Brine Oyster • Crudo • Chops — Restaurant in Newburyport

Disappointing Father's Day Dining Experience at Brine Oyster Crudo Chops

I visited Brine Oyster Crudo Chops this afternoon for a Father's Day meal with my son and my wife, and it was a thoroughly disappointing experience. From the moment we sat down, the afternoon went downhill.

Firstly, the oysters we ordered had pieces of shell in them, making them unpleasant and unsafe to eat. The mignonette for the oysters was just balsamic vinegar, and the other sauce seemed to be nothing more than ketchup. The service was incredibly slow, and despite ordering bottled sparkling water, it never arrived.

The biggest letdown was the main course. I ordered a ribeye steak medium rare but was served a New York strip loin medium instead. The steak was haphazardly thrown on the plate, with no presentation whatsoever. To make matters worse, the side of asparagus I ordered never came. When I inquired, the waiter admitted he forgot to place the order. Additionally, I had to ask for a steak knife, which should have been provided automatically.

The dining setup was cramped, with our small table unable to accommodate all our plates. The waiter was indifferent, leaving me to place empty plates on a neighboring table. The side dishes came out as appetizers, and when my steak finally arrived, there were no sides to accompany it. After pointing out the mistake, the staff brought a side of potatoes instead of asparagus, which I don't eat due to dietary preferences.

The staff seemed to have no experience or proper training. A restaurant with those prices should not just have high school kids as waiters. Despite the staff apologizing and offering a single scoop of sorbet on the house, it was too little too late. The overall service was terrible, the food was mishandled, and the prices were exorbitantly high for such poor quality. We waited far too long for our food, and the overall dining experience was severely lacking.

I will not be returning to Brine Oyster Crudo Chops, and I would advise others to avoid it as well. They have a lot to improve in terms of service, food quality, and overall customer care.

RESPOSE to Owners response.

Subject: Deeply Disappointed with Father's Day Dinner Experience

I am writing to express my utter disappointment with the recent dining experience at your restaurant, which was far from satisfactory. Your response to my initial feedback was not only dismissive but also misleading.

Firstly, let's set the record straight: it wasn't a matter of personal taste regarding the steak. I specifically ordered a bone-in ribeye steak cooked medium rare, but what I received was a NY sirloin steak cooked medium. This is not a minor mistake; it's a fundamental error in fulfilling a customer’s order.

Secondly, your claim that I canceled my side dish is entirely false. I ordered fried tomatoes and asparagus as side dishes to accompany my steak. Instead, the tomatoes were served as an appetizer, and the asparagus was completely absent. Furthermore, I explicitly stated that I did not want the potato side dish because I don't eat starch, yet this request was ignored.

The service was excruciatingly slow, and to make matters worse, the food presentation was non-existent. The steak was served without any garnish, just a slab of meat on a plate. This lack of effort and care in presentation made me feel like a dog being fed scraps, not a valued customer at a restaurant.

Your insinuation that I am a difficult customer is both insulting and unfounded. All I wanted was a nice Father's Day dinner with my son and wife, but instead, you managed to ruin our evening. Your attempt to blame staffing issues for the poor service does not excuse the multiple failures we experienced.

Everything that could go wrong did go wrong with our dinner. Your restaurant's performance was abysmal, and your dismissive response only adds insult to injury. I hope you take this feedback seriously and make the necessary improvements, so no other customer has to endure...

I would say our waitress was great; however, you are going to restaurant to eat and would say for the prices and the quality there was something to be desired. The menu was well intentioned but the execution was poor. To begin the drinks as referenced in previous reviews were not full pours and for those prices you would expect that. The oysters were not chucked correctly and there were pieces of shell in what were served. Selection provided and oysters how they were chucked seemed like person did not know what we’re doing and maybe from the half dozen there was one that matched description, again at 3.5 an oyster you would expect that they would be decent like Neptune in Boston. Now comes the appetizers the Shrimp Cocktail what was that, served in clumsy bowl and served with avocado chopped up like a two year old completed the dish. Now for a positive note the raw tuna was well presented but there was nothing to accompany it maybe with some seaweed salad and could of been a little more, the tuna was paper thin, it would be great dish and if you wish to minimize the tuna have something to complement the dish it was incomplete. Now the quintessential clam chowder, really was looking forward this, again what a disappointment, the description was awesome but what were they thinking, a foam soup, with a chunk of bacon not chopped so it can be enjoyed through out. I do not know about you I do not expect to eat soup with fork and knife, and as I was eating the soup I was wondering where the clams, yes one clam. Now for the entrees, the sirloin steak ordered medium rare and when arrived to table was asked to cut, and to my another disappointment it was cooked cold to center, raw, and for plating there was small container some kind of A1 sauce, I do not know about you but when I order a stake $46 you really should have no sauce to enjoy the meat. Here they would be better served to learn how to plate, these are prices you would pay at high steak houses. We ordered the truffle cauliflower, and what a mistake, tasteless and what a waste of shaved truffles. I would say, this is a place I would not return...

So, this was a big disappointment. I have a feeling it's not normally this terrible (maybe they were just overwhelmed for Mothers' Day), but can only write about our experience and not what I think it might be like at another time.

-It started off okay. The waiter asked about allergies, which I always appreciate as I have a few. -Took 15 minutes or more for an iced tea and bloody mary to arrive. -My appetizer was tuna tartare and it was a super sad presentation. Just a few pieces of fish with plantain chips on the side and nothing else. I was honestly surprised to see that since it's mainly a seafood restaurant. -We placed our orders at 2:40. The entrees didn't arrive until 3:30. We asked a few different times for an update and they said "it was coming." The assistant manager said the order was placed at 3:10. Why such a delay? -Others who were seated after us got their food before ours. -When the food did arrive the soup wasn't hot, my mom's entree was cold, and my fries were cold. Even if it was hot, it still would have been underwhelming for the price. -We asked to speak to the assistant manager. She was polite, but I wouldn't characterize her as overly sympathetic or apologetic. Very rushed "oh we'll take care of this" and clearly didn't want to deal. The other manager, Nancy, came over. She made it right by comping the meal, but again, wasn't overly apologetic and her approach wasn't the best. Nancy did ask my mom if she could get her another entree, but at that point, my mom was upset, frustrated, and just wanted to go. The waiter apologized as well. -I used the restroom and garbage was overflowing, floors weren't clean, and didn't look like anyone checked in during the day to tidy up. -It put such a damper on what was supposed to be a special occasion. It didn't ruin the day, but was a disappointment. Definitely not a joyful...