 1pm on sundays. as i pulled in, i saw the owner and some other employees vaping and joking around near the back door. i started walking up to the door when i saw multiple groups of people leaving and others standing there reading posted signs. they closed over an hour early and will open back up tomorrow. others were complaining about being seated and then waiting over 30 minutes with no one coming around to even get their drink orders. the service and food quality are not just mediocre- they were both terrible. why are you in the back vaping with your friends (or so-called employees) rather than waiting on your customers and providing actual service? i expected there to be a few bumps in the road as there will always be with any new restaurant- but the lack of quality service, professionalism, and obvious care is very apparent. ZERO customer service. ZERO consistency. ZERO communication with the public. if you are closing early and know you have a big following online, you shouldnt only be posting it on the door- but also on your page/website. by not doing so, you are losing valuable customers because this was my third time trying to visit and every time i was met with a “sorry we’re closed early!” sign on the door. when asking any questions regarding the changes or constant early closings, do not be surprised if youre met with sarcasm and hostility from ANY of the working staff. they have all been extremely rude. i tried leaving a nice comment with constructive criticism on their facebook page, but they deleted it and never replied— again, unprofessional. as a fellow new adult (im 20), try growing up a little more before doing something this big again. this is genuinely so disappointing, and gives our generation such a bad reputation when not all of us are this incapable and immature. do. better.

edit & added pictures: they have been deleting comments on facebook and i tried giving kind advice on how to face those comments rather than ignore them. they deleted mine so i reposted it as a screenshot and they deleted it again and blocked me. very weird behavior from a business and i did plan on going back, but now id rather...

Extremely disappointed. We went in this morning expecting a wait along with a learning curve. This was met with patience and understanding. What I am not able to get behind is the lack of respect and hospitality from the staff. Upon entering there is a sign on the door instructing you to wait to be seated, however that is actually not the case because no one ever comes. We eventually learned you are supposed to seat yourself. The tables were filthy and not wiped down between guests. We eventually sat down and had to ask for menus. The staff did not seem to care at all about their customers and really did not seem to care if anyone decided to come back. After an hour of waiting for our order we began chatting with other customers. Of the 8 or so tables seated, not a single group had food. The entire restaurant was openly chatting about how they would not return and how disappointed they were. All of this was going on while the owner and her friends aka the servers hid behind the coffee bar on their cellphones. Our waitress continuously blamed the wait on the cook and informed us he blocked them on facebook. Overall very unprofessional and terrible environment. The owner bragged on the news about renovations yet there was a whole in the ceiling, booths were held together with duct tape, and the bathrooms were a nightmare. In times of struggle the customers would have been happy to hear from the owner and gave her explain the wait to each table personally instead of allowing her mother to do so. It seems this was a very ambitious/ spontaneous decision and I do not see a way it can stay open if this continues. Our food when it eventually did arrive was horrible. Everything was wrong and we were charged the full amount. So many people left before they were served and said they would never come back. I do not recommend trying the porch light and would save yourself the time and the money. The positive reviews are posted from the owners friends, please consider the true feedback before you take the gamble if they will even be open or if you’ll find a sign on the door saying they are closed...