The Village Haven — Restaurant in North Smithfield

Let me start my review by stating that if you are looking for filling food that comes out fast, so you can feed your kids before the game, this place may very well be for you, read no further. If you are looking for a date night spot....rethink going to The Village Haven. First impression was the entry way that had a cozy nook with comfy chairs and a floor to ceiling bookcase filled with books. It looked very warm and inviting. The reception area and bar also looked promising. I had to use the ladies room upon arriving so my husband waited to ask for a table. When I came out and he approached the hostess asking for a table for two, she just blankly looked at him and replied sharply "Didn't I already talk to you?" #rude When we were brought around to the diningroom, my high hopes were dashed. The diningroom is massive, brightly lit, loud due to all the patrons and the tables have brown paper liners. It screamed cafeteria, which, again...see above... This place had been highly recommended so we still had hopes that at least the food would be good, deciding if we were to revisit we would sit in the bar. Our waitress was knowledgeable, polite and quick, though it was hard to hear her tell us the specials over the din. The food. My appetizer was the calamari, it looked, and tasted, like prefrozen, all the 'rings' were the same size and the coating was uniform and heavy....prepackaged. I ordered one of the specials, fried pork chops with mashed potatoes, sausage gravy and brussel sprouts. Comfort food at it's best, so I thought. The saving grace of the dish was that the chops were fried well and were delightfully crispy. The potatoes were watery and bland, not enough gravy on the dish to make them palatable. The brussel sprouts were a travesty, reminiscent of my childhood when my mom would boil frozen brussel sprouts. The menu said they were 'baked', probably thawed then thrown in oven to heat is more like it. They were certainly not fresh and if they were....get a new chef. The cinnamon rolls that are boasted of being house made.....well, again, maybe get a new pastry chef. These are dry, too much cinnamon, no glaze, taste like grocery store mass produced garbage. I think most people just have never had good homemade cinnamon rolls so don't know any better. The dinner rolls were mass produced, what you expect from a cafeteria. The side salad was iceberg lettuce with 2 cherry tomatoes and maybe 2 slices of cucumber, only 3 choices of dressing. Our bill was over $100 for 2 entrées, 2 appetizers, a beer and a shot. We expect to pay that for quality food, we don't expect to be charged quality prices for mass produced, pre frozen, poor quality food. Again, if you just want a hot meal with large portions, and you want it to be quick....this is the place for you. We were told that the Lucky Dog is the best place around, but hard to get reservations, but next door is also owned by the same people and the food is the same! If that is true, we won't even consider The Lucky Dog. A dissapointed diner. *edit: response to owner I write my own reviews and do not 'collaborate', note I did not mention my husbands dinner, only my own. We each have our own experiences. My husband is polite and would not try to offend your, far too young, hostess. Like I clearly stated, had the food been up to par then we would certainly have considered coming back and choose to sit in the bar. Substandard pre-packaged foods should not carry a high end price tag. This establishment is great for your family style chicken dinner.....not awesome for an intimate date night. It's an honest review. Maybe put more energy into doing things better than pouring over video footage trying to disparage your patrons. Bad form and conveys a combative attitude towards the very people who help keep your business up and running. Best of...

I came here to leave a review of our party’s meal last night, and decided to read the reviews. Yes, there are LOTS of 5-Star reviews but as I noticed, any review with 3 or fewer stars is rudely and crudely replied to by the owner. This is very sad to see - seeing as any business should not bash their customers, instead try to get them to come back and not turn them off by rude replies. Because now, for that customer that received the negative reply from you - just by word of mouth, they will tell someone else not to dine there, and they will tell someone else to not dine there, and so on which can have devastating effects on a business… and that’s not even mentioning the online reviews.

Just because you don’t like that a customer didn’t complain in person during their meal doesn’t warrant a nasty reply from the establishment. Instead you should respond with a more positive spin on your response, like “I’m sorry your experience wasn’t as you were expecting, we’re under new management and yes, some things have changed but we have also added many new delicious menu items for you to enjoy. Please come back and give us a chance to show you how great our food really is. Thank you for your input it’s greatly appreciated.”

Anyway, on to my review.

We dined at the Village Haven last night with a fairly large party of over 12 people. We all had the chicken family-style dinner as it was a family reunion for my nephew, who was returning to his military base in Florida after his well earned 2 week leave. Many of us haven’t eaten at this restaurant for years but thought for nostalgic reasons, we should have dinner here under the new ownership. The chicken was very good, the breast meat was not as moist as I would have liked it, but it was still good. The potatoes were DELICIOUS. We were trying to figure out if they were from a can or not, but reading the reviews I saw that the owner/manager replied to another reviewer by saying they were fresh from Massachusetts and hand-peeled.  Seems like a lot of work. The salad dressing was tasty, unfortunately the salad in general was a bit disappointing as it only had 2 or 3 cucumber slices and 2 small tomatoes on it. And seeing as each salad was shared between 3 to 4 people, not everyone was able to get a cucumber or tomato. The pasta and sauce was ok. I noticed everyone had at least a spoonful. The fries were fries, nothing special. The cinnamon rolls we all felt were mediocre at best, but still tasty. Our server was very nice and attentive and the employees work hard. As I mentioned, the potatoes were delicious, so of course, we had asked for those multiple times. I found it funny that each time they came back to the table there were fewer and fewer. I understand not wanting to waste food, but those potatoes disappeared quickly when they were placed on the table because they were so good. Anyway, that is not really a complaint, we just asked for more and got them.

So here’s the part that really disappoints me. BECAUSE of the way the owner/manager handled their own responses to the CUSTOMERS who had any criticism, we will not be returning. We all believe in supporting locally owned and run businesses, but only if they deserve it. The diners that supported this establishment in the first place, shouldn’t have been shamed by you because they did not make a formal complaint or request IN the restaurant and chose to voice their opinion online.

This disheartens me, because there were lots of other items on the menu that we were looking forward to trying on our next visit. Unfortunately, we won't be returning because we can’t support a business where the owner/manager responds to negative criticism so rudely.

To the owner/manager, please, try to change your attitude and way you reply to your customers, it will only benefit you, and maybe then, we...

My wife and I actually had plans to dine at a different place tonight but on the advice of someone we met we went here instead. We enjoy good food and atmosphere, and while we often are regulars at familiar restaurants, we also occasionally enjoy venturing out to find new places that are a cut above most others. Unfortunately, this place isn't one of them.

When we first entered the restaurant we both noticed the uncomfortable character of the dining room. It was too bright, noisy, no music, the "tablecloths" were made of paper with cheap tables and chairs. It had the feeling of a cafeteria. Still, we were told that the food was great so we held out hope. We were quickly seated, and the staff provided good, courteous service. We ordered a beer and a cocktail, which were fine, then short ribs and calamari for appetizers, and braised rib and fried pork chops for entrées. First came the salad, which was a run of the mill cafeteria style iceberg salad in a small plastic bowl. The in-house cinnamon rolls were ok, nothing special. Next came the appetizers. The calamari certainly wasn't fresh. It was the typical round rings (and only rings). It tasted "ok", but screamed frozen. The ribs were also "ok", but no better than you get at any chain supermarket deli lunch counter. The entrées were the same quality as the appetizers. The braised rib was completely smothered in sauce and was comparable to a crock pot special. The fried pork chops were probably the highlight of the night. They were actually tasty, at least to me. My wife was not impressed, however. They reminded me of a chicken fried steak that I occasionally enjoy at a local diner. The breading and gravy provided all of the taste. That they were pork was completely irrelevant. They could have been beef or chicken and I would not have been able to tell the difference. The mashed potatoes had the same taste and consistency of instant, and the Brussel sprouts had the taste and consistency of frozen. The portions were quite large. I hadn't eaten all day and was hungry. I ate quite a bit of it, but we took the leftovers and the rib meat and bone home for the dog. The bill was $106, $130 with the tip. As I said, the service was good, and we usually tip well, but this bill was far too high for what we received.

Now, this isn't to say that this restaurant doesn't have its place. If you are a parent that is worn to the bone and simply don't want to make dinner for the kids, then perhaps consider bringing them here. They do offer a family style chicken dinner which, while we did not sample it, seemed palatable to many children that were present. The chicken, fries, rolls, and other brown belly fill, along with bowls of ketchup, will be adequate to give you the dinner day off. But if you are an adult that is looking for dining, good food and/or a good experience, then you must avoid this place.

*Edit / Response to owner:

I stated what we ordered, and we knew what the cost was before we ordered. The issue isn't that we were surprised by the bill, the issue is that your food was not worth $100. It was below average in flavor, freshness and overall quality. I am certain that much of your food is prepackaged, frozen. You are not concerned about quality. There are many other restaurants that use only fresh food and charge similar prices, because they are concerned about quality. The photo (on my wife's review) is a picture of what you placed on our table with a single bite missing. If you, the owner, thinks that looks bad (and you're right, it does look bad), then change what you're doing and start preparing real food. I said nothing dishonest, but accusing me of such speaks volumes of...