Great Road Kitchen — Restaurant in Littleton

I'd like to start by saying I give reviews A LOT! I'm not one to only give a bad review out of anger. And I waited a few days to write this, as to not be biased.

This trip started out well. 6:30 reservations on a week night. The place wasn't super packed when we got there. Nice.

Waitress was really nice. Described everything really well. I ordered a beer and my wife got water. I wasn't listening fully to the water conversation, but I think there was tap, sparkling, and bottled. My wife got tap. They served it warm with no ice. If you ask me, this is done to sway you into buying a drink which my wife did. We'll get to that in a bit.

Beer came out and we ordered apps. My wife ordered a Caesar salad, I ordered the burrata, and my wife ordered a soda. This is where it fell apart. I got my beer and ordered the apps at 6:48. I know because I messaged my friends about the beer. The burrata came shortly after and entree orders placed. Then, our waitress had disappeared. Completely. At 7:40... Let me write that out.. SEVEN FORTY PM... my wife had to flag a manager. It had been about 40 minutes since anyone had acknowledged us.

We had never gotten the salad, soda, or any entrees. The manager said he would comp the salad, but IMO he should have comped more. It was another 15 minutes or so before we got our entrees.

My wife got the steak special. It was awful. Just awful. Sure, it can be argued this isn't a steak place, but that was this evenings special. If you're going to feature a steak, do it right. They didn't salt the meat at all, which should be a sin... And for flavor it was just char. All you could taste was char. The inside was cooked as requested, but the flavor outside was overwhelming. If I wanted to eat char, I'd scrape bits out of my grill. It was bad.

I got steak frites and they were okay. They served the steak over the fires which made cutting tough, but it looked nice I guess. My steak had that char flavor as well, but not nearly as bad as the "special".

My wife couldn't eat her steak and decided to leave. Our 3 year old, who was pretty well behaved throughout, was getting a bit antsy after being there for 90 minutes. Management came over again after they noticed this. I explained we had separate cars, so I was staying for the bill and she was taking the boy. It still took about 15 minutes to get the bill!!! Like... How would you NOT get a bill ready after 2/3rd of the party left and the remaining 1/3rd was sitting there on his PHONE NOT EATING!!!??? (Maybe I should have waited longer to wrote this review...)

Waitress finally came over and asks if I'm ready for the bill. Naw.. let me chill here for a few more hours... I smile and say sure. I kept my cool there. Mistakes happen I guess... But the next part... She comes back with the bill and immediately starts talking about my son. She starts saying how well behaved "the little cutie" was. How "it really shows how well we are raising him" because he sat through that looooong dinner without crying at all.

Lady. I know my kid is well behaved. Stop fishing for handouts... She literally complimented my parenting skills for like 2 whole minutes. Look, you messed up. Everyone is entitled to a mistake every now and then. I'm not going to NOT tip you even though you failed me. I wish I didn't... But I did. Whatever...

Last bit to this long winded review. This was the day after the last storm. I get that people were without power and they could have potentially been busier than normal. HOWEVER, people were getting their food all around us. A large group got seated after us and got drinks and salads before us. A smaller group was in and out while we were just IN. THE PLACE WASN'T BUSY!!! Gibbet Hill down the street was booked through the teeth and I bet they didn't have this issue...

0/5...

Dining Catastrophe!

Stopped at Great Road Kitchen for dinner with a professional colleague (both mid 50's) for the first time two weeks ago on a Thurs evening. We arrived at approximately 6:50 PM. We were seated outside. Restaurant was about 2/3rds full. At 6:55 we ordered a draft beer and a water, and a few minutes later we ordered our diners from the menu....little did we know that these would be the only two items we would receive until almost 9pm (not a typo). Some of you are probably wondering why we didn't just leave....read on....

At approximately 7:30 we were growing a little concerned that dinner was taking awhile so we flagged down our waitress and asked her to check on our food. She apologized and promised to be right back. At 7:45 we found her again (she never came back) and asked if we could speak to a manager....numerous people around us had been seated and were eating. The manager arrived and explained that our order had gotten mixed up, and that the kitchen was struggling to manage a wedding rehearsal dinner.....no problem...we weren't in a rush and these things happen.

Around 8:20 we flagged down the manager again to inquire about our food. He apologized, told us how embarrassed he was, and promised our food would be prepared next. He also told us he would "take care of the bill".

At 8:45 we decided to leave. Two hours in, we had one empty beer glass to show for our time....no bread...no nuts, no refills... I went to speak with the manager to let him know we were leaving. I met him just outside the "open kitchen" line. He apologized again...while we were talking, the cook (who was standing at the counter) shouted out "Denny's is right down the street..." At that point I was really pissed off. We had been very civil and patient...there was no screaming or yelling...just waiting like a couple of idiots. Time to go.....the manager followed me out apologizing over and over for the remarks, and the delays. He told me that our food was was right behind him .....(keep reading).

At that point we were gathering up our things to leave when the plates showed up.....stupidly we ate them. My food (salmon over greens) was actually very good; my friend's meal (fish tacos) and truffle fries were almost inedible....the manager apologized again and asked if he could replace them....enough was enough. It was 9:05 at this point...truly time to go.

The frosting on the dinner....the manager brought us a bill for $33.00...his version of "taking care of the bill" was far different than what anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant would think it would mean....we dropped $40.00 and walked away. Complete fiasco.

I tried to contact the owners by email and phone before writing this review. I figured everyone gets to have a bad night...right? They never called or emailed me back. My advice: skip Great Road, or at least bring...

My husband and I had a delightful date night at this restaurant last night. I had made reservations in advance since it was my first time there. Our reservation was for 7:30, but we arrived a bit early and were promptly seated. We sought a casual yet elegant dining experience, and the restaurant’s laid-back vibe immediately put us at ease. Our table was situated by the open-concept kitchen, allowing us to witness the culinary magic unfold. Our server was exceptional. Although I can’t recall his name, he had a really cool mullet and an great attitude. His helpful recommendations guided my choices and enhanced my overall dining experience. He even complimented me on selecting his favorites, which I must admit, were all incredibly delicious. We started with oysters and jumbo shrimp, which were super fresh. I went with their butcher’s block choice of petite filet with mash and green beans, and I got Brussels sprouts on the side. I told my husband that if I died last night, I wouldn’t even be mad because at least I had an amazing meal before I went, lol. The filet literally melted in my mouth. The mash was so creamy and perfect. I also got the Groth Cab wine, per our server’s recommendation when I asked for a good wine to have with steak. I left wanting an entire bottle of that wine!! My husband had the haddock tacos, which he said were super flavorful, and he mentioned the guacamole was super fresh despite not being a huge guac person. We decided to be gluttonous and each get our own dessert, and boy was that the right choice. I got the cinnamon roll bread pudding, which was unreal and remained super hot the entire time I was eating it. My husband got the blondie with a mountain of ice cream on top, and I will say mine was better with his ice cream, lol. The blondie in the ice cream dessert wasn’t great, but if that’s our only complaint, I’d say that’s a win. I knocked off one star for atmosphere only because I feel like I couldn’t put my finger on what the vibe of the place was decor-wise. It seemed kinda eclectic in the sense that it conveyed a variety of styles that didn’t seem super cohesive together. It’s giving casual Maine nautical vibes but also rustic farmhouse that’s somewhat fancy, but then there’s TVs and shuffleboard in the front. Overall, though, we had an amazing time with amazing service, and we will definitely be back. The restaurant definitely gave a family vibe, and it seemed like there was a good amount of families there, but I really enjoyed it for a...