Denny's — Restaurant in New London

I am surprised that there are no reviews yet for the service that was extremely evident on Saturday evening after Sailfest dispersed.

When we came in we knew sailfest would make some things busier and accepted that. We came in and there were like 11-12 tables, a lot of four tops and some 2 tops. We chose our seats and decided to see how long the wait was. We were not told about any delay.

It took 15 minutes to see the waitress for the first time and she delivered our menus. She tried taking our order in less than a minute after when we had no time to read them. We did ask politely for a couple extra minutes.

She then took our order 12 minutes later which included a couple entrees, appetizer and water.

It took 30 minutes from the time we ordered to receive water.

It took an hour from the time we ordered to receive food. This food should have been PERFECT with the amount of time we had to wait to get our entrees. However this was so bad- half the food was burnt and you could tell it was stuck in the fryer for way over the recommended time. It was something that could have made any customer Stomach ill from eating. To ask anyone to pay for such a low level of service and such poor attention to the food despite such a long wait is ridiculous. Also, we didn’t receive part of our order on top of all of this.

Some notes: 1): As someone who works in management for customer service in high traffic areas, management should be staffing to allocate for anticipated busier nights or be there to cover and help staff by being a team player. I know staffing is an issue but if that is the case - don’t change to 24 hours if you don’t have the support.

2): I felt bad for the waitress for being alone, but at the same time her service was extremely poor. I was astounded because she was unfazed when over 5 tables walked out over the time we were waiting (this does not count the ones that sat and left before seeing the waitress - you can easily double the number of walk outs with those included). One table had a waitress from somewhere else that criticized that the waitress here clearly didn’t want to be here - and that was extremely evident. It shouldn’t take 30 minutes to deliver drinks - and yet that was the case with everyone who stayed. I don’t think the waitress even took their order and they were sitting there for 45 minutes. Near the end it was 5 tables left and she still was hiding in the alley between the wait room and the kitchen and not prioritizing bringing what she can to the tables. At that point she had what a typical waitress would have for tables at any other job. At one point we thought she was on something because she looked out of it and was slurring words when she took our order, and at other times we thought she just didn’t care about...

My family and I went in for a very late dinner, so excited for the reopening. We may have gotten there as late as 9 pm. There were only a few tables taken up, and we were seated for 3 adults and a highchair. Lisa was quick to take our drinks and was friendly the entire time, start to finish. We placed orders, and due to a lot of dietary restrictions, we definitely complicated it a bit. Our orders were worked on and they brought out 2.5y's food first. Which was amazing, because it was late and hungry kids get a little impatient. Lisa was so great with our drinks, and friendly chit chat. Grown up foods started to come out. We checked our restrictions just in case and almost everything was perfect. (Right about now, my husband would tell you how amazing the Chicken Fried Steak was, and even that the Mac and cheese was one of the best he's ever had.) There was a minor whoops with one of the meals, and before we even brought it up to our server Lisa, one of the cooks Zak came to our table and let us know that one of the meals weren't absolutely perfect, so he was letting us know they were taking time in the kitchen to remake the meal so it is exactly what it should be, apologized for the mixup, checked with each of us that the other meals were great, and then thanked us before going to continue in the kitchen. A few minutes later, the food was out, picture perfect. We asked to meet the head chef, Dre, who was there immediately. We wanted to thank him for being extra careful with our food, we completely understand that changing a bunch of things can be hectic. He explained that the restaurant was newly reopened, and that everyone goes through thorough training. He saw an opportunity for growth with the small mistake and told us that it's important to make everything properly and ensure the guests have a good dining experience. We were floored. Never had we had a cook come to our table to take accountability, double check with the whole table, and take the opportunity to do a better job. All three individuals we interacted with, Lisa, Zak, and Dre, they were all amazing. The food was great, we did have a few leftovers, but they were SCARFED up. The server and cooks did phenomenal, and we couldn't have asked for a better experience. I know this Denny's location had a bad rep from previous years, especially the night team. But watching how they helped their guests, they even helped a young girl look for a misplaced earring. The kindness was abundant, and it's easy to tell these people are working hard for better dining experiences for us, and a better name for their restaurant. We will be happily, happily, happily be coming back. Huge thank you to Lisa,...

Daddy daughter date ill never do again, brought to you by dennys in New london ct. When you pull up to an iconic Dennys your used to seeing pictures of the reminiscent good old days and history behind the resturant. What you get is the door to enter is busted. When you get inside their was no host or hostest to be found, better yet it took almost 5 minutes for one to arrive. No worries though my daughter really wants breakfast so let's keep going. The waiter was the only reason this establishment is getting even 2 stars, as bad the experience he was atleast very kind. He greets us and takes down drinks. We order my daughters food first off, shes a kid and slow, we all know kids food should come out first if possible. Well then he's gone for 15 minutes and I hadn't ordered yet. But I waited pateintly.. when he arrived to take my order he brought our 2 waters took my order. Then 20 minutes goes by. Just as im about to ask where her food is. He comes with all our food at once. Not sure why but here it is finally. Still very polite asked if we needed anything else. Now we wait again while we eat typical. Except I finish. Shes going strong. He helps the one other customer then as he passes I ask to put in a to go order for the wife and a dessert for the kid. 20 more minutes go by her and I have run out of things to talk about shes tired im irritated. He bring out the to go bag no dessert. As he walks away I ask for the check. With in 5 minutes he brings the check back. No dessert. Also it wasn't charged. So I wait maybe he'll return... finally as he's again helping the other table my daughter catches him and we ask what happened. He apologized but ran off to grab it. Obviously she eats it. We finish. We go to can out up front at the hostess stand. Guess what still not there... so we wait. And wait. And wait. Then our waiter comes up takes the check adds the dessert to the bill that was originally forgotten about, then we pay and leave. I tried to like this place but honestly from the kitchen point of view it was the slowest I've ever experienced. My food tasted microwaved yet took 45 minutes to get. Id argue it was busy, but we were 1 of 2 parties in the building. Im just apauled that this facility is functioning if this is any example of normal operation. I hope for the companies sake...