Jeff's Restaurant — Restaurant in Saint Albans City

We are in town just for the week and your place came highly recommended for the best dinner spot in town.

When we walked in, we were asked if we had reservations which we apologized and said no, we didnt know they were required and offered to go but someone advised her it was fine to seat us. There was noone but the 2 people at the bar and 1 table had people that was it. When we left 2 other tables were sat 1 of the guest were also walk ins and the lady seemed very happy to serve them.

We got sat and waited about 10 minutes before anyone greeted us as 4 people stood behind the bar talking to 2 other people at the bar and discussing who was going to cover what area and why and how they didnt habe enough menus so just limit what they put out.

Finally a man came over and asked what we wanted and when we ordered we ordered off the menu that was provided to us, my mom started with the pecan crusted salmon and he said sharply NO, shocking my mom as she looked up confused at him thinking he was joking and then he said ok fine we can do it very dry.... I then requested a Chef Salad with romaine lettuce no tomatoes add bacon ranch on the side, I felt it was simple but he seemed again annoyed and walked off.

When he brought the food (never seen him prior to this) he set it down and we asked was it possible to get just a piece of haddock to go and he said no we had to get a meal and we said ok no problem thats fine then, we will need that to go at some point and then again quickly walked off before we could finish speaking.

I looked at my salad and it had no cheese & no egg so when he finally came back I advised him of this he walked off before I could finish speaking and brought back 1/2 of 1 egg for this giant Chef salad and a little cheese on a tiny plate and walked off as I asked for a side a buffalo sauce, again annoyed.

He then walked over and put down the to go food my Buffalo and walked off... we just got our food...why would you bring that already?

We already felt like such an innoconvience and like we were not wanted and now we were going to have ice cold to go food, but I really wanted dessert as I was super looking forward to it and went to order it and my mom said maple creme brule and before she could even finish saying brule again he walked off... she wanted to also ask for 2 coffees but again he had turned around and she goes excuse me sir... I also wanted to 2 coffees and she asked if there was a problem with us being there and he said no why you say that...

Then he refused to go get our dessert and coffees he wanted to know what was the problem with his service, then he advised it was not his fault that I ordered my salad with this and this and this requested and that we came close to 4pm and thats thier dimner time? Not sure what that meant as we offered to leave when we got there, then he stated he didnt make my salad he served it so its not his fault it was missing stuff but he had to go back and get it...and then he said its not his fault the to go order came out when it did its the kitchen? I said but you put it in so early...he said thats the kitchens fault not his, he kept arguing and was so rude and refusing to go get our dessert so we just asked for the check so we could go.

We asked for his manager and he said there is no managaer, I said you have no lead on the floor he said no, we asked the other staff for help and they said they said nope no manager on the floor- the one girl who said she just started a couple days ago spoke up and said Katie Walsh was a manager...

I could not believe this nice highly recommend restaurant was so bad, he was so confrontational and rude I was floored at how he speak to us. My mom was afraid at this point of him because of how he was acting she could not even drive she was shaking from how he spoke to us. Im still beyond believe over all this. I will share this on every form of social media I can find. You should be ashamed of having someone on your staff that acts this way.

Very highly...

We were excited to try Jeff's Maine seafood. It looks very nice from the outside and the interior is nice. The experience started out nicely. Our waitress was pleasant and took our drink order promptly. When our drinks arrived she took our food order. The mussel appetizer took a bit to come out which was no big deal. Mussels were ok. This is where the experience started down hill. Waitress came back and said they were out of mashed potatoes... kind of odd...but again no big deal. I asked for the sweet potato fries instead. That was the last time she came to our table for 35 mins. We realized she was inexperienced as a waitress while we watched another group at a table close by, show her how to open a bottle of wine. She stood and chatted with them for 10ins, 6 feet away, returning to their table several times never once even looking in our direction. After 20 mins of our glasses being empty(even our water glasses) the hostess came over to take the mussel plate and asked if we needed anything. Told her yes we would like to place a wine order and could use some water. Another 15mins later no water in sight and still no waitress. She finally brings our main dishes (the Caeser salad I ordered never came). We put in a wine order and AGAIN ask for water. Since we have no water or anything else to drink we waited to eat our food. While waiting I hear the bartender tell our waitress "oh that one, we haven't had that in weeks". Yep wine I ordered they haven't had in weeks...maybe take it off the menu or at least make a note. I tell her nevermind. When she brings the other wine she asks if everything is good. I tell her "NO. My swordfish was the saddest piece of swordfish I have ever seen (see pic). Looked like something from the grocery store freezer section and I was paying $25 for it. (It wasn't even 1/4 in thick and was dry as a bone.) I never received my salad and I asked for sweet potato fries not regular." Her only response was "I'm the only one left with 6 tables" ( there were 2 other waitresses, the hostess and the bartender). To which I suggest she ask for help next time. Our evening was ruined. Paid $80 to go home with an empty stomach. In the waitresses defense it was not all her fault. The management left her to flounder, inexperienced and untrained. The kitchen should be ashamed to put out such subpar food. Management obviously doesn't care. We had...

Woeful is Vermont, without an ocean coast to be had, without a sandy, tide-rippled beach, without a thriving fishing industry that outputs lobster, clams, crabs, saltwater fish of all sorts...where can one go to find any kind of fresh seafood? Where I ask??? Well, actually, there are a few good options and one happens to be in Saint Albans! No, Saint Albans is NOT a fishing town, not a beach resort, not a boardwalk by the seashore with sand-covered streets and sheriffs who ring a bell every time they think they see a shark. It's a quiet "city" nearby Lake Champlain that actually has access, get this, SEAFOOD! Jeff's Main Seafood sitting right at a corner spot on Main Street in downtown Saint Albans supplies, cooks and serves some quality seafood.

OK, please do NOT expect the Maine seacoast version of huge buffets or red plastic baskets full of fried clams, lobster tails and saltwater taffy. But what you will find is a nicely decorated restaurant in a well-preserved old building that serves local beer, fine wines, american bistro meals and also fresh seafood. Service is friendly, welcoming a warm...don't be afraid, it's only Saint Albans, there are nice people here.

The few times I've been to Jeff's the food has been great to well...OK. I'm not sure why the food quality is spotty. They do have a fairly extensive menu so maybe it's tough keeping all of those ducks in a row but the salads, steaks, shrimp, etc seem to have different moods on different days. The service, as I said before is friendly but that also has been spotty from VERY attentive (too attentive "how is everything? how is everything? how is everything?...") to not attentive at all. So I sometimes take a bit of a gamble when I decide to go here.

In addition, they aren't cheap. I think that's why I'm a bit fussy about the consistency. But they do draw a crowd on the weekends (and sometimes on weeknights) so I recommend a reservation if possible.

So hey! All is not really lost Vermont! You get to actually buy cooked seafood at a town that has NO access to saltwater oceans. It's not the greatest, but it is open for your business. Also, the lake is very nice, the beaches on that lake nearby are very relaxing and all of the people are happy...