Rustic Café — Restaurant in East Lyme

Adorable restaurant but AWFUL service.

The place was very crowded when we walked in, and there was no clear host or sign about seating. We found someone in the back corner on her phone and asked if she worked there, to which we got an annoyed "yeah." By the time she bothered to tell us that we could just choose a table, another group had walked in and taken the high top we were hoping for. We were seated almost attached to the table next to us and I needed to get up and move every time someone wanted to access the table behind us (they would not allow us to scoot other tables over to make more room).

We practically had to beg the server to come over and give us menus, then everything else we needed during the night (water, ordering food, ordering drinks, refills, napkins, etc) and she was in such a rush that she never once waited for us to finish a single order. Consequently, we got served wrong items.

The drinks are very creative and I was very excited about some of their martinis. However, my glass had not just one, but TWO lipstick marks from two different people. I showed this to the server who told me that they were out of glasses. So basically I was served a drink in a dirty glass and there was no attempt to rectify the situation. Absolutely disgusting and embarrassing for the restaurant.

I really wanted to like this place based on other reviews and the cozy interior and atmosphere, but it was too stressful and frustrating. I also find it odd that there are no prices listed for most of the drinks--you'd have to ask for the prices if you can even catch a server's attention for long enough to do so. Very...

We were in town visiting Lyman orchards with the family. By the time we left, the 12 of us were starving. We wanted something quick. Not even 5 minutes from where we were, we found this Cafe tucked to the corner. As soon as we walked in we saw a small quaint looking bar area, not too big, and a waitress with a big smile and greeting. In all honesty I did not think the 12 of us would be comfortable there as it's more geared towards bar patrons. However it was a nice evening and they had ample outside seating, to which the waitress sweetened the deal by saying she would light a fire for us. So we agreed, settled in and glanced at the menu. There were daily specials in which all sounded good, and a straightforward main menu with items such as craft burgers ( some really interesting choices for burger toppings!), a few fried seafood options, and some awesome sounding additional sides. From what I seen they had a nice selection of beers on tap, and I had a great spiked cider recommended by the waitress. (Wish I remembered her name). We all ordered what we wanted, and enjoyed our time in front of a nice fire, we received our meals in a timely manner, and we were all stuffed by meals end. Payment transaction was handled well as we all paid with a few different credit cards, and our waitress kept her cool and was very patient. We all left happy! I will definitely keep this place in mind if I'm ever in town again!...

Stopped by for a pick up order while visiting East Lyme for vacation. Had read a few reviews prior to ordering and was hopeful that the food would be as amazing as I was reading. Surprisingly I read that the service could be questionable but I had no real problems with the service being provided and I even left a tip for the waitress/bartender. We ordered the Rustic Burger well done, an order of garlic Parm wings and some tenders for my daughter. The food smelled delicous which had me excited. The burger though was rare, maybe medium rare which my girlfriend couldn't eat. The chicken wings were pounded with oil and parmesan but had no inkling of flavor to them, blue cheese helped but by wing 3 it just made my stomach upset and sad. The tenders were okay but that's all. Hopefully it was just a bad night in the kitchen and they don't always pump out the food this way. Will probably one day give them another chance to see if it was just an unfortunate circumstance, until then I wish only the best. Thank you

Don't know how to add pictures through my phone. When I get the chance I will post...