Filomena Lakeview — Restaurant in Deptford Township

Last night, I chose Filomena Lakeview to celebrate my 30th birthday, and while the food and overall vibe were nice, the way our evening ended left us shocked and honestly disappointed. Let me paint the picture. We were there for my 30th birthday, and had unfortunately gotten a call about a friends' loved one passing away. Our minds were all over the place, trying to celebrate while still holding space for the news we just received.

After having dinner, my partner and I decided to go to the "lounge" to catch the rest of the Phillies game. While there, our waitress from dinner, Kelly C., approached us asking if dinner was okay. We let her know it was delicious, and thanked her multiple times.. I honestly thought she was coming over to say happy birthday, or something of the sort.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. Kelly kept saying "well ya know, I thought we had a good night but ya know...", my partner and I both were so confused, and kept asking her "what happened? Did someone say something to you about you serving us?" We were truly lost. Kelly responded by saying "We're really not supposed to mention anything but I just wanted to make sure it was a good time for you guys. I thought we had a good time..?" At this point, we both turned towards her, and said "well you've already said it, what's going on?" I looked at my partner and asked if she had tipped her. She said of course I did. I turned back towards Kelly and was obviously confused. She then said "I'll go get my manager."

My partner took a look at the receipt and realized she had miscalculated Kelly's tip. At this point we were beside ourselves that we were seriously being confronted about a miscalculation in a tip... something that should be always APPRECIATED, never expected.

We were incredibly caught off guard — especially since the tip was not intentional, but simply a miscalculation. Her manager then came over and we said the same thing to him, that it wasn’t a reflection of her service and that we would’ve happily corrected it had she approached us in a calm, respectful manner. Instead, we were met with repeated accusations and unnecessary pressure, EVEN BY THE MANAGER. He said "well it is customary to tip 18 - 20 percent..." I replied back to him. I know that, as I'm in the service industry myself.

Also -- he didn't even ask about the actual service, which was AN ISSUE, by the way. We had a reservation and got tossed back and forth between where we were sitting for a good 3 minutes. We didn't get served anything until 20 minutes after we were seated. There was no mention of why we were there, no questions about if we were celebrating something. The glasses were cloudy with obvious streaks of soap. And to top it all off, when my partner had asked for a second drink, Kelly decided the best reply was "oof, that one is strong." I mention allll of that above just to reiterate that even with that happening, that didn't reflect her tip. It truly was a miscalculation.

If you really think about it.. had we left and not gone to the bar, nothing would've been said, we never would've known. OR, we would've taken a look at the bill and rectified it.. because that's the type of people WE are. She could’ve approached us kindly, or frankly, not said anything at all — we could have walked out and never known that her $16 tip had been miscalculated. Instead, she chose to handle the situation in a way that made us feel uncomfortable, embarrassed, and unwelcome. There was no apology, only "I'll have to talk to her about this" ... after he agreed with everything she said, including her...

Went there for a light lunch with my wife around 1 p.m. It was a Friday, December 1st, and the parking lot was surprisingly full. The hostess let us know the only searing that was available was in the bar area because they had 3 separate events going on, which explains the parking lot being full. Taking a table in the bar area was fine with us because we didn't feel we were dressed properly to sit in the dining room.

From what I observed, they had 2 waitresses covering the tables around the bar, and the bartender was taking care of customers sitting at the bar. Before I get to the food, I have to say how pleasant and efficient our waitress was. She had a large workload, but she didn't reflect in her demeanor towards any of her customers that she was under stress or angry about her situation. On the contrary, she was overly attentive to us, and from what I saw to all her customers. We sat close to the bar, and I also noticed how joyfully the bartender went about serving the large number of people sitting at the bar. He took food orders and made drinks with a smile on his face, and he joked happily with customers.

I ordered the Crab Bisque. It was tasty and enjoyable it could have used more lumped crab, in my opinion. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

I also had a Ceasar Salad with grilled shrimp. The lettuce was crisp, and the dressing was plentiful. It definitely needed more freshly shaved Parmesan cheese. The grilled shrimp were perfectly grilled, and they were a nice size, but I only got 3 (you pay extra to add shrimp). The salad was a decent portion, and I think if you order grilled shrimp, 6 would be the proper amount to complement the size of the salad. Of course, it would cost more for 6 shrimp, but it would be worth it. I give the Ceasar Salad 3 stars only because of the amount of shrimp and the lack of freshly shaved Parmesan cheese.

My wife ate the peppers and onions with fresh bread, which was excellent, and she also ordered French onion soup.

She looked at the soup and immediately showed me that the broth was very light, which indicated that it may be lacking flavor. Upon tasting it, she was disappointed because, as she had suspected, it lacked flavor. She isn't one to normally send something back, but she returned the French Onion soup and ordered cheesesteak egg rolls. She gave the French Onion 0 stars (obviously)

She enjoyed the cheesesteak egg rolls. She said they tasted like they were homemade. They come with ketchup for dipping she did say it would be nice if they had more than just ketchup for dipping. She gave the cheesesteak egg rolls 4 out of 5 stars.

I had an Irish coffee. Coffee, Baileys Irish Cream, with a shot of Jamison. It was very good and a nice warm-up on a rainy...

I recently had an unfortunate dining experience at Filomena’s Lakside and I feel compelled to share my disappointment. My friend and I were excited to take advantage of their advertised $1 oyster special, a promotion that had drawn us to the restaurant in the first place. However, what was supposed to be an enjoyable evening quickly turned into a frustrating ordeal.

Upon arrival, we were seated promptly in the dining area, and our server was courteous and attentive. We eagerly ordered a dozen oysters, looking forward to the advertised special price. The oysters themselves were decent, though nothing extraordinary, but we were content given the supposed value.

The real issue arose when we received our bill. To our shock, we were charged full price for the oysters, not the $1 each as advertised. Believing there had been a simple mistake, we politely asked our server to correct the bill. She informed us that she would need to get the manager.

When the manager arrived, Lisa, things took a turn for the worse. Rather than addressing our concerns with understanding and a willingness to resolve the issue, the manager informed us, in a rather curt manner, that the $1 oyster special was only valid in the bar area. She insisted that there were signs "all over" indicating this restriction.

However, at no point during our time in the restaurant did we see any signs that made this crucial detail clear. If there were signs, they certainly were not placed in any obvious or prominent locations where a typical customer would notice them.

The manager's dismissive attitude only compounded our frustration. Instead of offering a compromise or acknowledging the lack of clear communication, she essentially blamed us for not noticing the supposed signs. This kind of customer service is unacceptable, especially when it comes to something as straightforward as an advertised special.

We ended up paying, feeling deceived and deeply dissatisfied with our experience. The manager's handling of the situation was unprofessional and left a sour impression. We left the restaurant feeling that our concerns were not valued, and that the restaurant was more interested in making a quick extra buck than ensuring customer satisfaction.

I would not recommend this place to anyone. There are plenty of other establishments where both the food and the service are excellent, and where customers are treated with respect and honesty. If you do choose to dine here, be very wary of any promotions and ensure you have clear confirmation before ordering, because you can't count on the management to be fair or transparent.

We won’t be returning, and I advise others to steer clear to avoid a...