Fountain Hill Steak & Seafood — Restaurant in Grafton

TLDR: DONT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY OR HEALTH

Fountain Hill Seafood and Steak Company markets itself as a nice, upscale restaurant--but from the moment we sat down, it was clear that the reality didn't match the reputation.

Let's start with the food. The Caesar salad was appalling: wilted lettuce, discolored rinds, and a watery, unappetizing dressing that somehow cost an extra $2. It looked so bad I hesitated to eat anything else. That hesitation was justified.

The chicken dumpling soup looked and tasted like canned Campbell's chicken noodle with soggy bread chunks tossed in as a sorry excuse for dumplings. I took a video because I couldn't believe they actually served that--absolutely disgusting.

Breadsticks were cinnamon-flavored (???) served with garlic butter. The shrimp tasted heavily processed, and the stuffed shrimp were filled with a weird pink paste that was supposedly crab and cheese but had the unmistakable smell and taste of low-grade seafood. The tartar sauce--served in a plastic cup--was overly sweet and cheap.

The only thing remotely enjoyable was the salmon, which was cooked well and paired with a decent sauce. The twice-baked potato had good flavor but was served at wildly inconsistent temperatures. I ended up barely eating and still left with an upset stomach.

And while they claim to be a fine dining establishment, the details say otherwise. Condiments were served in disposable plastic ramekins, and drinks came with fast food-style red striped straws--an odd and jarring choice for a place that's supposedly aiming for a higher-end experience.

The space itself is tired and unkempt. Dirty carpets, dusty corners, dim lighting, and fish tanks that were either covered up or cloudy and clearly neglected. It felt more like a forgotten buffet than a reputable steak and seafood restaurant.

The staff were kind and accommodating, and I genuinely felt for them. There was an unspoken sense that they knew the place was struggling and they were just doing their best to hold it together. Their professionalism was appreciated, but they were clearly limited in what they could fix.

The real low point came when my dad ordered seafood pasta without shrimp for religious reasons. It arrived with shrimp. We sent it back and were told it would be remade. But after finishing his dish, he found an entire shrimp hidden at the bottom. When he brought it to the manager's attention, she simply asked, "Well, what do you want me to do?"--an unacceptable response to a serious dietary request. My dad just looked at her and said, "Nothing, don't worry about it" because she should've taken charge. He is a frequent fine diner and would have returned to give them another shot if this would have been handled in the proper, courteous way.

Grafton has been in a long rut when it comes to food options, and it's incredibly disheartening that this place is still being held up as one of the town's "nicer" restaurants. It's not. The area deserves real investment and real culinary leadership--not a dusty, overpriced spot coasting on a reputation it no...

The place is OK, but not worth a special trip. Save your time and money ! Overall, the food is mediocre with the menu and quality mirroring Santino's in Alton (the restaurant previously owned by Fountain Hill). I went in with an open mind and left unimpressed on 8/10/25. The Sunday brunch buffet is reasonably priced, but the selections are stale and literally the same as Santino's. It's as if they don't know how to cook anything else and/or change it up. I've had that Sunday brunch four times over the past couple of years and the entrees never vary. Their salads and sides need help in both taste and appearance. They just don't look appealing and sit untouched. The entrees on the buffet don't pair well. For example, they always have some pulled bbq beef and frozen bbq riblet things, but absolutely nothing that accompanies them. Then there is this exceptionally salty, random stir fry. The fried chicken, pasta vodka and eggplant parmesan seem to be buffet staples, but again are nothing to boast about. There are also a few miscellaneous breakfast items, with the option of ordering an omelet to accompany them. Today, the soups of the day were chicken and rice (with undercooked rice per one at our table) and chicken and dumplings that looked more like wonton soup. As for the atmosphere, the outside is quaint, but could be challenging for anyone with disabilities who can't make numerous steps. The parking lot is a disaster with rows way too close to each other. We would have been stuck in our spot in a Nissan Rouge, had the space behind us not been open, its that tight. Once inside, your immediately met with more steps and a very worn down, shabby interior and musty smell. Major trim work, paint and attention to detail are needed throughout. The lighting is atrocious. They are literally trying to light an entire restaurant with randomly placed, mismatched $10 ceiling lights that belong in a closet or hallway. Some tables are actually sitting in total darkness with no overhead lighting. The carpets are dirty and past their prime. Its like they opened up for business and forgot to finish the project, retaining what the old Finn Inn left behind after years of sitting vacant. One half of the building where the bar, buffet and 2nd flight of steps are has no central heating or cooling. It had to be miserable for people dining on that side of the building. The air just walking to the buffet side of the building was suppressive. Bottom line, Fountain Hill is nothing but smoke and mirrors. You can honestly make a better meal at home. This isn't upscale dining and far from what would think of for "steak...

You couldn't pay me to go back. Food is awful. Hamburger ordered medium, came well over well, so dry can't even swallow, could tell it's not a fresh made patty, small piece of processed cheese on top. Italian sub was microwaved meat, SO greasy and turned hard, the cheese was like rubber, didn't even stick to anything, slid right off the greasy meat in one piece. Took one bite and thought I was going to be sick. Never once were we asked if everything was okay. Chicken n Dumpling soup is SO salty, inedible, Chicken was campbell's quality. Dinner salad consists of iceberg lettuce, one cherry tomato and one slice of cucumber. Don't waste money on calamari, huge amount of breading with a tiny piece of overcooked rubber on inside, no flavor at all, completely bland. Ice cream comes with lunch, it's comical, they brought out the little cup style with the pull away top like you had in grade school. Service is even WORSE than the food! Took forever to get anything, literally! We waited forever for salad, soups, appetizer, even cocktails! At one point I got the attention of our waitress (who was horrible) and told her to just cancel my drink, it was going on 20 minutes! However, if you know or "are friends" with the owner, everything seems so come out lickety split and service with a smile, so frustrating! We spent almost 2 hours there, FOR LUNCH! The only thing I enjoyed was being back inside the old Fin Inn, I loved eating here with my parents in the 80's and the aquariums still remain so it was nostalgic but once was enough, I'll never return. We can get better food at one of the pubs across the street...