Nicko's Grotto — Restaurant in Port Townsend

Three times we've been to Nicko's Grotto and three times it has taken over an hour to get served our food. Two of the times we left over an hour and a half to eat before the movie and both times we ended up with a serving of time-stress with our meal. This last time we came after the movie and again after an hour half to call on the waitress to check if the food was actually coming. When the food came this evening all three dishes were so hot we had to wait still longer for it to cool down to an edible temperature. We suspected microwaving because pasta never stays that hot between the kitchen and the table.

For two of us, the food was marginal at best, which is the same ratio we found on other visits. And none of the servers seem to understand that neither ricotta-filled pasta nor eggplant parmigiana are dairy-free options.

In addition, when we first walked in and announced our names for the reservation it was obvious they could not find it in the three places they looked. Later we stopped at the Port Townsend Food Coop and mentioned our discontent with the restaurant while checking out. The cashier said, "I will never go there again. The food takes forever to come, it's not that great, and they lost my reservation all three times I went there." Coincidence, I think not.

On each visit when we expressed our discontent with the wait, the server gave us the same line; "We are sorry for the wait, the chef got slammed." This time, I asked to speak to the boss. The man that came to the table, I was told later, was the owner. I told him of the repeated issues and got the same exact same excuse. I said, tonight most tables were empty when we arrived. He just shrugged and said, "Next time let us you want your food quicker and we will try."

If the owner is that unclear of both the concept of customer service and of the word apology, it is no surprise that the rest of the staff feel no impetus to keep the...

Only complaint is about the food, which is a lot. For being on average $30+ per entree, it was extremely disappointing that the food very much tasted like it just all sits together on a plate in the fridge until you order it.

Food was billowing steam when it got to the table and the bottom of the food felt like it was sitting on ice. Noodles were very overcooked and tasted like the water it was cooked in never touched a grain of salt. Tuscan Salmon was flavorless and also overcooked. It shredded instead of flaked. The sun dried tomatoes and parmesan on the noodles were the standouts that gave the dish any flavor.

We sat about 20-30 feet away from the kitchen which was very quiet for being a full restaurant. It sure sounded like a lot of microwave doors closing to us as well. If they are indeed using microwaves then the 30 minute wait for food seems excessive.

Also I somewhat felt bad for our waitress as she seemed to also be bartending and we weren't sitting in the bar. She did an excellent job service...

We have eaten here before quite a few times. This time was different. There were 4 of us and the food was good, except one ordered of crab cakes that was not like she had on other visits. These crab cakes were mostly breading and didn't smell much like crab. Each couple (4 of us) were charged LARGE PARTY/AUTO GRAD (20%) which came to $19.70. Four people is not a large party! Then after the total there is a line that states, Additional Tip. They must be nuts. I zeroed that out. I spoke to the waitress about the poor crab cakes and she augured with us saying she had them a few days ago and they were full of crab meat. This is not the quality of food and service we are accustomed to a Nicko's Grotto. I don't think we will be going back. Its a shame to lose a longtime customer and the new couple we invited to go with us might...