The Hoof, Fin & Fowl — Restaurant in Gettysburg

• HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE // READ BEFORE VISITING * Summary: Gross food, long wait times, rude staff, and racist management. My wife and kids, mother, father, and brother all decided to eat here during our vacation to Gettysburg after every other restaurant had a 30+ minute wait to eat. From what we saw online, this restaurant seemed like it would be a classy dining experience however it was anything but.

Service: The service was subpar from the start. Due to my brother's dietary restrictions, we politely asked if he could order a cheeseburger from the kids' menu like my children were doing. The waitress told us she had gotten in trouble for that before and couldn't do it again, so I respectfully requested to speak to a manager to explain the situation and that we were willing to pay extra since he was older than the kids' menu age limit. Instead of accommodating us, the waitress rudely stated, "They're going to tell you the same thing I did," before walking off and not bringing anyone for us to speak to.

Food Quality: The food quality was horrid and certainly not worth the outrageous prices. Three of us made the mistake of ordering the shrimp stuffed with crab. The shrimp had an overwhelmingly fishy taste with a rubbery texture, and the crab was clearly canned, and the dish tasted like licking the bottom of the ocean. None of us took more than one bite. The rice pilaf was flavorless and so waterlogged I could scoop the liquid out with a spoon. My mother's chicken salad contained the driest, most overcooked and unseasoned chicken we've ever had.

Incident: None of us could stomach more than a single bite of the shrimp dish. When the waitress asked how everything was, we politely informed her that the food did not taste good, requested the check, and mentioned we wouldn't be eating it. She said she would inform the cook, and we prepared to leave. My mother, who was paying, respectfully asked that the shrimp dishes be removed from the bill as they were inedible. At that point, the bartender from earlier appeared from around the corner and aggressively told my mother that the food "tasted fine" and insisted we would be paying for it. As we were ready to leave, a male chef stormed out of the kitchen, yelling, "I WILL CALL 911 IF YOU DON'T WANT TO PAY," along with other obscenities. I calmly explained that my mother was, in fact, paying. Realizing his mistake, the chef became even more enraged and childish as he started shouting racial slurs, calling us "WHITE TRASH," and demanding that we "GET OUT OF MY RESTAURANT." The language and behavior he displayed in front of my family, including my 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son, were beyond unacceptable. As this is a public review I will leave out the specifics of everything else he yelled at us, as I'd have to censor it anyways.

Outcome: Those of us who tasted the shrimp suffered from upset stomachs for the rest of our trip. We are currently in the process of reporting the restaurant's food quality to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the local health department. Additionally, we plan to file a report with the police regarding the chef's behavior. We ended up paying the full bill just to escape this nightmare of an experience. This was our first night in Gettysburg, and it left a lasting negative impression.

Final Thoughts: As a veteran of the U.S. Military visiting Gettysburg to connect with history, this experience left a terrible taste in my mouth. I will never return to this restaurant and strongly advise others to avoid it as well.

Rating: This was a 0/5 experience. While this restaurant might have potential if they overhauled their staff, implemented proper training, and improved their food quality, in its current state, dining here is a complete waste of your...

A pleasant experience overall. I could read these reviews all day, super hilarious. I had to go see for myself. Jeff seems to respond in varying ways based on, I don’t know, position of the constellations or something. Sometimes professional, sometimes utterly childish. So here we go. Reviewers saying it’s awesome – I don’t understand your frame of reference. To what are you accustomed, that this restaurant makes your day? Just saying. I did not have a 1-star experience but I am being generous with 3. I try to consider what unique challenges the owners and managers might be unable to conquer through no fault of their own, while also being up front and honest based on my expectations as someone who frequents restaurants 200 days a year.

Upon calling ahead, I was told I need a reservation. It was a Saturday, so I understood. But on arrival the place was empty. Fair enough, reservations probably tell them how to staff for the evening. The décor is odd: Hanging on the walls are taxidermied freshwater fish and wild birds. Deer and other game make an appearance. None of that is available on the menu except trout and duck, but perhaps it’s a seasonal offering not available this week? Seems like a missed attempt at the feeling of a hunting lodge, but at least the walls are not bare. The establishment name must indicate beef/lamb, seafood, and chicken. The food is not exotic, and is plated plainly, but nicely. We tried the whole lobster – excellent. The cod loin – also delicious. Calamari - needs some help, but not bad (canned diced tomatoes were definitely detected). I saw a cordon bleu that looked ok, but like everything else, the presentation is really similar to what all of us would do at home, so a bit disappointing. Slapped on a big round white plate if I recall correctly.

I think this area puts forth restaurants that barely qualify as such, from the perspective of some patrons. They are doing what they think is right, and feeling good about it, based on what is around, but who is setting the bar this low? The issues with liquor licenses for example… the waitress can’t bring me alcohol, I have to go get it myself from the bar? Ok, no biggie. The wine was atrocious, though. PA wine? Thanks but no, it was basically grape juice. Martini was made without one shake of the shaker, I watched. Therefore, it was warm. But the red wine was chilled so, I am confused. I think maybe I am just bothered by the high potential of places like this. I see what they could be, if only a few small adjustments were made. But don’t avoid this place, people. We enjoyed dinner. The atmosphere was relaxing. The server was kind, competent, and patient. The food showed up quickly, was darn good, and somewhat reasonably priced...

Not even sure where to start. Very disappointing. First, as other reviews have noted, you have to go to the bar to get your own drinks, on a separate tab. I have no idea why, but that wouldn’t have been so bad if the bartender had actually been there to tend to the bar instead of serving tables. I didn’t care for my drink, and I still can’t pinpoint what was wrong with it. The liquors are all local, and my drink was made with tequila, so that may explain it. Who in PA can make a good tequila? Even the Pinot Grigio I subsequently ordered had a funny finish to it. My husband did like the Cab-Franc, though.

On to dinner. We ordered a calamari appetizer. It was rubbery and fishy. I could barely choke it down. For our entrees, my husband got the duck and I got the Ahi tuna. The duck was so pale it looked like pork. It was tender, but didn’t have a good flavor. I’ve never seen duck that color before. The Ahi tuna looked good, but had a very strange flavor. They served fresh ginger with it, but no wasabi. What’s the point of the ginger, then? (Hint: it’s to cool your mouth after eating what? Wasabi). The rice pilaf was tasteless. The broccoli was ok- what could you possibly do to broccoli to make it bad? The lady at the table next to us ordered something that came with mashed sweet potatoes, and she sent those back- said they were ice cold. Incidentally, they will also not substitute sides. I have to wonder why. Are all the plates made ahead of time with the sides already on them? That would explain the pale, anemic-looking duck. Maybe it was microwaved.

The staff: Our server was attentive, which was good. However, she was clearly struggling to keep up, which wasn’t surprising as she had tables both inside and outside. She was literally red in the face from running around. And as I said, the bartender doubled as a server, and that was not ok. Both were very friendly, and truly, I felt sorry for them and they were both tipped well.

All in all, a very disappointing experience. I was really hoping to find a nice local restaurant that could be our new go-to place for a nice dinner, and to take guests. Instead, we found somewhere we will...