Crawdads on the Lake — Restaurant in Folsom

My recent visit to Crawdads on the Lake in Folsom was, unfortunately, quite disappointing. As a new establishment, I understand there are growing pains, but the issues encountered during my visit suggest deeper problems that need urgent attention.

First and foremost, the lack of formal training for the staff is evident. Conversations with new employees revealed that they never received any proper training because the owners were eager to start making money. This lack of preparation is glaringly apparent in the service and overall experience.

One would expect that, given the extreme heat in Sacramento County, frozen drinks would be a popular and readily available option. However, on multiple visits, the frozen drinks were never ready. This is a significant missed opportunity, as these drinks could be a major draw. The manager should ensure that these are prepared and available from the moment the first patron walks in.

Cleanliness is another major concern. The bar area was not clean, with ants crawling all over the surface. Additionally, the glassware, once washed, was placed directly on the counter without any protective layer underneath, which is unsanitary. The presence of numerous flies was also off-putting. The female bartender seemed indifferent to the flies landing on patrons' food, which is unacceptable. She even took plates from patrons without asking if they were done, displaying a lack of basic customer service skills.

Our appetizer experience was equally disappointing. We ordered cauliflower wings and had to wait 30 minutes for them to arrive. When they finally did, they were lukewarm at best and lacked the crispiness one would expect. The long wait was not justified by the quality of the dish, making it a poor choice.

The service was subpar. The staff did not acknowledge that we barely touched our meal, nor did they ask if we wanted another drink. They should have been cognizant of our dissatisfaction and made efforts to address it. This lack of attentiveness further detracted from the experience.

Another point of contention is the parking situation. On weekends, valet parking is the only option at $7, but we discovered afterward that there was free self-parking available at the front, which was not offered to us. This lack of transparency left a bad taste.

In conclusion, while the view at Crawdads on the Lake is great and many reviews praise them for this, it won't save this place. The service and food quality will determine its success or failure. The establishment needs to prioritize proper training for its staff, ensure cleanliness and sanitation, and make menu items, especially popular ones like frozen drinks, consistently available. If these issues are not addressed, I fear this restaurant may not survive beyond its first year. For now, I cannot recommend Crawdads on the Lake to...

This well deserved poor review is long overdue. To the owners....we left you 2 messages never to receive a call back!! Clearly you are more turn and burn dining than interested in your guests dining experience. My husband has managed 5 star clubs and hotels and couldn't believe you weren't on property touching tables , nor was any manager; as you had just recently opened. So, not surprised by so many poor reviews. Lunched with my husband and 4 others. Food mediocre at best . Pasty clam chowder served lukewarm . Couldn't taste any clam juice, tough clams, rubbery tough chicken; sloppy presentation.sent several dishes back .We frequently got up to get our own share plates, silverware, napkins, etc. received the wrong cocktails,....I could go on. server had a great personality.... however lacked knowledge (fault of owner and management) stated he had no bus help and that the restaurant was short staffed. ( guests don't want to hear excuses.) We are not the kind of diner you want to disappoint. This group dines out frequently with friends and are "discerning foodies." My friends tipped 30 % cash tip feeling empathy for the server. Additionally my husband and I tipped generously unaware there was a 21% gratuity added. He should have graciously and ethically mentioned this when we handed him so much cash. He ended up with a $100 tip on a bill around $200. A $40 tip would've been 20%. We would've tipped maybe $60 still well over 20 %.... but certainly not $100 . We recently were at Gordon Ramsays Hells Kitchen in Tahoe and the gratuity is 20 % but you charge 21 % !? laughable!! Due to the lack of care or follow up we will NOT return. There is too much competition to be so non chalant. You will not sustain your better diners who expect more. My friend has told everyone at the board meeting in our gated community to not bother with Crawdads, reiterating our unenjoyable disaster of a lunch. So you've lost us and another potential 20 or 30 guests in our community that do listen to each other's advice on which restaurants to frequent and...

My family and I made the huge mistake of dining at Crawdads on the Lake Monday evening 8/5. What was supposed to be a pleasant dinner turned into a terrible experience. On our way home, we became violently ill, having to pull over multiple times to vomit. Others in our party also suffered severe food poisoning.

The common denominator? The Longboard Lemonade and Frozen Tito Lemonade . We each had 1-2 drinks, nothing more. A simple Google search shows that bad lemons can cause serious illness, which is exactly what we experienced.

Out of concern for others, we called the restaurant the next day to inform them. No callback. We tried again later Tuesday evening. Still no response. Finally, on Wednesday 8/7 , we reached the so-called manager, Danielle, who claimed she never received our messages. If that's the case, that's another level of concern added to this.

Danielle's response was beyond dismissive. She arrogantly insisted that food poisoning couldn't happen so quickly and only occurs 6-8 hours after consuming contaminated food. She offered no recourse or solution, not even an apology.

When I expressed my frustration and mentioned escalating the issue, she had the audacity to say, "You can't. I'm the last stop."

This level of negligence and lack of accountability is appalling. Crawdads on the River doesn't care about their customers' health or safety. I'm posting this review to warn others: steer clear of this place. My next call will be to the county food board to ensure no one else suffers like we did.

EDIT: To clarify, we had both had the lemonade drinks and while Danielle may claim high standards to cleanliness and "fresh" lemons, this was not the case.

The information Danielle replied in her response was never brought up on the initial phone call and is only now written out now to save face. If this was brought up and acknowledged initially , my review would have never been posted.

I never have posted a negative review until now, and I stand...