Finn's — Restaurant in Joplin

My husband and myself along with another couple chose to try Finn’s for the first time. All four of us are accustomed to fine food and love searching out new places to call one of our favorites. Unfortunately, Finn’s will not be one of those places. First of all their web page offers table booking but wasn’t working. Tried calling, but only an answering machine to which I left a message and number...never called back. (That should have been my sign to go to Crabby’s), but I called back closer to four and got a response for a reservation at 6:30. (Again, this should have been my warning- what good restaurant has openings at the busiest time, on a weekend just a couple hours out?-hindsight is 20/20). We arrived on time and they took us to a table without a tablecloth-all others had one. We sat down and immediately gave our drink order. At the time there were 5 tables with what looked like at least that many wait staff. We waited 20 minutes for those drinks that were WAY over priced. I got approximately 4 ounces of Santa Margarita pg, for $12. I don’t mind paying the money if I’m gonna get my money’s worth, but that was ridiculous. It was the same for our friends who even had to tell them not as much ice in his next mixed drink. The waitress was very melancholic and acted like she would rather be anywhere but there, had no knowledge of the menu, and had to go back to the kitchen multiple times to answer our questions that any seasoned waitress would know. Btw, we are fun loving guests, and try to make conversation with the waitstaff (my son and daughters have been waitstaff), we are not difficult people. Now the food. As I said, we eat out A LOT. My husband mostly gets steaks, while I enjoy salmon. The entrees only came with bread and a salad which is fine. I don’t mind ordering my side separately, but the menu or the waitress could have told us they were family sized. We all ordered two sides each! When they brought the food, they brought our friends’ first. They waited thinking ours would be coming in a couple minutes. After about 8 minutes we told them to eat before it got cold. Ours came 10 minutes after theirs. Two of the sides were cold and had to be sent back. My “seasoned”(as was listed in the menu) broccoli was not seasoned and not fully cooked. Sent it back and and it came back in two minutes exactly the same. The roasted garlic mashed potatoes were good. The best thing on our table. My salmon was overcooked, WAY over seasoned and had bones in it!! It was supposed to have a bourbon glaze on it which it might have had a bit, but they topped it with a tartar sauce ball that basically ruined the taste. Luckily my husband’s pork chop was swimming in bourbon sauce so I was able to clean off the tartar sauce stuff and used the extra bourbon sauce to cover the overcooked, over seasoned, bony fish! Now things happen, I totally get that, but with as many things that went wrong I expect SOME sort of compensation. We were not given anything. So with that all said, I hope those of you reading this will also look at other reviews as I have done over the past hour. You will find that this wasn’t an anomaly. Many others have experienced the same woes we did. This won’t stop me from trying other new places, which Joplin needs tremendously, but it will stop me from...

LOOKING FOR A LOCAL PLACE THAT ACTUALLY HAS GOOD FOOD???

When I am traveling I try to find places that have you wanting to come back. Finn’s is Joplin’s own “Bull in the Alley” A place you will need to look for when you come to town. (There are no flashing signs or tons of promos around it) From the road-It has you wondering as it’s hidden from all the buildings that surround it. Once you step towards the entrance you will notice the patio that carries an urban feel with the torches running at night. The dining area feels as if you are going to a wedding reception. The bar dining has a country club feel. It’s my choice. It’s a more intimate setting and I enjoy the personal touches. If you are going with a party of 4 or less and it’s a special occasion; I would personally recommend this area. (Good idea to make reservations first.) There are plenty of pics already posted of food. The waitstaff staff is always good but good to great depends on who you have that evening. (Darian was the most personable I’ve had there.) I’ve never had a bad ribeye and I recommend the stuffed mushrooms for an app (if that’s your thing) NOTE: Monday through Thursday pad on the patio Saturday Sunday live music! In summary-I’ve never had a bad experience and in watching (and talking to) I have learned that the lady that runs the place is very driven, very passionate about the execution of the quality of food and details all the way down to the towels in the restrooms. She maintains timelines, planning and operations. Holding her approach to those in the highest order. And beyond her stoic looks at times; I have learned that she’s not too impersonal to give you the origin behind “Finn’s”. 😏 Because of her I give this...

As a visitor to Joplin for work, I came to Finn's for lunch with a few colleagues who highly recommended it. Upon arrival to the very nice place, we weren't greeted by just waved in by someone on the phone behind the bar to find a place to sit down. There were only a handful of tables in use, so gathered our experience would be more personal. Unfortunately, that was far from the case.

It took about 10 minutes for the waitress to address and bring us drinks. After 15 minutes, the waitress took our order. After 30 minutes of waiting, I asked the status and I was advised call in orders and another table was taking priority, which meant we were not a priority. I had to ask them to box up the food because we had to return to the office. The waitress brought the check over and also some treats. After waiting another 10 minutes, I walked to the kitchen and asked the status and they said it was just now being boxed up. I handed her the treats and asked to have them boxed too. During this whole time, there were no new customers who came into the restaurant and 3 tables left. Yet, we were still waiting after 45 minutes for food. We did receive the packaged food and left.

When we returned to work and reviewed the order, it was also incorrect. My colleagues were thoroughly embarrassed by the experience. What an incredibly disappointing 1st impression and experience with Finn's. Our experience was so much the opposite of many reviews here, which is sad and surprising. So, not sure why it was such an issue for Finn's to handle a small lunch crowd. Perhaps understaffing, but still no excuse for such a poor experience. Overall very disappointed in what appears to be a...