Black Cow — Restaurant in Newburyport

I have never written a review because I don’t like to complain but I don’t want this to happen to anyone else. I want to be clear that the 1 star review is not for our waitress she was great. It is for the restaurant and management tonight. I myself work as a waitress and in management. The way my reservation was handled tonight was poor. I called first thing Monday morning to book this for my parents 50th wedding anniversary for a good size party. We have been here in the past with the same amount of people if not more and had no problem. I gave them a choice for where they wanted to go and they chose the Black Cow specifically. We have been coming as a family for over 10 years both locations. We were put at a table that was not appropriate for the amount of people we had and were given an attitude (multiple times, by management) when our chairs were inches away from the two tables of two that we were sat close to. This is what was handled completely unprofessionally. I wouldn’t mind but I booked this with plenty of time and even called to add two more later in the week which they wouldn’t accommodate and I accepted this. My point being I was told they knew exactly the table we were being seated at and it couldn’t fit anyone else so there was no reason we were squished into a table that couldn’t fit us. There was also no reason for management to give us an attitude regarding the two tables of two they couldn’t seat next to us because we were too close. They did seat one of them which was uncomfortably close and there were plenty of tables open the entire time they could have used instead. As someone in the service and management position I would prefer to keep the party spending way more money happy than the parties of “2”. If they continue to keep this type of management they will go downhill fast. We noticed a big decline tonight both in food and management. We watched them try to sit another table of 8 next to us under a leaking pipe, condensation from the pipe above, which again wasn’t the customers fault but the same manager walked over and gave them an attitude like it was their fault they didn’t want to sit there and have water dripping on them the entire time they ate dinner. I get that we all have a bad day and hopefully that’s what this was but I don’t think we will be going back again and wouldn’t suggest doing so especially if you have anymore than 4 people it’s not worth it and they can’t handle it. This was supposed to be a nice dinner for a big celebration that my family was excited for and it started with a lot of stress and made us all uncomfortable from the start. We did make the best of it and like I said we had a wonderful waitress that we made sure we tipped well at the end of the night because most of us sitting at the table work off tips and work with customers daily. Food was also not great for what we spent and has declined significantly. Atmosphere was also...

Went there for my birthday on 10/14, 7:00 reservation. My mother-in-law and wife went in before me to get the table and then I found the parking spot. While I was parking the young hostess sat an elderly woman ( my mother-in-law) and wife at a high top table and in a seat that had no back. Also the hostess walked to the table at such a brisk pace that she got to the uncomfortable table put menus down and left the table before my wife and mother-in-law could ok the table. When I got to the host desk a young lady said that they were in an area behind her to the left. That made no sense to me because behind her was the kitchen I thought. This young lady couldn't even spare a moment to acknowledge me with eye contact. She directed to look around the corner and that's when I saw my table. My mother-in-law said "I can't sit in this seat. My feet don't touch the ground". She panicked a little bit. This made me furious! How careless was this hostess? Don't they have people in their lives that would have a hard time sitting at a table like that. Also why didn't the hostess wait until they ( my wife and mother-in-law) actually got to the table and sat down. At Applebee's, Chili's, Texas Roadhouse and other restaurants; this would never happen. You would think that this restaurant with the much higher price point would give much better service than what we got. I expressed a little bit of this to the manager when I left but was to angry to finish. The reason I am expressing this now is because I'm still angry about it.

I'm not foolish to think that the hostess really thought and cared about the person that she was seating but I thought she may have been trained better. If she wasn't trained better then that is the fault of the restaurant. If she was trained better, than the fault is on her and the restaurant. If you were to ask about my birthday dinner, we did not celebrate my birthday with a dinner.

I gave you 2 stars. The place looks really...

Not crazy about the new location in the “Carburetor Repairs” Building. Food is OK, portions are not massive. Our particular waitress was not great, but I wont hold that entirely against the entire establishment. Without a water view, its hard to justify $30 - $60 a head.

Been going here since it opened in the mid 90’s in the old location. 20+ years, 5 ish times per year, so over a hundred times. Decent food, fair prices, but being right on the water is what you were paying for. Made for a great date spot, even at nite.

The old place had an 80’s ski lodge vibe, which was still good, surrounded by water. The new place has an industrial warehouse meets starbucks vibe, but with views of the parking lot.

Our waitress did not want to be there. I would not say a bad attitude, but exessively robotic, with better things to do. We noticed the same attitude to neighboring tables as well. A couple on a date asked for fresh silverware, as theirs looked less than clean. She did not say a word. the couple took silverware from an adjoining, empty table.

Examples:

She could not described the taste of anything on the menu. When told we were ready to order, she flat out said "I have other tables to take care of first." Okaaaay. She did not refill the waters. She did not refill the coffee until asked. She did not ask how everything was. We had to ask for the desert menu, and doggie bags.

I respect servers, and will do 20% for just an average job, and did 30% no problem last weekend, different restaurant. I did 17%, as I blame the establishment more than her.

I not be going to the Black Cow, but instead go to whatever restaurant occupies the old...