Sycamore Grille — Restaurant in Delaware Water Gap

I usually try to stress the positive. In this case that positive is very little apart from a nice but timid server.

We live in a nearby town but had never gone to this restaurant and were looking for a nice place for my husband, adult son and I to have a pleasant casual dinner on Christmas Eve. I made reservations for 4:45. But considering the holiday we left early and got there around 4:15. We approached the hostess station, explained we knew were early and were willing to wait. To our surprise our table was available. While the place seemed empty the decor was nice. Servers and staff were bustling around tweaking table settings. We were seated and ordered: DS had a cheeseburger and my husband and I each ordered the fried shrimp platter.

Our food arrived fairly quickly. What arrived was shocking. I had when we were on tight budgets gotten sea-pack frozen shrimp. Fair quality for the price. But this was not that price. This was a restaurant. Yet the 6 small shrimp on my plate looked just like them. And tasted just as bland. They were accompanied by a cup of ketchup and a cup of semifrozen cocktail sauce that had no taste at all. The fries had that coating some have. Not spicy or a seasoning but meant to give a crispy effect? In addition there was what I believe was meant to be coleslaw, white cabbage with a sourcream aftertaste to the mayonnaise on it. Our son's burger was charred but otherwise tasteless.

As we were eating the hostess stepped behind my husband and told him to move forward to provide more room for the table behind him. My husband is 6ft tall and lanky, hardly the kind to take up space. Nevertheless, he stopped eating and moved presumably for people about to be seated. At some point he realized he needed to use the restroom. After several minutes and having been passed by no less than 8 staff members he finally caught someone's attention. He asked her where the restroom was. Her response was a blank stare and a "what?". He finally said "I need to use the toilet". OK. When he got back we very politely asked the aforementioned timid but delightful server for the check, paid the bill and left what has got to be one of the worst dining experiences of my life.

Not to insult the fine folks at sea pack but really for the prices, I was astonished. Oh, and that table my husband room for? There was no one in sight to be seated at it. Nor was there anyone waiting in the entrance.

We will not be back. Do not waste your time or money. Can I give it...

Let me preface my experience here by saying the food was decent. Now the bad news. They proudly advertise a Saturday happy hour (HH) special, 50% appetizers starting at 5PM. I walked in at what my watch said was 4:55 PM Saturday. Stood waiting as the maitre de was on the phone. Finally made it to the bar where I asked my waitress whether there were any drinks on the HH menu, or just food. Nope just food. OK no problem. I ordered an appetizer, soup and a beer. Waited 15 or 20 minutes while listening to my waitress bad mouth 2 customers who were there just before I was and left just after I came in. "They're so pretentious.... They asked for something low calorie and fruity.... If it's fruity it's high calorie... Only one ordered and left a 50 cent tip [CAN'T IMAGINE WHY] and then they went to dinner elsewhere" [REMEMBER THOSE WORDS WAITRESS? SURE YOU DO!!]. At 5:45 PM or so: "Can I have my check?" Guess what? Full price. What's the time stamp? 4:58 PM.

Umm, excuse me, there's a mistake here. I walked in at just before 5PM and I want the weekend HH special. "Oh sorry can't do that." "Oh sorry yes you can and do it now please." "Sorry we can't." "Sorry, let me speak to your manager." "Manager's not around you'll have to wait." "OK I'll wait." Ten minutes goes by. "Well our manager's not around and there's nothing we can do" [HOW ABOUT CANCEL MY CHECK AND RUN A NEW ONE?]. "Well I'm not paying full price." I put on my coat and they threaten to call the cops. A shouting match ensues. Out of nowhere, Manager/Owner appears and grants my request (half off a $12 appetizer).

Now here's reality: IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S WRONG HERE, YOU NEED TO FIND A DIFFERENT CAREER IN ANOTHER LINE OF WORK. You knew I was there for the HH special because I asked about it. You never said, "why don't you wait a couple of minutes so you can get the best deal" - or better yet, just wait two minutes before you put the order in. You're not there to juice your tips, ladies, you're there to make the customer happy. And to help him get the deal that he made clear he wanted from the beginning. Owner/Manager: you seem like a nice guy and you have a pretty nice place. BUT YOU NEED TO TRAIN THESE LADIES. Or find them jobs in...

At the recommendation of fellow patrons of nearby Deer Head Inn, on the evening of Saturday, September 23, 2023, Sycamore Grill was visited for dinner. Although the atmosphere was inviting, my experience was poor.

The calamari was ordered as an appetizer. Although perhaps half of the calamari were OK, the other half of the portion was so tough, even after several attempts, I found it inedible.

When the waitress asked if I had finished the calamari, I commented that the remaining portion was inedible. "Have you ever sampled this dish?" I asked.

"No," replied the waitress, "We are only allowed to taste this restaurant's food if we purchase the item ourselves."

The waitress promptly summoned the manager.

"Is there a problem?" asked the manager.

I explained the issues with much of the calamari: So tough as to be inedible. "Have you ever sampled the calamari?" I asked, pointing my finger to the manager.

"How dare you point your finger at me!" the manager snapped. The manager went on to rant for several minutes complaining that I had pointed my finger in her direction. (My finger never came within even one foot of her person.)

Never in my life have I encountered another individual who, like former President Trump, in a discussion or debate, could immediately portray themselves as the wounded party when they, themselves, were totally responsible for the poor condition of the situation.

The issue was resolved by my paying for the one beer I had had and the restaurant not charging me for the terrible...