Early in our visit to Lenny and Joe's I was chomping at the bit to give the place one of my worst reviews ever. Long story short: the quality of the food pales in comparison to the chain's Madison and Westbrook locations, and our hosting service teetered on the verge of insulting. Long story long:

Upon calling to place a reservation for a party of six and one baby, I was told by the hostess that the restaurant only accepted reservations for parties of at least 10 - not ideal, but fair enough. When we arrived at the restaurant to an empty lobby and quiet dining area later that night, we were told that we'd have to wait about 15 minutes to be seated. About 10 minutes after we arrived, however, two parties - one of three and one of seven - arrived, told the hostess they had reservations, and were seated immediately. When a member of our party approached the hostess to clear up the confusion surrounding the reservations, the hostess flat-out ignored her questions until one of the servers came to seat us.

The food itself was edible, if nothing to write home about. My girlfriend's lobster roll was overcooked and rubbery, and my scallop casserole was more bread crumb than seafood. Both of our fries were also somewhat soggy.

However, what bumped our visit from a solid two-star experience to four stars was the quality of the restaurant's wait staff. Our waitress was attentive, always on top of our drinks and bringing appetizers and our dishes quickly without rushing us. The best part for my girlfriend and I was how the wait staff were patient with our year-old baby, showing no signs of frustration when she made something of a mess at her highchair.

All-in-all, I can't say I'd visit this Lenny and Joe's over the chain's other locations alone or with a smaller party any time soon. That's thanks in large part to the restaurant's abysmal hosting staff. But for our one visit, the wait staff were good enough to make for an overall enjoyable dining experience.