O Steaks & Seafood — Restaurant in Laconia

A recent visit to O's, was a completely disappointing experience that fell far short of a five-star standard. On a Sunday night when the restaurant wasn't even busy, the wait times were extraordinary. Our server did not check on us until a full 20 minutes after our main meals were delivered, at which point our dissatisfaction was already a moot point. We waited an unreasonable amount of time for drinks, then for appetizers, then for our meals, and check ins were poorly timed. Example, a second round of drinks were ordered. It took a usually long time for them to arrive. At one point our waitress appeared and finally noticed we still had not gotten a second round. It STILL took another four minutes for the drinks to appear.

The food itself was a major letdown. A full 70% of our meals were cold, and a steak, which was ordered medium-rare, arrived burnt to a crisp. The quality of the food and service simply did not align with the restaurant's reputation, AT ALL. If you are going to charge those prices, make it worth it! The filet arrived on a huge plate without one lick of garnish. Just a piece of meat on a plate. Who is plating these dishes and saying “yup that’s five star, send it!”? Who is picking up these plates and being okay with delivering them to patrons? Who is overseeing this and thinking “Michelin star here we come”? Pathetic.

To make matters worse, we had called ahead to arrange a special birthday service for one of our party and were guaranteed it would be taken care of. However, there was not a single acknowledgment of the birthday we were trying to celebrate. Adding to the poor experience, the new general manager was condescending, going so far as to address all three of us women at the table as "guys." He went on to describe all the challenges of the service industry as if we were unaware. Do better. Try turning it around by improving the experience and service. Don’t make excuses.

For a restaurant claiming to be five-star, the small details matter. It makes or breaks the experience. Serving bread in bags is a deplorable practice for a fine dining establishment, and even the chairs were ugly, contributing to a sense that the venue doesn't live up to its own hype.

If this is what O’s thinks five-star service looks like, it's a sad reflection on the industry. True five-star service is a seamless experience from the moment you walk in. It involves attentive, professional staff who anticipate your needs without being intrusive. Staff is invisible but attentive, with an ability always arrive at the perfect moment. Drinks should arrive promptly, courses should be timed perfectly, and the food should be prepared exactly as ordered, and served hot. A five-star establishment would have a manager who is gracious and welcoming, and special occasions like birthdays would be acknowledged with a sincere, personalized gesture. This restaurant's failure to deliver on these basic expectations, from the cold food to the condescending manager and unacknowledged birthday, demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of what five-star service truly means. Stop touting yourself as 5 star O’s. It’s...

Atmosphere: 2/2 Stars Food: 1/2 Stars Staff: 1/1 Stars

SUMMARY: My wife and I were staying at the Lake Opechee Inn over the weekend and were excited to check out the Restaurant onsite. We were very pleased with the gorgeous atmosphere and with the staff. Our waitress, Nora, was wonderful. The food overall was good. I will discuss further below why we decided to give 1 of 2 stars for the food. Overall, we were very pleased with the experience and would definitely recommend anyone in the area to try this restaurant!

ATMOSPHERE: Scenic placement next to a beautiful lake. The yellow dimmed lighting made this restaurant feel so comfortable. We had a booth near a window looking out to the lake. The seating was very comfortable, the restaurant was spacious and the ambiance was peaceful. The large chandeliers hanging throughout were very pretty and the string lights hanging over the bar area along with the strong wood decor, gave it all a nice rustic feel. The outdoor portion was lined with heat lamps which allowed for a nice view even during the colder nights.

FOOD: Appetizers: Seasonal Scallops & Bacon, The Chips with Bacon Salads: Classic Caesar, Roasted Tomato & Ricotta Entrees: Salmon, Steak House Tips

We were first given some warm bread with butter which was delicious. The appetizers came out and we both loved the scallops and bacon! We highly recommend if visiting here. The in-house chips were also very tasty. They retained their crisp even when covered with the Blue Cheese Sauce.

The Caesar salad came as promised, Classic. It hit the mark with the fresh greens and crunchy croutons. I was feeling something new which is why I chose the Roasted Tomato & Ricotta. Overall the presentation and creative efforts were appreciated. However, I personally was not the biggest fan for two reasons. 1. The ricotta seemed to be a bit overwhelming when mixed in, 2. The flavors may have been better tied together with a caramelized nut of some sort. This is only my personal take and, to me, it needed an additional flavor.

On to the entrees. The salmon was delicious and perfection crispy but could use some improvement on plating. It felt too mashed together with the rectangle. Maybe a square plate. The big issue for us was the tips. It may have been a bad batch but they were over charred and even though the inside was cooked perfectly, the outside was too burnt. This restaurant definitely has a great reputation and I am sure things don’t always go perfectly but the over char is what costed them the 1 star in this category in our book.

STAFF: We were greeted by a very kind host who seated us to our requested spot. Our waitress Nora was truly great. She made sure to get all of our orders in correctly and also did a phenomenal job on timing. Nora also made sure our water glasses were full every time she came by to check on us (big deal for me). Nora was also very understanding when we returned the steak tips and really did make sure we were still satisfied overall while also offering us an alternative. Thank you for your...

My husband and I use to frequent this restaurant often and very much enjoyed it; however the last two times we went the quality of the food seemed to have gone down quite a bit. We decided that maybe it was just a fluke and wanted to give it another chance. We live 25 minutes away and it was 7:30pm so I gave the restaurant a call to get an idea of how busy it was so we knew whether we should make the drive. The conversation: Me: Hello, I was wondering if you could tell me what the approximate wait for 3 is right now? Os: The wait times change frequently and I can't give you that information unless you are here in person. Me: I understand that the times can change but I was just looking to find out how busy it is right now. Os: I'm not allowed to give you that information unless you are here. It changes too much. Me: I live about 30 minutes away and am just trying to find out if it's closer to an hour wait right now or 15 minute wait. I understand it could change by the time I get there but it would give me an idea of if I should try to come tonight or wait for another night. Os: (now with a rude attitude) I told you I cannot give you that information. I'm not allowed to tell you. Me: If I was standing in front of you right now what would you tell me the wait was? That's all I'm asking. Os: (extremely rude now) I can't tell you that. Me: Hung up before I said something I shouldn't, proceeded to call Fratello's across the street from O's and got an answer of 15 minutes at their restaurant.

The most bizarre and rude interaction on the phone with a restaurant I have ever had. As an intelligent adult I am very much aware that the wait time could be very different by the time I reach the restaurant, but to refuse to give any sort of answer is ridiculous. Then to top it off with the attitude and rudeness of the person who answered the phone was just over the top. I guess we will just assume that their service has gone downhill with their food. The area has many other good places to eat that there is no need to bother...