Above the Dunes — Restaurant in Rehoboth Beach

Update: I need to clarify a few things given the unhelpful response from one of the owners. First, Luna is a full-on service dog that has assisted me with my military service related disabilities for more than six years. She is not an emotional support animal and was clearly identified by her service dog vest, her exceptional behavior, my statement, and that of my spouse and others in our party. Secondly communication. We asked repeatedly for contact information for management and owners. First we were told they, the staff team, didn’t know the name of any managers or owners. Then when one employee provided a name the rest of the staff said they didn’t know how to contact them and didn’t have a business card. There is also no email on their website. Only the main phone number for the restaurant. THAT is why I went to social media. I will note that after posting his snarky reply, one of the owners, Mike, did reach out. I thought we had a good conversation about the situation, Luna being an actual service dog who performs tasks as required by law, and his commitment to train his staff and revise his comments. While I can’t say if he trained his staff. I can say that of this posting he hasn’t changed is online reply. (And yes I sent a reminder text to update please but got no reply). It is unfortunate that a place with such a great view, with excellent wait staff (our server was very attentive and help) chosen to continue a less than helpful path. However, I am revising my rating from a one to a two in light of his efforts. Perhaps I will return and see how we are treated and further revise my review. Until then I would be hesitant…..

Warning Discriminatory! Went there with my service dog and they treated us like we were lepers. They refused to serve us unless we sat in a “certain” section. Didn’t know they had a service dog section. Wonder if they have a blind section, or an amputee section, or a person of color section, or a section based on sexual orientation. Shameful and a violation of the ADA.

When we first arrived the the host looked horrified that I was there with a service animal and told us we would have to wait til she could check with management. The manager said that although they were “required to let us in” they could sit us wherever they liked. Nope, that is a specific violation of the ADA. They sat us in a corner area that was clearly not set up for guests. Most tables had place settings but not our table. Although they had many tables that could accommodate our group (and had a much better view) they refused to sit us anywhere other that our corner. If it weren’t for the fact that were there after a memorial for a dear friend, I would had made more of a fuss. However, my partner requested that I refrain.

To be fair, the service was great and the food pretty good, but should we support businesses that discriminate on any basis? I think not. However, if you do like the view, the service, or the view, give them a jab the next time you are in and ask where there service dog seating is, or their person of color seating is, or their gay seating, or their Jewish seating, or their Muslim seating is….whatever….challenge their discrimination…then tip well if you have...

I had to call in twice to confirm my reservation for two weeks out, and both times were a complete waste of my time. The first call was a nightmare – I repeatedly told the woman I needed a reservation for the 20th, yet she kept insisting it was for this Friday. I had to correct her multiple times, and she still couldn’t get it right. I finally had to call back to make sure it was properly scheduled. Unsurprisingly, when I called, they couldn’t find my reservation at all. The second person I spoke with was just as unhelpful. I explicitly said Friday at 4 pm and even requested a window seat. She explained that window seats are first-come, first-serve, which I totally understand. But then, she told me, “If it isn’t busy when you arrive, we can put you by the window.” Fine, that’s fair, I get it.

But when we got there, the place was empty at 4 pm, and they still couldn’t find our reservation. When I reminded the woman at the front that I’d asked about the window seat, she snapped back, “We decide where reservations sit; you’ll sit where we put you,” all while still scrambling to find my reservation.

Eventually, they realized the second person had put us down for the wrong time. So, after all that confusion and rude treatment, we were finally seated.

Kyle was the only reason Above the Dunes received a two star review on my end, they were a phenomenal server and very prompt.

For the price, it wasn’t even close to being worth it given the service and the way we were treated. Two of our meals were decent, one was just okay, but honestly, the food didn’t even matter at that point. This was supposed to be a special celebration for my mom’s birthday, but the attitude of the front desk staff completely ruined the experience. What if we had shown up later, say at 5:30 pm, and our reservation still wasn’t on the books? Would they have just told us to deal with it or figure something else out? It’s beyond frustrating that after calling twice, there was still such a huge screw-up. And then, when I tried to speak up, I was met with attitude. Absolutely insane. It’s a shame, because this place has potential. But if they don’t figure out their front-of-house issues, it won’t matter.

To respond to the owner - as I said in my text, I had made the reservation 2 weeks ahead of the 20th so you are correct the 20th was on a Friday, but she kept insisting that it was for the Friday prior to the 20th despite the fact that I kept saying Friday the 20th at 4 PM. And to make it 100% clear, upon arrival, after two phone calls in, my reservation was still...

Great food, great service..... Horrible portion sizes and horrible prices.....

Pros- Super friendly servers, amazing tasting food, great food options, and an awesome view if you're on the balcony.

Cons - Way too expensive for all the more food you get, for about $20 a person I'd expect to be able to eat till I'm full and still have some leftovers to take home. I got 2 plates of the blackened Mahi tacos... And it was only 2 tacos per plate (with only the tiniest amount of fish in each) and a tiny amount of rice and beans. I was still slightly hungry and had no leftovers, and I'm a pretty average size guy at 5'11" and 200lbs and at $19 a plate, I had already spent way too much on just myself. I also wish it was still the Greene Turtle because at least they had Pepsi products. A lot of other places in the area have Pepsi products because that's what people in the area want, that's what most people in this part of the country want. Nobody asked for a new restaurant with Coke products. And it's not even the good coke, at least have the Mexican Coke in the glass bottles if you choose coke over Pepsi. Heck even an Amish/Mennonite restaurant near my hometown sells Mexican Coke so it can't be that hard to get or that expensive. Also, the menu isn't super clear. There was a section of the menu that said something along the lines of "items come with waffle fries" but the Blackened Mahi Tacos said beside that item specifically "served with black beans and rice" so I figured cool, tacos, rice and beans, and fries, that'll be great, and super filling. I was wrong. First of all, please specify that it's only 2 tacos, second of all, clarify that the rice and beans ARE A REPLACEMENT FOR THE FRIES, YOU DON'T GET BOTH! I brought that up to the server and he apologized, and offered to get me fries, but I assumed they would've charged me and the thought of spending even more money just pissed me off so I declined. I only would've accepted if he said "sorry for the confusion, here's some fries on the house" although I get that's not his place, that would have to come from a manager. Hoping a manager or even the owner sees this and fixes these mistakes because at this point in time, I don't think I'll be...