Joey Garlics Manchester — Restaurant in Manchester

Joeys has been our go to after a family afternoon/evening at the movies.

However yesterday evening the food was less than appetizing.

Apps: wings had to be returned. Not sure if they were partially cooked, overcooked or doubled fried so they’ll be ready when ordered. Didn’t taste fresh. We did mentioned to the waitress she took them back and brought us out another. Those weren’t as bad but weren’t great!

Son ordered the parm grinder & fries, he said it was good, I got a taste of his fried they were good no complaints. Husband ordered buffalo chicken wrap and sweet potato wedges. He was satisfied with the wrap but the wedges were unevenly cooked, 1/2 was edible

I ordered the blackened Salmon, risotto and roasted broccoli. I understand this is not a Michelin star restaurant. However, if you’re going to offer such a complex side you have to ensure the quality of the food can withstand. You cannot precook and warm it without compromising the quality. I took my first bite of the risotto and tasted nothing but uncooked milky cream. The risotto itself was cooked. The only thing I can think it was previously cooked, then when ordered reconstituted with milk or cream… it was just awful!!!!!!! I didn’t want to give the waitress anymore grief after returning the app earlier. I tried to take a few more bites and fight through it but it was just inedible! I didn’t enjoy the Salmon or broccoli either. I did eventually express myself to the waitress when she checked in on us and she made sure we weren’t charged for the meal. We paid our bill and as soon as I got up I was hit with extreme gut pain and could not leave. I was immediately sick to my stomach. I have NEVER in my adult life experience such illness. I believe it was the risotto. This I did not report as I just wanted to get home. Management has to do better. Not sure whose job it is to ensure the food coming out the kitchen is to the best of the franchise standards but I can’t believe I was the only person who suffered from this experience.

I do want to express the waitress was wonderful and I felt really bad she had to deal this. The manager never came out...

My husband and I stopped by around 2:45pm on Saturday 11/11/23. The seating hostess greeted us with a friendly smile and asked what type of seating we wanted, then we were seated right away. Our waitress was Unique and she was super friendly and attentive. She gave us enough time to review the menu and make our choices before she came back to take our order.

She brought our drinks right away despite dealing with at least 7 other tables at the same time. The restaurant itself seemed short staffed. That being said, we never felt neglected. Once our appetizer was ready, a very nice gentleman brought it to our table. I appreciate the fact that if our server wasn’t available, another staff member brought our food so we could enjoy it hot. We ordered the calamari to share and it was so good! It was served with a lemon wedge and marinara. Not greasy or rubbery. It was light and crispy and hot!

Then our main course came out almost as soon as we were done with our appetizer. My husband ordered the burger meal and I ordered the Detroit Hot Honey pizza. The burger was done perfectly and the fries were crispy and light. The pizza was deee-licious! The crust was crispy and not burnt. The sweet and heat combination was heavenly. I would have eaten more than one slice had I not gone HAM on the calamari! But bonus for me, I brought the rest home for dinner and enjoyed a gluttonous round 2 after a long day of holiday shopping!

In all honesty, Joey Garlic’s was not our first choice. We were recommended to go to Texas Roadhouse and when we arrived, the parking lot was completely full and there were people waiting outside, in the vestibule and in front of the seating hostess podium. When we finally made our way to the seating hostess, she was clearly irritated and informed us that it would be a 30+ minute wait. So we left and decided to walk across the parking lot to Joey Garlic’s and I’m so happy we did! The staff and patrons seemed happier and even the atmosphere of the restaurant was better.

Overall, our experience was a 10 out of 10 would...

Family and I just got back from our first time trying Joey Garlic's and to be quite honest I am conflicted. I'll start with the easy, which is the food. We started with the cauliflower bites with the Asian glaze and it was excellent. Then for our meals, one of the kiddos got a penne with butter sauce, while the other got herself a mac and cheese. I gave the Chicken Picatta a shot while the wife tried mussels over linguine. Honestly there was no complaints at all regarding quality of food.

Now for the bad. It is a Saturday night and while we went a bit on the early side of 6pm, there was still a good crowd both dining and at the bar. It was very clear that our waitress was either too new, or not fit for the business as it took us 12 minutes to be acknowledged after being seated, and we had to remind her that we were not only missing utensils, but also napkins and plates.

It went downhill from there. Drink orders were forgotten, and while my salad course was brought over, she completely forgot to bring my wife's soup. The troubling part was that the waitress was never anywhere to be found. At one point i accidentally knocked over my soda and it went all over the floor. While we did our best to clean up, it needed extra TLC. We patiently waited over 10 minutes for our waitress to come over.... She didn't even notice (or care ) about the small pile of napkins we used to clean up the mess...or the fact that she was standing in a squishy pool of soda.

The food was great, but if you are a family with littles and potentially need structure in the dining experience, it's probably best...