Gaby's by the Lake — Restaurant in Eatonton

I was wanting to have a day trip to a restaurant situated on a lake and have lunch and enjoy the scenery I randomly found Gabby's on Google maps The ratings were good The pictures on the website or pretty good kind of had an idea what I would find when I got there I I drove a little less than 2 hours from my home to the restaurant using Android Auto when I was almost there according to Android Auto I started seeing signs for Ritz-Carlton and the maps on Android Auto show Gabby's on the shore of a lake but really didn't give me an indication that it had anything to do with the Ritz-Carlton however when I was according to Android Auto at the point of where I would park I was pulling into the entranceway of a very grand building made out of stone very nice architecture a very nice young man came up to a car and I asked him where I could park and how I could reach Gabby's restaurant and young man tell me his name was Matthew any informed me that I would need to use the valet parking and that I could reach Gabby's by going through the entrance to the Ritz-Carlton resort which was the building I was in front of and that at Gabby's was on the grounds of the resort. Matthew take my keys and drove off in my car to park it he was back in just a couple of minutes and he escorted me into the building and showed me how to reach the back entrance to get on the walkway over to the restaurant on the shore of Lake Oconee. The short walk over to Gabby's was a pleasure. The grounds were immaculately designed and kept up. The buildings were grand, built out of rough stone ,very nicely designed architecture with great views of lake Oconee. Gabby's was also a very well designed building a little more casual than the other buildings in the resort. My table on the open patio overlooking lakes and Claire had a spectacular view of the lake and all the boats and people coming and going all the tables had very nice sail shaped material shielding the table from the Sun. The lunch menu was mainly sandwiches and wraps and some salads I chose the Cuban and a house salad with ranch dressing The menu stated the Cuban was served on a hoagie bun which generally I'm not very fond of I guess because in the past the quality of the bread wasn't that good in other places that I've eaten, my server Max stated that I could also have Cuban own sourdough bread he was very enthusiastic helpful and a pleasure to talk to however they only missed step he made was when he brought my meal the sandwich was on a hoagie bun and not the sourdough bread which he realized right away and apologized profusely for the mistake that said the bread that the hoagie bun was made from was very good much better quality than I usually have gotten when I had this kind of bread in other restaurants. My server Max was very attentive but not overbearing I enjoyed the view of the lake and my meal very much Max also had a guess he called her an assistant who also brought me water and ask if I needed refills of the water I'm sorry that I did not catch her name she was a quiet young lady overall it was a great meal the resort is a little out of my price range I or I would strongly recommend it to anyone who has the means to stay there from what I could gather looking at their website the rooms are very well done the views from the water facing rooms is very great as a lot of activities to be done in the resort it's very nice to be able to access Gabby's restaurant without having to stay in the resort also highly recommend this restaurant everyone I came in contact with that day was very hospitable even though I was not a guest of the resort I hope to return and try some other dish...

Edited: My family went back to Gaby's due to another restaurant being closed. It was awful. The kids pizza was worse than frozen pizza from the grocery store - chewy, barely edible, double the price, and half the size. The chicken tenders were similar - worse than frozen grocery store tenders and 75% bad breading. Three of us got the Japanese rice bowl, and the rice was ... al dente. I'm sorry, but if you can't get pizza, chicken tenders, or rice correct, why are you even a restaurant? The busser was clearing away dishes on my table before we were done eating, which breaks one of the only rules for bussing a table. I had to tell them to go away and come back when we were finished. They again seated us at 2 different tables and service was just slow. So slow. Microwaved pizza and chicken tenders don't take 30 minutes to make, and I can't believe how much I paid for them and half a cup of undercooked rice and a few veggies on the side. Avoid. Every other restaurant we've been to in the area has had better food, bigger portions, and had better prices (including the restaurant inside a gas station). -----‐---------------------- (Original review)

It is a convenient location and has some wonderful dishes. However, it took a long time to get orders taken and for the food to come out. My salad came out far after everyone else's food (weird). They wouldn't put tables together to accommodate us, which meant we had to sit at 2 different tables (I guess they only have one table that accommodates parties of over 10 people). The flatbread pizza, seaweed rice bowl, garlic paremsan wings, and Asian chicken salad were really good. The kids chicken tenders and fries were small and not great and are double what they cost at non fancy restaurants (which have larger portions and taste better). I guess I just expect more from the Ritz. If I'm going to pay that much for lunch, I want impeccable service and food. This...

Gaby's is a beautiful location to have dinner or lunch, placed right on Lake Oconee adjacent to the Ritz's infinity pool and beach area. My group's experience was pretty underwhelming unfortunately. The main discourse within our group kept revolving back to how pretty the lake was, eventually generating the unspoken mutual understanding that the food and service alike were not up to par. Even with prices like the ones at Gaby's, we're all generally still very laid back with service, but nobody at any dining experience wants to have to seek out a waiter just to refill the table's waters or remind them about drink/appetizer orders. I whole heartedly recommend dodging the tacos at lunch. My girlfriend had one bite of the chicken tacos and passed them along to me. I thought she was being a tough critic, but oh no, these were respectfully very bad. Stale tortilla and some pretty lackluster chicken thighs (2 others at our table got the same thing and were equally disappointed). However, I had the chicken wings and they were hot, crispy, flavorful, and massive!! Someone else at our table had the brisket nachos and those were devoured in record time, so safe to say he enjoyed them. Our drinks were strong, which is preferred. Mine came out wrong but I just rolled with it so I didn't have to wait again. For the prices, I think there's a better dining experience in the cards. Best route to go, in my opinion, would be to stop by after a round of golf and get a drink or three at the bar, enjoy the lake, and take in the upscale, beach-inspired, delicate ambiance of the...