The Cove Bay-Side Restaurant & Tavern — Restaurant in Erie

This past Saturday (March 31st 2018) my husband, our 22 year old son and myself decided to take a day trip to Niagara Falls in NY. We stopped in Erie PA on our way to have a drink. We love going to the waterfront in the summer and Saturday it was about 55 degrees. So we walked into this place right at 11 am. The bartender was still doing his opening things. We sat at the bar and he came over and immediately took our order. All we wanted were 3 rum runners. He got them made (even gave us the extra in a pitcher) and continued to work all while talking to us. He was very pleasant and the drinks were delicious. We were almost finished when the manager (we assumed) walked into the bar. She greeted us and asked how everything was. We told her that everything was awesome and thanked her. Our bill was $20 and some change. My husband handed the bartender $40 and asked for $10 back. Because they had just opened he didn’t have his register money yet. He went to get the manager. She came out of the office with a bowl of something she was eating and the money for the register. She then proceeded, in front of us, to tear this poor guy a new one. Saying he should have his own bank, been more prepared, blah blah blah. I was horrified by the way she was speaking to him in front of us. We were the only 3 guests in the entire place. We felt so bad for him because he had been so accommodating. After his manager walked away he went to give my husband his change back and my husband told him to keep it. I told this bartender that I was also a server/bartender and was sorry that his manager felt it was ok for her to talk to him the way she did, especially in front of guests. I hope that his day turned around. It was so hard for me to not say something to that manager but I bit my tongue because I did not want her to make his day any worse than she already had. If she spoke to him the way she did in front of guests I can only imagine how she speaks to employees when no one is around. I did not catch the names of either the bartender or the manager, but I can assure you that she turned what had started as a great experience into an awkward and uncomfortable...

I visited today for an early dinner with some friends. It was a 45 minute wait for a table which is understandable considering the capacity restrictions. We decided to order for take out. The man that was taking our orders was not helpful at all. We have never been here before and didn’t know what were the popular items. He gave us 1 menu for 5 people. We all got the smokehouse burger. My one friend ordered it without bacon (cannot eat pork due to religious reasons), one friend ordered the burger without onion rings, another friend without tomato, the other two were as mentioned in the menu. We took our Togo frozen drinks off the premises and waited for our food to be prepared. Two of us got the pina coladas, two got the strawberry daiquiri, and another got the rum runner. While the man was preparing the drinks, he never got any liquor off the shelf, only for the rum runner. It was very clear there was not any alcohol in the drinks we ordered. The man was rushing us. I didn’t even complete my order and he rung out my receipt. When my friend went in to check on the status of our food and ask if there was alcohol in the drinks we paid for, the staff was extremely rude and defensive about it saying “I do this for a living”. Quite frankly, if you do have that much experience, you would know to never talk to customers that way. Especially if they’re being respectful about it. We all tipped and he made about $22 on us and couldn’t even have the decency to own up to his wrong doings. Now for the food, the fries were very good. But, for the burger, eh. The patty itself was flavorless and mashed up with sauces to make up for it. Out of the 3 adjustments to the burgers, only one was completed. All burgers had bacon and onion rings. She was afraid to go ask because of how they responded before. It’s quite mysterious how the only two burgers they messed up were the ones of people of color? Hmmm... for sure not returning. Not to sound trashy, but the get go slushees are cheaper, bigger, and actually...

This place gets two stars for its location alone. That’s where any redeeming qualities stop. Now, the food at this joint is incredibly mediocre and let me give you the prime example:

I ordered a “Cuban” sandwich. Traditionally, a Cuban features pulled/sliced pork, sliced ham, pickles, a Dijon/yellow mustard, and Cuban/Italian baguette bread. Simple enough, right? Well, the Cove served me up nothing that resembled a Cuban. I wish I could say they took some artistic liberty and put a spin on the classic sandwich, but alas. The Frankenstein I ended up being served resembled 7-Eleven quality ingredients jammed together in a port-a-potty by a drunk chef at 8 Great Tuesdays.

The Cove’s “Cuban” consisted of the following: Sliced wheat bread (excuse me?) CUBED ham (I had to excuse myself to the restroom to check if I was a retired man of old age. I then went back out to the dining area to see if I was, in fact, in a retirement home. Sadly, I was still at the Cove) NO PICKLES (this is sin) Salad dressing honey mustard (this will make more sense with the next lineup) Tomato…and…lettuce? (When on on earth would this ever be appropriate for any kind of Cuban whatsoever? Well, at least that gives reason for the salad dressing)

I will say this, however. They did get the pulled pork right. Praise be. At the rate this sandwich was going, I surely thought there would be a mass of pork chop on my so-called Cuban.

In the end, the Cove is more like a Cave. Coves typically promise an oasis, where one can rest on land while out at sea. Yet, this “cove” is more like an empty pit of food laden with despair. To all who visit, I hope you...