Paperback Cafe — Restaurant in Old Saybrook

Will never go out of my way to even get take out from Paperback again. I haven’t returned ever since they implied that I was lying about receiving an order that was done incorrectly and were incredibly rude in service. I had ordered a breakfast sandwich with the eggs over hard (fully cooked) and after picking up my order and driving to work, I was sat in the parking lot ready to eat quickly before heading in. Immediately upon picking up the sandwich the egg yolk began dripping in literal droplets. I obviously was pretty unhappy to not get what I ordered, and called the restaurant asking for a refund for something I can’t eat/didn’t order. The employee on the other end responded in a manner in which she acted so annoyed to be dealing with my request and was completely unapologetic about their mistake - she actually told me the chef was certain the eggs were fully cooked, and kept repeating that, as I sat there saying “I’m watching it drip right before my eyes, I don’t know what else to tell you”. She finally agreed to a refund in a pissed off voice, telling me that next time I can just come back in and they’ll remake it for me. Um - I ordered it ahead of time to-go for a reason. I had to be somewhere. I really couldn’t believe the stupidity of her responses and the insulting/appalling customer service. Paperback sucks, their food isn’t anything special - promise you can make it far better at home and they skimp with ingredients - and it’s wildly overpriced. Service is disappointing and incompetent and I’ll be sharing these sentiments with anyone who asks. Retraining their employees for proper service demeanor or just getting new ones still wouldn’t make the bland...

It was 10:20 Sunday morning. Very busy. When I walked in to place a to go order and get a drink, there were two people in front of me. It took ten minutes for the woman working to take their orders and make their drinks. She was pleasant and clearly working hard so everyone was patient and understanding. I put $5 in the tip cup before placing my order because I saw how hard she was working. Suddenly after taking my order she walked out the door and never came back. Leaving the rest of the customers waiting to order, without saying a word. Atleast ten minutes went by...then a waitress buzzed by and a gentleman informed her all of us have been waiting for someone to assist us and the waitresses response was “it’s not like we are not doing anything” and proceeded to walk away. She came back eventually and took his order. At this point I had ordered and paid for food but had been waiting 20 minutes for someone to acknowledge me and get my order which I’m sure was ready. Eventually the same unpleasent waitress asked what I was waiting for and when I was repeating my order she cut me off and said “ok three things.” And walked away..... returning five minutes later with the order of the gentleman that ordered atleast ten minutes AFTER I did. Finally she got my order and thanked me for my patience but her attitude before that point was distasteful. The front counter was completely under supervised and with all the employees buzzing by not one stopped to see if any of the customers were...

One of the worst restaurant experiences I've ever had. I was waited on by an older woman with blond hair. If you see her coming, run for the hills. To start with, she came to the table with her mask under her nose--very reassuring when you are in a restaurant ordering food. Then I ordered an egg with cheese on toast. No silverware-- easy enough to forget, but when I finally went in to get some because the waitress was nowhere to be seen, she seemed annoyed with me for doing this. Then she brought me an egg without the cheese. Again she was nowhere around, so I went in to tell her (I was VERY polite) and she started to argue with me that that is not what I ordered (I had a witness to confirm that I did). She came back and handed me a plate with a piece of orange American cheese. Really?? When I complained about this, she argued for a while and then said "Fine. I'm not going to argue with you-- it's too hot for that". She came back a second time with the cheese crumbled on top and walked away-- not melted and the egg from waiting. Besides the horrible experience with the waitress, the food was terrible-- the toast wasn't toasted, the egg was overcooked. How do you mess up an egg and toast? I won't be going back there. There are too many good breakfast places...