Clifford's Restaurant — Restaurant in Connoquenessing Township

Even though I live in the area, I only go to Cliffords on very special occasions as I considered it a special place. Last night was my 32nd anniversary and wanted an enjoyable experience. Unfortunately it was everything but enjoyable and I will never go again. The dining room has an acoustic problem. The two tables behind us decided to strike up a conversation because they found they had something in common--they were both from Cranberry and felt they needed to share every detail of the city and didn’t take into consideration that they were not at the Fun for All. They were so loud that I could not even carry on a conversation with my husband across the table. The gnocchi appetizer was wonderful as well as the chicken and spaetzle soup. The problem came with the entree. I ordered tuna and asked if was sushi grade. She said yes, so I said I like it just cooked on the outside with the inside pink. When it came to me it was a nice cut about 1 inch thick and 3 inches long with cooked carrots and polenta. I cut into it the tuna and found it was cooked the entire way through. The ends were so dry that I had to drink water with each bite. When the waitress asked if everything was okay, I told her I can’t eat it as it was too dry and chocking me. She asked if I would like another piece but cooked to my liking and I said yes. She came back with the a piece of the center of the tuna that I sent back and said “this is pink”. If that was pink then I am color blind and I said I guess I want it red as I had asked for sushi grade in the first place. She then returned with my new plate and the tuna was reduced in size and cooked to my liking. I asked if they had them frozen because it was a quick turnaround in being served. She said no it is fresh. I said ok. Within minutes the owner/chef’s Swedish wife came to the table in an extremely loud voice stating “I heard you asked if our fish is frozen—I am insulted—we get it fresh from Hawaii”. I was truly impressed that there was a jet that actually flew from Hawaii to the Butler...

I was so looking forward to our dinner at Clifford's but was left unimpressed.

We were greeted by the hostess who was so kind and welcoming! After seating us she went over a list of the available specials, all from memory, and then left us with the menus. There were quite a few options and many sounded drool worthy.

Ultimately we ordered the raclette, the surf and turf (one with just the crab cake and one with crab cake and shrimp), the French onion soup, and a salad with beet dressing.

We ended up with three or four different types of bread to start and overall they were good. Two types were heavily salted but one in particular was super delicious.

The raclette came out fast but was lacking flavor. I loved the concept - potatoes, cheese, and pickles - but the execution just wasn't there. The French onion soup was full of onion but overall lacked that French onion flavor. The salad was a basic salad but the dressing was good. A tad sweet for my liking but a fun option.

Up to this point the service was fine but our entrees took a really long time to come out. I'm not sure what the hold up there was. That said they came out piping hot and the steaks were cooked perfectly. The mashed potatoes were creamy and had some kind of garlic butter on them which was good but also lacking something. The scalloped potatoes were cooked wonderfully but needed a stronger cheese flavor. The fresh broccoli and carrots were cooked very well and tasted good. The shrimp were overcooked, sadly. The crab cakes were the best thing on the plates - very good for restaurant crab cakes.

I wanted so much to love this meal after hearing neighbors and friends rave about the food but for us it missed the mark, especially...

This is my 4th time at Clifford's.I have experienced wonderful service and food in the past.Tonight was very Different. I took my dad for his 70th Birthday celebration and 4 others who have never eaten here.I informed all of them ahead of time that this would be a very memorable experience both service and food. One they wouldn't forget. Our wait staff was unprofessional short with any questions and was absent for such exteded periods of time that I physically had to hunt them down twice for water and bread.I never mind waiting for wonderfully prepared food as long as you are cared for in the interim, which we weren't. After having such wonderful service and a great dining experience before to this awful experience is disheartening. I was horrified to see that She included a 20% gratuity in my bill. I nearly choked.I spoke with the owner / hostess and she did remove it as I requested and expressed that it was a bit overwhelming for this staff as she doesn't usually work on busy nights. I explained that we didn't just come to eat.we came for the full dining experience for a special day and never got what we came for..I understand that people have off days.But standards are standards..courteous professional attentive service..Is expected, especially with the high end price point of this restaurant. I would hope she gets more training in learning how to treat customers and That Clifford's should be an experience not just in food but in service too.Very...