Ada's Kitchen — Restaurant in Rockland

Not even one vegan option in the menu. Very dissapointing.

EDIT: I don't seem to be able to reply to your response so I'll answer here.

Yes, I did actually dine at Ada's. I looked at the whole menu twice and since I did not find any vegan options for the main dish (yes, you do have a few vegan appetizers) I told the waitress that I was vegan and asked her if there was anything that could be done (since my father had chosen the restaurant because when he called to make the reservation he mentioned I was vegan and he got a green light from you). She said I could have the pasta with pesto "without the cheese" (since it came with pecorino if I am not mistaken) and I told her that pesto is not usually vegan (since it normally has cheese in it) and asked her if your pesto was vegan. She didn't know (which means she was recommending me something without being sure it was vegan) so she excused herself and asked the chef. She came back and told me they could make it vegan for me. She then brought the pasta with pesto (and without the cheese) and it was very bland (which I attributed to the fact that since your pesto is not usually vegan, and you made it vegan for me, maybe you didn't have time to work on the recipe). Now, knowing that your pesto is usually vegan, I think that maybe the added pecorino adds the extra flavor to the dish.

I did order the olives as an appetizer and they were absolutely delicious! Probably the best olives I've ever had, but I won't change my review based on some tasty olives. I think that I speak for all the vegans out there when I say that offering a salad or an appetizer is not enough, there should be a few vegan main dishes to choose from in the menu.

I also think that I speak for all the vegans out there when I say that ordering a pizza "without cheese" or a salad that "can be done dairy-free" is a slap on the face. It's like telling me that I can order the hot dog "without the sausage" or the Philly cheese steak sandwhich "without the meat and the cheese". It is disrespectful towards your customer as well as the chef because, technically, the chef has crafted a dish based on what ingredients go well together, what flavours complement each other, and what ingredients elevate the dish, and by asking me to remove ingredients from the dish you're basically asking me to order an incomplete dish, one in which the vision the chef had when they created it is gone.

So yes, we did inform you of my dietary choices (not restrictions) not only several days in advance when we made the reservation, but also the day of our dinner when I informed the waitress and she could literally not recommend me anything but the pasta with pesto (which is served with cheese, so even your vegan pesto is not part of a vegan dish, defeating the whole purpose of having a vegan pesto). So please do not put the blame on me, this is 100% your responsibility.

I am sorry for the terrible review but please understand my dissapointment when I got there and saw no vegan options, even when we called in advance to prevent you of this. We could have gone to another more vegan friendly restaurant if we had...

This is a good place, I believe it just needs some fine tuning. Four of us had came in for dinner the other night around 9p and were seated near the doors in the rear right where staff were coming in and out of. It kind of felt like the table was less intimate being sat in such a busy area not to mention the AC blowing from the doorway was chilling given it wasa rainy night. I asked if we could swap to one of the available tables of four or five near the windows but they had been reserved, no biggie. They said we could have the table with a few old men that were chatting having just paid the bill so we decided to wait. We did watch one of the tables fill up but the other one never filled up. A different table opened up and we asked for that one and we were told that she would check with the hostess. Never heard back and then we watched it get filled as well. The original table with the gentleman who paid the bill never emptied the entire evening we were there, it was used as a social Hangout. Oh well, we just decided to suck it up and stay put.

My girlfriend ordered a shrimp and spicy sausage meal, it came out great and was delicious. Our two friends both order calzones which were delicious as well. No complaints. I ordered this special of the day, the lobster ravioli for $20 and was offered a salad for an additional price, you would think a little more pricey your meal would come with a salad. But okay no biggie. When the actual meal came, I was highly disappointed. It was 12 squares of ravioli, all of them flat not even filling the lowest depression of the pasta bowl. Maybe half an inch food was all it was. 3 raviolis would make a traditional sized ravioli. It was pretty much an empty bowl papa for $20 without any side. It was delicious, but I finished it in three bites and it was gone within 2 minutes. Maybe in the future, make full sized ravioli? Or at least add it to something else? It was less than a child size serving and felt like a huge rip-off. Good mixed drinks were a little weak as well, tasted slightly water down. Certainly was not looking for a buzz but at least something close to what the drink should taste like.

On a lighter note, the restaurant has good energy, the staff are friendly and attentive, it is clean and a floor plan is intelligent, and the food is delicious without a doubt, it's just the little things that need work. I would be happy to change this rating if the next...

Okay, so I'm not one of "those" people who complain about things. I just enjoy a really good meal. So with that, here's my review of Ada's Kitchen:

To start off, my wife and I got there and were immediately greeted by whom I can only assume was the manager/owner. She asked if we had reservations for 2 and I stated no, since it was a Monday night, we figured we could get a table. We were immediately informed that there were no "two-tops" available but we could sit at the bar. Mind you there were plenty of 4 tops available. I gave her a look, as my wife and I were kind of taken aback by the no available two-top comment, but whatever. As we sat at the bar, miraculously, a two-top became available and we were sat in the back of the restaurant in this tiny tight corner. Lol. I laugh, because I have traveled all over the U.S. and some overseas and have never experienced "racism?" as an adult. I mean, we were definitely the minority in this quaint restaurant. The ambiance was nice, but we definitely felt out of place. The looks we got from customers and staff was entertaining. But I digress. On to the meal. The meal took forever. Mind you all we ordered was spaghetti and meatballs and lobster linguine. That was it. Nothing crazy. Took over 30 minutes to get our food. I have to admit, it was delicious. So we get to the end of our meal and we are getting ready to pay, and a waitress drops a glass right at my wife's feet. Glass goes everywhere. It hits my wife, but thankfully, no cuts. The owner/manager comes over and asks if everything is okay, and then proceeds to sweep the glass. Now my wife is starting to get a little pissed because it was like "No blood, no foul". Now, we're not looking for a free meal or anything, but I have to assume things might have gone a little differently if we were "local". Especially, since we are standing there with the check in hand getting ready to pay. Nothing like "hey, sorry about that, would you like a dessert or let me take off that drink.." you know some kind of apology for the food taking forever and then the broken glass hitting my wife. Anyway, long story short, food was very good but the vibe of the restaurant that we received was just not very welcoming. It's unfortunate, because we really liked the food. We will definitely not be returning to this restaurant and I'm sure the owner/manager and locals are quite...