Bistro By The Sea — Restaurant in South Kingstown

Every summer we have enjoyed dining at the Theater by the Sea prior to attending performances there. Last night we had the worst dining experience we have ever experienced in RI since we have owned our home here. It was also an embarrassing evening for us as we entertaining guests who were staying at our home. Food options were limited in variety, there were no specials for the evening, no bread/rolls available tho bread plates were on the table. All this may seem minor and it is compared to the highlights of the meal. Placed our orders at 6:00 pm. Forty minutes later two roasted chicken dinners arrived of the four dinners ordered and they were cold. Not just not hot, but cold. Fifteen minutes later a third chicken dinner arrived. This dinner was warm. The waitress said she would need to check with the manager to see what could be done about the cold chicken dinners. (?). By the time the manager arrived, now one hour after our initial order was placed, the fourth member of our group was STILL waiting on her pasta dish. The manager indicated she would have to have the two cold dinners made new and would check on the whereabouts of the pasta. My husband inadvertently called the pasta linguine rather than fettuccini which was what was ordered. Seventy minutes after initial order, the replacement dinners arrived. The fourth member, still waiting for the pasta dish, was incorrectly served a large platter of Brussels sprouts. That platter made its way to a couple of other tables, returned to kitchen, and then found its way to correct table. 75 mins after ordering the manager brought a linguine and clam dish to our fourth member whose original order was a roasted vegetables and fettuccine. When she told the manager that it was not what she ordered the manager was less than pleasant. She indicated that it was my husband’s fault that it was incorrect. No apology for the fact that it took 75 mins to get a pasta dish to the table. The waitress verified that she did in fact place the correct pasta dish with the kitchen but was unsure of what happened. Other joys of the Bistro dining experience: diluted iced tea, no butter is available at table, only one dessert option available last night, tasteless mashed potatoes, and roasted chicken which had an indescribable funky after taste which made us think that something was wrong with the poultry. We left with our fourth member never eating a meal and three of us feeling queasy from the chicken. Add on a second attempt by my husband to explain the totality of our miserable experience to the manager, only to be met with some unpleasant and unreceptive nonsense on her part will ensure we never return or recommend. If the manager truly believes “ that the customer is always right” as she snapped at my husband, I think her actions and demeanor would have been quite different. We were not the only unhappy diners at Bistro by the Sea...

I seldom write negative reviews, but this was an utterly abysmal experience. We had a 315P reservation before a 5 PM show on 9/3/23, but the restaurant was closed when we arrived. While I had made the original reservation months before, I called the week prior to add one person to the reservation, and the hostess confirmed our reservation. There was no phone call, nor anything on social media or their website alerting their guests that they had decided to close that day. We were a total of 8, half of whom were coming in from out of state. 2 of our guests are in their 90's. Parking in the grass lot and walking down the long outdoor corridor only to do it again after learning the restaurant was closed was an ordeal, to say the least, for our elderly guests. Trying to find a nearby restaurant that could seat eight immediately, which would give us a chance at possibly getting back in time for the 5 PM show, added a layer of stress that ruined the entire experience for most of our guests. Perhaps a last minute staff shortage over the holiday weekend prevented their opening, but why couldn't they call the people with reservations to let them know? Why couldn't they put it on their website or social media? They don't care. I suspect someone will feign that they do and reply to this post asking me to call them, as they have done with their numerous other poor reviews. But, I've called twice over the last two weeks and left messages, yet I am still waiting for someone to return my call. They just do not care. Theater by the Sea is a fantastic institution that has entertained RI and beyond for generations. My advice is to not ruin your Theater by the Sea experience by combining it with...

August 3rd, just left the bistro worst experience ever, never got to the meal, had shrimp cocktail at $4.00 a peice over cooked and not cleaned, when I sent them back I received the same shrimp rinsed. My friend and myself also ordered stuffed quahaugs which weren't bad except the hot sauce had no cover and poured all over the plate. When we told the waitress we were allset and would like the check we were acousted by an angry manager who said we made the waitress cry and told us we would be comped for a meal we never had, then asked to leave. The so called chef even felt the need to meet us outside, and thought he would intimate us, not happening. We then left and went to another restaurant and saw people who were there to witness this encounter and were dumbfounded by the total rudeness of the worst manager in history of theater by the sea bistro, what an embarrassment she is to this...