Athenian Diner II — Restaurant in Middletown

They absolutely ruined our Thanksgiving. Now, normally we do Thanksgiving at someone’s house, but due to some family members moving to smaller houses this past year, we decided to go to a restaurant. We have all been to Athenian diner before and it’s normally ok. This time it was a nightmare. We had a reservation for 14 people. We sat down exactly when our reservation was. We were sitting there for about 40 minutes before someone had to get up from our table to go complain to the front counter that nobody has come over to even take drink orders or introduce themselves. Another 10 or 15 minutes went by, and someone finally came over to take drink orders and then never came back. The same lady pretty much threw about 30 straws at our table because she was upset that we were getting impatient. Time went by, and a different girl came over and took drink orders. She was extremely fake with how she spoke to us, like we were children. Then a few minutes later the original drinks came but some are still missing. Some duplicate drinks came out because there was clearly no one communication among the employees. They just kept passing the blame to other waitresses and never just apologized. Then another half hour or so went by and no one came back again. We went back up to the front counter to complain again and then they came back out very frazzled and showed some attitude toward us. Meanwhile, the restaurant was much emptier than when we showed up originally. It did not make any sense as to why everything was taking so long and why we were being ignored still. I did notice that other people who showed up after us were getting drinks and food very quickly and were in and out. I know we were a large party, but we had a reservation in the restaurant should have planned better and assigned a waitress or two to our table. Don’t be open on a holiday if you can’t handle it. Back to the waiting part: We were very hungry at this point, and there for an hour and a half before we even got our food, half of which was missing and we had to ask for the rest of the food. At the end, to try to make the situation “better” for us, they thought it would be OK to offer us free “dessert “. That dessert happened to be rice pudding, which is extremely cheap to make, insulting, and did not help the situation at all. Some of my family members already had dessert included with their meals and other family members had food allergies or sensitivities so they did not want the rice pudding. Throughout the 3 hours we were there, I had to take it upon myself to clear the table of empty cups and plates and put them on a nearby tray because they never came by to clear our spots, and the table was becoming very crowded The restaurant did not try to do anything else to make up for how horrible our experience was. Again, nobody ever apologized. I will absolutely not be going back. We have never felt so ignored and insulted at any restaurant ever. We will spread the word to other friends and family members that they should also stay away from this...

TL;DR - Lunch for a party of three took 1 hour and 22 minutes. Wait staff didn't know the soup of the day. Management took no action when informed of our long wait and poor experience.

The details...

We arrived at the Athenian Diner at 11:30 am on a Sunday with a party of 3. While ordering our waitress, Sharon, was unaware of the soups of the day and had to go and check. After ordering, we waited 30 minutes for delivery of even an appetizer. We completed the appetizer and were still waiting for the meal 30 minutes after that.

Toward the end of that wait, I was looking out for her to explain that we would need to get going if they could not deliver anything within the next 10 minutes. Instead, she did not appear until the food was delivered.

When it was delivered, there was no explanation or apology. In fact, she said nothing and just set the plates down and left. On the topic of plates, our lunch plates were just added to those already on the table from the appetizer. 10 minutes later and our table was still crowded with plates. Already upset at the delay, I requested from a manager that the appetizer plates be bused for us, and to provide a few additional napkins.

Next, we asked our waitress for refills of water. That took another 15 minutes.

At the conclusion of our lunch, I spoke with 2 managers, explained our dismal experience, and asked if anything could be done in terms of a discount. They both acted baffled, like deer caught in headlights, then declined without asking any questions or talking with our waitress.

I am not even confident that I was speaking with a manager. Handling dissatisfied customers is a routine process for a manager, not a pop quiz surprise. I would have expected a manager to ask questions, educate themselves on the incident, and a token offer of some compensation for a poor experience.

Our check was a total of $68. Even a modest discount of 15% would have left us feeling better about our experience and costed them only $10. Instead, with their refusal to correct the situation, I handed their manager $70, told her to keep the change, and left. Google Timeline informed me that we departed at 12:52 pm, 1 hour and 22 minutes after entering the restaurant.

Customers are not a priority at the Athenian Diner of Middletown, not for the staff, nor for...

In keeping with a long standing tradition, I had the opportunity to join the happiest group of people I have ever known, who all share a meal together every Friday night at this beautiful establishment. The food here is amazing! The service is wonderful, and the staff makes everyone feel comfortable and welcome, and they do a great job of getting everyone served as quickly as possible, and without any mistakes. They make it look easy, but behind those doors to the kitchen, it's clear the are working very hard to prepare all these meals.

I will add photos of the desserts when I go again next Friday, as they looked absolutely amazing as I walked by them on my way out, but I just could not help myself with my dinner, and I did not leave enough room dessert. All of the dishes that came out to the table at the same time, and they all looked so good, we began to joke about trading plates with one another. Each dish is perfectly portioned to completely satisfy every customer. My only issue Friday night, since it was my first time at the Diner, was with deciding what I wanted off of the menu; the menu is so large and all-inclusive, they have every type of cuisine, for any meal, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, dessert, etc., and it's all available at any time of the day or night.

You cannot go wrong with choosing this Diner for any large get-together with friends/family, or for date night, or even for a quick meal for yourself. As I mentioned, I will be returning this Friday night, and I plan to make this tradition a part of my life...