The Gulf Stream Bar and Grille — Restaurant in Portsmouth

It was probably the worst restaurant service I have ever had. I seldom leave reviews, and I always try to sympathize with the servers because I understand they are likely underpaid and overworked, but my god. Our server was completely inattentive and atrocious; they didn’t even get us water or plates for our appetizer and never checked in with us once; we had to go locate the busser to ask for the check after sitting there for about 15-20 minutes waiting. When we expressed this concern to our server, the woman laughed—actually audibly laughed—in our faces, telling us we must be joking, and then began to argue with us, yelling and insisting that her service was perfect and we had “bad attitudes” and were responsible for our own bad experience (not sure how we were responsible for her inattentive serving), completely dismissive of our concerns and greviances, even beginning to shout at us—despite stating that she was completely unaware of our greviances and had not noticed any flaws in her service, so we had not been particularly harsh or difficult to deal with, as she even acknowledged. When she walked away, she began badmouthing us loudly to the bartender and busser, telling them about how ridiculous we are and how we just wanted free food (we had never requested that or implied that, and we paid in full upon leaving because there was no issue with the food—the only issue was with her rancid personality). I had to remind her from our table that we were well within earshot, although certainly that was her intention. I don’t know how one could be a grown woman and conduct herself in the manner I would expect with a 12-year-old girl who has just been grounded without feeling deep shame, but her unabashed confidence in her temper tantrum was almost impressive in its complete sincerity. It was so comically and horrifically bad that recounting it sounds fake, but it was unfortunately all too real, and she claimed to be a manager, which is even more worrying. Everyone else was perfectly lovely; there were no issues there. This one woman was simply such an atrocious walking dumpster fire of a person incapable of competency or basic socialization requirements that it simply could not be ignored, and it’s almost laughable her inability to provide even subpar service on a slow Monday night, tending to three tables maximum. I cannot even fathom trying to argue with a customer trying to let you know they found your services inadequate, and her service was basically nonexistent, so that’s putting it gently. We have eaten here many times, for years, and never once had bad service, let alone something as horrendous as this. We tipped the busser because she was the only one who actually provided service to us and seemed perfectly lovely. The food was good as always, but to describe the service as lacking is an understatement, and appalling does not do it justice. Flabbergasting, for her ridiculous conduct was nothing short of utterly shocking and more than a tad embarrassing on her behalf, is probably the most fitting adjective. My only hope is that by leaving this review, it will strike as some motivation for the restaurant to take action, or that she will be motivated to change...

Found this hidden gem as we were looking for a dog friendly place. Kerri our server was very nice. Food was good including the Buddy burger for our furry boy. Atmosphere was excellent. However we decided to get an after dinner drinks for dessert. My husband got a peanut butter mudslide and I got an espresso martini- it was not good - watery. When Kerri checked in I told her I did not like the espresso martini and could not drink it- she took it way. When the bill arrived it was included ($13). I called over the hostess as he walked by and said I sent back my drink and I would think that it would’ve been taken off the bill. He was very polite and said ok I will be back- well who came back was apparently the manager who was also the the inside bartender who made it. She proceeded to say hi -so you have a question- I said no I don’t have a question- I returned my drink and I thought it would be taken off the bill as I did not drink it because it was not good. She went into defensive mode stating the ingredients are listed on the menu and unless we messed up that’s how it’s made. Really? I said fine we will pay the bill. She went on to say no I will take it off but it’s our policy not to- she went on and on - over $13 ! Terrible customer service by this manager - again our server Kerri was great. To have the manager come over to us and be confrontational is unacceptable . It ruined what was up until she came over to us a perfectly...

So very disappointed after reading all the positive reviews. My wife and I came here for dinner.

Let’s start with the drinks: My mimosa was basically a glass of champagne and little else. Not sweetness whatsoever and at $12, a real shame. My wife enjoyed her PB mudslide though.

The food: Portions are very small yet plates are on the pricey side. We started with 2 very small and overpriced stuffies. We enjoyed them very much but they were on the spicy side, which I liked but my wife less so. $17 for a small over fried filet with a hand full of fries. The filet was so overdone and dry that my wife needed to use her knife to get through it. I opted for “The Platter” which was anything but!.... the “debris” as they call it was good but really, it’s just shredded pot roast and again, the portion is small. The tots were nice but the Mac and cheese was dry and rubbery like day old Mac that was reheated in a microwave. Not creamy or tender in the least.

The blueberry cobbler desert, which was described by our waitress as “sooooo good” ended up being a small slice of soggy and burnt sheet cake (definitely box), drowned in blue water and very strange blueberries. They definitely weren’t fresh as they were tiny and chewy, like they had been dehydrated and reconstituted.

All of that came out to $85..... Service was very good and the location is beautiful. The food and value...