The Blennerhassett Restaurant & Lounge — Restaurant in Parkersburg

I've been going to the Blennerhassett Hotel for dinner with my family for a very long time, even when I was still ordering from the kids menu, so as a long time customer, I thought I should write a review for Brunello.

It was a very nice dining experience overall, from a service standpoint. When my stepfather asked to move our table so that we could have more shade, the staff were courteous and did it without any hesitation. Props to the staff, overall, you guys are doing great.

The food we received was a mixed bag. The foods that I tried were the ham and fontina risotto ball, the meatballs with whipped ricotta, and a bacon cheese burger with fries. I also had a bite of the gnocchi.

First came the meatballs and the risotto balls. I highly recommend the risotto. It was very flavorful in a small few bites. I had mine and my brother's, it was that good to me. The meatballs were also very nice. I liked it less than the risotto, but the meatballs were still very nice. The creaminess from the ricotta really worked well with the meatballs, which I liked a lot.

Side note before I get to the entrees, the bread they serve is amazing. That's worth your visit alone. However, the idea of serving two pre-olive-oiled plates in lieu of having everyone at the table portion out their own oil is very foreign to me. I've never really seen that done before, but I might in the future. Still, though, the bread and olive oil is absolutely exceptional.

The entree I received was the previously mentioned burger. I'll be honest here, it didn't taste bad at all, I still ate the entire thing, but it didn't taste amazing. Being that the restaurant is a fancier-than-normal establishment, I was definitely expecting more. I'm not sure if the burger patty I got was the wagyu advertised for the Brunello Burger, but maybe I just ordered that wrong. I don't know if specification is necessary. The fries were undercooked. They were a bit soggy and flimsy, but they were also very greasy. I was in the outside seating area, and you could see the fries glistening in the sun with the grease, like some stained glass. I still ate them because I do not like sending stuff back. Also, the gnocchi was delicious. Keep that up, don't change it, my mom loves it.

I wanted to write the review to address my meal to management, while also giving props to the staff and the chefs for making an overall pleasant dining experience. I'll definitely be back one day, and since the place is so near and dear to me, it's nice to say that this was my first online restaurant review to give feedback.

--UPDATE: August 23, 2018--

I've just come back to Brunello tonight, and after my meal I have to say that there was amazing improvement. My fries were perfectly done, some crunchy, some slightly flimsy like I like it, but absolutely grease free. The burger was nice; tasty and everything you want in a burger. The rice balls that we had last time had a repeat performance tonight, and I didn't think it possible, but they were even better this time around!

I'm happy to up my rating of this Parkersburg staple up to 5 stars. All the problems I had were really nitpicks, like a sauce being forgotten or only getting two pieces of that mouthwatering bread.

Again, the gnocchi was spot on. My mother loved it (she said it was awesome "Like always") and if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

Brunello, props to you. I'm glad to see this improvement from last time in more ways than one. A great...

Note: This review reflects only my experience at the restaurant. The hotel itself was excellent—our room was perfect, and every staff member we encountered was friendly, professional, and helpful.

I had high expectations for our dinner at the Blennerhassett Hotel’s restaurant, given its reputation as one of Parkersburg’s premier establishments. Unfortunately, our experience was deeply disappointing and marked by a series of avoidable errors that reflected a breakdown at every level of service and management.

Our meal started off well with two fantastic cocktails, a bread basket, and a beautifully plated shrimp cocktail. However, things quickly went downhill. After a lengthy wait for our salads, the server brought both the salads and our entrées at the same time—a basic service misstep that should never occur at a restaurant of this caliber. It only got worse from there. My wife’s entrée was incomplete: one of the two side dishes she ordered—roasted Brussels sprouts—was missing, and the lemon garnish that should have accompanied her crab cakes was also absent. We only realized the garnish was missing when another guest, who had also ordered the crab cakes, was served his dish—with the lemon and two side dishes.

In contrast, my entrée—salmon with roasted Brussels sprouts and asparagus—was very good: well-prepared, properly cooked, and served exactly as expected.

The line chef inexplicably plated an incomplete dish, and the server failed to notice before delivering it. When we pointed it out, the server apologized and said she would retrieve the missing side. When the Brussels sprouts eventually arrived, they were undercooked—cold and mushy inside—and should never have left the kitchen. The line chef again failed to ensure quality, and the kitchen as a whole demonstrated poor execution.

The server returned to say the chef was sorry and that we would receive complimentary desserts as an apology. Yet, when the bill came, we were still charged for the carrot cake. I asked to speak to the manager, who listened to my concerns but explained that the restaurant had served 93 guests that evening. That number, in my opinion, is no excuse—especially given the many empty tables in the dining room. A restaurant of the Blennerhassett’s stature should be able to execute every plate flawlessly, regardless of guest count.

In response to the issues raised, the manager offered a modest $15 discount on the one entrée that was entirely mishandled and removed the dessert charge that never should have been applied in the first place. This was not an adequate resolution for a meal so thoroughly flawed. It reflects poorly not only on the chef and line chef, but also on the server and the manager, who had an opportunity to make it right and failed to do so.

This experience left both me and my wife completely dissatisfied. The Blennerhassett Hotel's restaurant, which should set the standard for fine dining in the region, failed on multiple levels—from the kitchen to the dining room—and did not take meaningful steps to correct its mistakes. I expect more from a restaurant that aspires to excellence. They should expect more of...

I gave two stars because they have a decent bar and the wait staff is friendly. It’s a shame though that the kitchen staff doesn’t seem to be able to produce food in a reasonable timeframe. Sunday brunch, when we arrived we were the 4th table to be sat, two tables were finishing up their meals. I ordered a yogurt parfait and my husband ordered the special, biscuits and gravy with scrambled eggs. Him water, me, coffee. 30 minutes in the guy at the table next to us who had been waiting for his check for 25 minutes was comped his meal due to waiting for a mistake on the check to be corrected, he stomped out, clearly unhappy, stated he just wanted to pay his bill and wasn’t looking for free food, and that this was ridiculous. (I had earlier heard him compliment the waitress on her good service, so it seems otherwise he experience was good.) My tiny coffee cup was refilled once 10 minutes into our wait then that was the end of our communication from the wait staff. After waiting 35 minutes, we put 4 dollars down to cover the coffee and tip for the coffee and left.

There appears to be a consultant on premises today, so maybe they are attempting to address their issues. This is the second time my spouse and I have left due to lengthy waits with no communication from staff. We are newer transplants to the area and keep trying to give this establishment our business, but this was another strike out.

As an aside, another strange thing was the staff hovering for long periods of time over the table next to us, chatting these two women up-the tables are quite close and this was very off putting to us to have the staff looming over the tables having loud conversations for 5 minutes at a time, just very strange. Time would have been better spent serving the waiting patrons rather than chatting...