Sarkys Smokehouse — Restaurant in Newbury

We just went for Mother’s Day brunch. 9 of us including my 90-yr old parents. We were seated into a booth with a table and 5 chairs on the end of it so if you wanted to get out or go to the bathroom it would inconvenience everyone…at least the ones on my side, including my mother. The brunch only had one smoked item on the buffet which was brisket. It was delicious - I only took one piece because it looked pretty big but once I cut all of the fat off it was a pretty insignificant piece. As I was in the booth I didn’t go back for more. Our waitress was awful. She took our drink orders and then the bartender came back 5 minutes later to take our drink orders because the waitress had “written nothing down”. She never came back and asked us if we wanted another drink. Several times we tried to get her attention to get some hot sauce and she just walked right by. Several minutes later we flagged down another waitress and she helped us out. The bloody Mary’s were delicious. The $6 mimosas were so small I could’ve easily finished it in two large sips…the buffet was a huge disappointment. As I said only one protein was actually smoked. The others were basic ham and turkey - not what I’d expect for a $25 buffet at a smokehouse. There was a nice big salad to serve yourself but it only had a large spoon and large fork in it - very difficult to deal with when holding your plate. When the bill arrived (6-$6 cocktails and one coffee plus 9 buffets) it was $340. My brother and I were going to each pay for our family plus one parent. I asked the waitress if she could split the check that way and she said no, she couldn’t. I don’t believe it was impossible to have it done bc I’ve had it done before at different restaurants…I do believe she couldn’t do it though. Being in the hospitality business the proper response would’ve been for her to find someone who could do it. Instead my brother put it on his card and I figured out what I owed and venmoed his wife. Lastly, as I’ve stated, the service was fairly poor but a 20% gratuity was added to our check. I understand it in many cases with a large group but she really did nothing for us. We were out the door less than an hour after we arrived. She never cleared our plates bc no one went back for more. She never asked if we wanted anything else to drink. Overall it was a pretty disappointing experience and it’s doubtful any of us will be going back...

I’ll try to keep this short but there’s so much to say about our unbelievably bad experience. We have written many good reviews for restaurants over the years but this was a first! My husband and I have had a 2nd home in the area for over 20 years. We tried Sarkys last night. It was not even 1/2 full when we got there. Seated right away, ordered, then waited and waited. We waited for 45 minutes to be served, along with a family next to us whose kids were chanting “we want food “. Our silverware was dirty and the waitress replaced them talking about water spots, it was more like dirty residue. My husband and I joked to each other that some restaurants actually wipe their silverware down before setting a table. Food finally came. My turkey dinner was room temperature. Gravy was cold, no steam. I asked for it to be microwaved. The owner took it and when she brought it back she made sure she insulted me by saying she saw her husband plate it right before it was served and sorry it wasn’t hot enough for me. I’m sorry that they can’t send out hot food. Meanwhile my husband who never complains had been struggling with his chicken and ribs. No meat between the chicken bones and skin. Ribs he could not rip apart or even bite into. They also looked very undercooked. The waitress came by and asked how everything was and my husband told her it was cold and tough. We did tell her the fries were good and hot. That’s when the owner came back and insulted us some more, told us it was our fault. we can’t be pleased, and basically told us to get out. Hopefully someone will nominate them for Restaurant Rescue! They...

First no one greets you when you walk in. You stand there awkwardly while people just walk by. It took over 40 minutes to get appetizers! I could understand if they were busy but there was only 3 tables with customers besides us. We got the appetizers trio with cheese moons, garlic parmesan bone in wings and buffalo chicken tenders. The cheese "moons" are more like string cheese sticks cut in half and breaded. They were barely warm. When you cut them in half the cheese was solid. The bone in wings were overly sauced. The buffalo chicken tenders had no crispness at all. They tasted like they had just been dipped in a bowl of frank's red hot sauce. My husband and I both got burgers. The pickles are not slices, they looked like spears cut in chunks. It made it awkward trying to keep it on the bun. I specifically said "Well done, no pink at all please." Once I cut my burger in half, it was pink!! I sent it back and ate only the bland coleslaw. My husband ordered his well done, it indeed had no pink. He ordered his with sauté onions and mushrooms. They were cold! His cheese wasn't even melted on his burger either. No seasoning either. Our server was polite but not real attentive. Needless to say our experience was very disappointing. We will not be...