John Davenport's Restaurant — Restaurant in New Haven

write reviews for two reasons out-of-this-world experiences and horrible/won't go back experiences.....This clearly from the one-star was not a good one. I went this past weekend for my mother's birthday (one of the bigger ones) and being the eldest/most local of the son's, my dad and myself wanted to give her a very special day/night; ending with a great dinner. (that highly fell short) We had made reservations for this past weekend for my parents, a handful of relatives and myself. I got there punctually for our dinner reservations to be greeted by the hostess which was nice to give me a menu to lookover while I waited a few minutes for the others to park their cars. (Note: always use the valet service Friday-Saturday; parking can take a considerable amount of time otherwise) Soon after the rest of my family showed up and we were seated. Aedan (think I spelt it correctly) helped by getting all of us water and asked him a few times throughout the evening for things, that he was very quick to get. Robin was our main waitress, and she was great throughout the night; especially with the disarray that was about to commence. So the party of seven (sadly one couldn't come finally) of us were there at 6:30pm and got water/drinks/rolls in the first 20 minutes. Robin seem to be only one of one of two main waiting staff (with 1-3 helping dining staff/ not counting the bar staff) because of this she appeared to be swamped by the number of tables that she was serving. **That night was also the night that Yale vs. Harvard game was and that was one of the main excuses that I heard continuously on why things weren't going smoothly. So now that you have the mood set; after the first 30 minutes everything started to fall apart We than waited more than HOUR for our meals (came right before 8:30pm) not an hour from when we got there but an hour from when we got appetizers. **Got there at (I can time stamp all the activities of the night because of the slow escalation of frustrating text messages I was sending my partner throughout that evening) After receiving our food ( several people at the table ordered the ribeye steak with chard corn and what was stated to be mash potatoes with horseradish infused.) The individuals at the table (including myself) who ordered the ribeye, tried the food and all of our mash was cold but also have barely had any flavor of horseradish. My mom and my uncle couldn't even taste it but this was a hint of horseradish I could pick up. So as soon as I got my food I was sending it back, along with the other two orders. Robin empathetically apologized numerous times before this for the wait for our meals and now again was having to apologize for this she could change. She had the chef make mash for the table, which came out in small cast iron pans. This mash potato had no flavor of horseradish what so ever. I emphasize about this horseradish because that was the main/ pretty much only reason my mom got that dish in the first place and this was my mom's night and she was not having a good dinner.... so she than tried her steak, as well as I did. They were cooked to the right temperatures (rare/medium rare) but the steak as a whole just was tough and not worth it. I have had a better steak at Texas Roadhouse/Long Horn and get it for cheaper and leaves my taste-buds wanting more....this steak just left me frustrated and wanting to order something different. *ON TOP OF IT ALL.... there was a piece of cooking twine left on the plate that was almost eaten. {Picture below} Robin our waitress could clearly see I was highly upset by this point and had her manager (think his name was Dan) come over. He apologized too and said he was extremely sorry and would take the plate off the bill. That was a nice gesture, but I am not looking for a handout.The wrap up: (only get so many characters) Chef made a horseradish sauce but pretty much we were done with eating when it came out. Dessert was good overall but half the tables coffee didn't come till we asked again for it. I won't be...

Birthday dinner tonight for my son. Party of four. 6:30 pm Sunday night. Not busy. Grandma came 92 years old. I waited 25 min for a drink. It arrived in a sweaty glass which means it sat at the “ fairly empty bar” I passed on my way to the ladies room. No Salmon, no Fettuccini, no Alfredo, questionable about frying the fish tacos. I mean it’s like using the same kind of thing for fries. Two entrees were warm not hot. Service was SLOW!! No spoons for coffee, no sugar in the little container for coffee just equal and Splenda, I had to get up and go find some sugar packets from another container.i mentioned quietly to the host my displeasure regarding the length of time it took to get the drink and hoped the manager would take care of that. He or she did not. I told the host about having to get up again to go get sugar and she replied “ we would hand gotten it for you “ no, it’s the hosts job in my business to make sure those things are done PRIOR to a guest entering an establishment. Thanks for the tasty food but the timing was off, the kitchen needs better communication, looks bad for your servers when half the tables meal is warm and half is hot? Where was it? Under the lights? Or sitting on the line? Nice view , thanks for singing it’s a manager/...

This restaurant that is located on the 19th floor of the Omni is absolutely lovely. I was staying in the hotel and since I became a member I was given a free voucher for either a drink at the bar or coffee from the cafe in the lobby. I opted for a glass of wine...hehe. Major shout out to Olson the bartender who was not only welcoming and super nice, but very professional as well.

Since I was impressed by the atmosphere and the beautiful view of the city I came back for breakfast. Reyna was my server and she was so sweet...so sweet that she remembered my name the next day when I came back. That alone can make a guest feel recognized and appreciated. Many kudos to her.

The food here is really good. I ordered from the menu as opposed to getting from the buffet at $32 a person. My first day I got the three egg omelette and the second day the pancakes with berries. Both items are reasonable priced and you get a good amount of food. They also give you coffee to go when you finish your meal. When you get the bill you can either pay by cash, card or bill it to your room.

I definitely recommend checking this place out whether you are a guest or just looking for a nice quiet place to have a meal. I look forward to dining here again the next time I stay...