McGrath's Fish House — Restaurant in Salem

My wife and I visit your restaurant at least once a month if not more on our special date nights out. Well, Saturday, we had a completely horrific experience which was mostly due to the server Amy, and then compounded by the manager Jordan.

When we got our bill, I gave Amy our debit card for payment. She came back and loudly announced that it was not accepted which was rather embarrassing. I attempted to show her my phone's screen showing we had plenty in the account and when my wife asked her to attempt running it again, she huffed as if she was put out. She came back saying it again was declined and that one of of would have to stay until the bill was taken care off. I told her we did not alternative method of payment, we only had $40 in cash on us for the movie we were planning on seeing after dinner.

I asked for the manager and Jordan came to our table. She was even ruder and less caring that Amy was. I attempted to show her the balance on our account so she would know that we were not pulling a fast one on her. I also told her we were regular guests at this location. She told us that none of that mattered and that one of us would have to remain in the restaurant until the bill was settled. The bill was for $70 which is pretty minimal for two people having dinner, I mean it wasn't like we racked up hundreds of dollars on lobster and expensive drinks or something. Jordan ran our card again, and again coldly told us it was declined.

At this point, I had to leave my wife in tears and walk over to the Bank of America next door and I easily got $100 in cash off the same exact card that they were having issues with. When I got back, I told Joran that I did not appreciate how she handled us, treating us like criminals. She went on to use the excuse of they get a lot of dine and dashers, which just infuriated my further, for her to assume we were those kinds of people. She could have easily let us leave a driver's license with her with the intention of returning with payment to pick it up. Holding us hostage at the restaurant was completely ridiculous, harassing and embarrassing for both my wife and I.

Upon leaving, I told Jordan I did not appreciate the way she treated us and the last thing she said to us was "Well, I hope your night gets better from here". What a slap in the face.

We did voice our displeasure and treatment to Rose, the restaurant lead, but it doesn't appear that anything will be done about this. I am furious and demand that something be done to address how Any and most of all Jordan treated us. This is blatant discrimination and harassment and will not be tolerated.

I do have copies of all the receipts from that night in case it's helpful and am happy to...

It was a quiet Tuesday evening. There were five of us, but one was running quite late because he just woke from a nap and was groggy. The waitress was nice and friendly and took our order of appetizers and drinks. She was new, so didn't know what drink special was posted at the front, so when I forgot what I read, we all just kept guessing until it was decided what I would drink. A Cucumber Watermelon Mojito. It was refreshing, but had a strong watermelon flavor. We all talked and joked and laughed and shared memes from our phones until the the napping late friend arrived. We then chatted for a bit and poked fun at him for wearing a Bluetooth earpiece instead of earbuds like someone from this decade. That was when the waitress came to take our order.

We all ordered different things. One ordered the oyster shooters and some shrimp dish, one ordered some variety shrimp plate thing, another ordered Mac and cheese, I ordered a medium-rare steak with sides of asparagus and Mac and cheese and I don't remember what the last person ordered as I had already put in my order and didn't pay attention.

The food eventually came and my steak was a little more medium than medium-rare, but not too much, I got a large scoop of Mac and cheese, and 7 of the saddest asparaguses? asparagi? That I had ever seen. They were well overcooked in butter, I assume, but had little to no seasoning. They were very skinny and short and floppy and there were only 7 of them. Maybe just because I don't normally order asparagus when I'm out, I usually have them at home when I cook them (wonderfully, I might add), but they were underwhelming yo say the least. It was kind of like when someone offered you skittles and you get excited and they give you one... and it's yellow...

Asparagus aside, the steak was seasoned very well and was delicious as was the Mac and cheese. (I'm not sure why my phone keeps putting Mac in caps, but it is what it is, sometimes you have to go with your phones flow). I thoroughly enjoyed the steak and Mac and cheese and my friends, if you could call them that (I would but you can call them what you want) enjoyed their meals too. No one else had complaints except about my asparagus which they agreed were sadsparaguses.

The night went on with us enjoying food and drink and eachothers company and good vibes. Overall I'd say 8/10 experience, maybe a 16/20 or a 32/40. Just depends on your rating scale.

Thank you for coming to my Google review. Have...

I have been a regular at McGraths Fish House in Salem, Oregon and have enjoyed several different dishes there. I decided that for my 61st Christmas Birthday I wanted to eat there for lunch. (Thursday, December 24th, 2020 at 1:30pm.) I knew they had outdoor dining only but did not anticipate how cold it would be out on their patio. That did not deter me and my date. We quickly discovered the atmosphere was not delightful and cozy but rather had an Arctic igloo feel. Seating was very uncomfortable with narrow wicker and metal chairs that my hips sat on top of two metal bars and no cushions. The wait staff was pleasant and right away they turned on an outdoor heater that could be felt halfway through our meal. We opted to have a cup of Clam chowder instead of the salad to start. Although the chowder was steaming in the cold air, it was not hot by any means and could have been served a lot hotter. We also ordered Hot Buttered Rums which were served with paper straws. Right away our straws deteriorated and were no longer useable after the first sip, we asked for plastic straws but was told they do not have them. My date had the Chicken Alfredo and I decided to splurge for my Birthday meal by ordering the Dungeness Crab and Shrimp Pasta dish, which was a big mistake and prompted this review. The food temperature was good. The shrimp, mushrooms, linguini, and sauce were cooked perfectly as well. However, the Dungeness Crab was extremely disappointing and what there was of it, it had ruined the dish. There were only about 6-7 teeny tiny diced pieces of crab, not leg meat, but from the body section. Each piece I put in my mouth I had to stop after the first chew to remove a piece of crab shell from my mouth. Very frustrating and unpleasant. I paid $22.38 for this dish and will not have it again. I usually have dessert, but this time I was so turned off by this whole experience I opted out of my usual Marion Berry Cobbler. I paid $49.96 for our meals and left our waitress a $10.00 tip. Although I had considered McGraths my favorite Restaurant, I will not be visiting again while they are outdoor dining only. I do recommend they change the name of the dish I ordered to “Dungeness Crab Shell and...