Sunset Grille — Restaurant in Norwalk

We just left this restaurant and I’ve never left a negative review before, but it is definitely warranted for this place. The last time we dined at Sunset Grille with friends, the entrees were mediocre at best, the desserts were awful, and everything was overpriced for the quality. But seeing as we’ve lived in Norwalk for 15+ years, and dined here in the past with better experiences, we gave it another try. Still overpriced, but this time we stuck with just apps and they were better than the entrees. However, I’m still giving the food one star because of the prices. Half a dozen oysters were $18 and they weren’t even the local Copps Island Oysters this area is known for. The restaurant next door, also right on the water, charges $15 for half a dozen Copps Island Oysters, for some comparison. 3 of the oysters we got at Sunset were large and 3 were so tiny there was barely anything in them. But what really prompted this negative review were the outdoor hostesses. When we first arrived they said there’d be an hour and a half wait or we could sit at the bar. There were at least 10 open tables but we thought maybe the dinner rush was coming in and those tables must be reserved if the hostesses weren’t seating us there. We sat at the bar for approximately 2 hours while ordering our drinks and apps, and at least 10 tables remained opened throughout the restaurant during that time. Some tables came and went, but there were always at least 10 open tables and 5 of those tables remained empty the entire time we were there. And that was just outside. I never went inside so I can’t account for those. We could not figure out why the hostesses were not seating people at the empty tables, especially the ones that had clearly been empty for quite awhile. If anyone showed up for a reservation, there was always plenty of open tables to choose from. Even if there was a later reservation on the 5 tables that remained opened the whole time, 2 hours is long enough for two people to eat and leave. And, if that was the case, I’ve had other restaurants tell us that we have a table, but there’s a reservation in 2 hours that they’d need the table for, or we could sit at the bar if we wanted to stay longer. That way everyone is on the same page and the restaurant isn’t turning people away. Other people who heard an hour and a half wait just left and didn’t even bother sitting at the bar like we did so it seems like this is actually costing Sunset money and business. I tried calling the restaurant after we left in a good faith effort to allow them to shed some light on the situation before leaving my first ever negative review, but after waiting on hold for 8 minutes I gave up. The only pleasant staff member we encountered, was the bartender in the outdoor tiki hut who was very kind and accommodating. I had ordered a blended beverage off their drink menu and despite overcharging customers for mediocre food, Sunset apparently can’t afford a blender for the outdoor bar, because the bartender originally told me he couldn’t make my drink because the only blender was inside. When he saw my disappointment he offered to go inside to make it, which was very kind and we thanked him profusely and tipped him very well. But all in all, it’s a shame this place continues to go down hill. It seems like they bank on having a nice spot on the harbor, use that alone to jack up their prices, and put no effort into the quality of their food or proper training for the hostesses. We’ll be heading next door to the Galley, or to SoNo Seafood, Knot Norms, Darien, Westport, or one of the many other waterfront dining options in our area, that are similarly or better priced, with much better food. The hostesses came across as very rude and we left AGAIN feeling disappointed with our experience at Sunset Grille. If you’re going to pay those prices, there are far better places in our area. *Just read all the similar reviews about the mediocre food, open tables, and staff. Clearly a trend...

We went in for a birthday but had never heard of this place. I usually check the menu before going so I know what to order and save some time, but honestly none of the pictures of the food looked appealing to me… and I wasn’t wrong.

We ordered only a couple appetizers before committing to a meal, but we were disappointed by the fried calamari, not so much by the crab cakes, but the plate only had 3, so we skipped on everything else. One other friend ordered the pear salad and the salmon entree, and it did not look worth the price, in fact, it got sent back almost full because it wasn’t good; the prosciutto was old, the pears were cut in chunks that were more for a toddler, and the side rice of the salmon looked like microwaved, nothing special.

The drinks weren’t fresh either, so I didn’t even bother to order a second one. I could pass them at a busy bar where you go dance and the bartenders are in a rush, but not at a place where you sit and have some time to wait. We got mostly watered down juice, so quite disappointing as I had some hopes on the drinks.

Everything sounded really good and tasty on the menu, but it didn’t translate to real life. The live band was ok but it was so loud that you could barely hear the person next to you. The bartender almost refused to refresh our water pitcher that my friend had to bring to the bar as the servers weren’t around at the time. It had a bug -which is normal given the location, the season, the sugary drinks, etc., but the guy was giving an attitude for something that simple. The servers were getting frustrated so they just dropped the plates wherever on the table. We were a party of 10, so it’s not the worst to keep up with. I used to work as a server and had parties of 20-30 people. I understand it’s busy, prime time and they’re human beings that get tired, but providing an excellent service should...

Pretty environment, paid more for the view than for the food. Service was beyond subpar. In fact, quite terrible in all honesty. Mid meal, 2/7 of our party discovered dollar bill sized plastics in their meals. One of which took a bite of her coconut rice when she was practically finished with her meal and pulled out a large piece of plastic from her mouth. The other one was grabbing a piece of her mashed potatoes and her fork discovered an absurdly large piece of plastic. When brought to the attention of the very kind waitress, she offered to bring both a new meal. Kind, but we were practically finished and didn’t want to raise much commotion in the restaurant. She then offered a free drink, again very kind but a $12 aperol spritz vs. a $40 plate of scallops?!? After politely declining another drink, we than asked if the meal could just be compensated. This request was then declined. Ended with 1 $12 aperol spritz being taken off the bill after 2 DISTURBINGLY large pieces of plastic found in our meals. No remorse was shown from our waitress or the cooks that we actually never saw. Definitely our first and last time here. Would never recommend to anyone whose health I care about. Also waitress was unphased and made it seem like this was a regular...