Clinkerdagger — Restaurant in Spokane

I have to say this was one of the most stressful dinners out I have ever had. Our waitress introduced herself and admitted pretty quickly that she was new on staff, which became more evident. We ordered mixed drinks and the seasonal appetizer - which she stated she knew they were close to out of, but when she asked, it was available. Then she left us with our menus and we decided on our entrees. Now, admittedly, I am a little difficult at restaurants as I'm anaphylactically allergic to asparagus and avoid pork & beef. The first thing I was interested in, a seasonal shrimp and lobster carbonara, could not be made without the prosciutto, which I understand. She brought back my menu, and I chose the seasonal Mahi Mahi. At the same time, my partner asked for the ribeye, which she immediately knew they were out of and he instead chose the seasonal halibut, requesting any other vegetable but asparagus (as he would like to kiss me later...). Then she came back a third time with the manager - they were out of Mahi mahi as well. So I chose a third dish, the scallops, again with the understanding that they would sub out the asparagus. Both of them apologized several times for how difficult this was and the manager promised to personally manage my food allergy and to comp my entree. Fast forward to the end of the meal, we get the bill, and my entree has not been comped, and there is an extra charge for the vegetable substitution in my partner's meal. The manager again came to our table and rectified things. I left a 20+% tip and we left, my partner commenting to me that he wanted to see all of the ambiance as he would certainly not be back.

How was the food? The drinks were creative and delightful - the exotic mojito and the botanical berry mule. Our appetizer - a watermelon carpaccio with shrimp ceviche - was flavorful though, frankly, difficult to eat and my partner felt the watermelon flavor was overpowering to the balance. His halibut was served with a lovely succotash, but the fish was pedestrian. The almond scallops were quite delightful and perfectly done - which is always the risk with scallops - and the accompanying mashed potatoes and house vegetable medley were very nice. For dessert, we had the creme brulee (which had been recommended to us) and it was very nice - the sugar shell not too thick and perfectly done - but we were a little disappointed that the dessert menu did not contain anything special, signature, or seasonal (lava cake, creme brulee, cheesecake, key lime pie, or strawberry shortcake).

The ambiance is certainly unique, being in a historic flour mill building overlooking the Spokane River, and the booth was cozy. I'm sure, had our server been fully aware of the limitations in the menu before we made up our minds and ordered, our experience would have been better, and she certainly did well to involve the manager and comp my entree (though, even that was not flawless). Others told us they had never had a bad meal here and my partner had always wanted to go, but our experience left us never...

I have been going to Clinks for close to 35 years now for most of our special occasions. They used to ask if it was for a special occasion when you made reservations & then they would put some confetti on the table, which made you feel special, but let the server know, as well. We were there Saturday, for a Birthday dinner & had asked if we could order off of the bar menu & were told we could, but it wouldn’t be happy hour prices, as they don’t have Happy hour on the weekends. (This was info from the guy who sat us). We were fine with that. It took approx 15 minutes for our waitress to show up & even pour the water in our glasses & acknowledge us as customers. We had 2 children with us & they gave them kids menus with no crayons & then she proceeded to say we couldn’t order off of the bar menu. We were not happy with the staff all giving different answers, when we had our mind set on the bar menu & my son wanted the prime rib dip from the bar & French onion soup to start. The waitress said they didn’t have soup. Again, this is one of main reasons my son wanted to come here for his Birthday, he loves their soup. So, we all got ordered & ordered a pea salad & crab & artichoke dip for the table. The salad came out & another 15 minutes for the dip to show up. Aren’t appetizers supposed the out at the same time? So, we have ordered & my son & I ordered the ckn Dijon & asked for it to be cooked extra, as we like the breader to be extra crunchy. About 20 minutes later, the waitress came out & said we wouldn’t be able to get garlic mashed potatoes, that we would be getting fingerlings. No explanations, no other options given. She said “I would go in the back & mash them myself if I could”, kind of snarkily to us, with her eyebrow raised. We were not happy, but asked if we could get fries, she said yes & they were so cold & old when we got them, another disappointment! My grandkids ordered fish & chips & it was so greasy, they couldn’t eat it. We told the waitress & she just took them off the table. Didn’t offer us something else or even something off the bill. So, my grandkids left hungry. This whole evening was a nightmare from start to finish.

I called the manger, I believe her name was Debbie, when we got home. Told her everything that had happened. She did seem receptive & said she was taking notes & was unaware that they had been out of potatoes that night. So, were we lied to? Said she was gonna have the main manager call us back & talk to us….that night was Saturday, the 16th & it is now Tuesday, the 19th & I have heard from no one! This is why I am now writing this review! This place has completely gone down hill in my opinion & there is no quality of food or customer service there any longer. ...

Iconic restaurant on the Spokane river. Been coming here with various iterations of my family since 1975. Moved away for a few decades but have since moved back and picked right up where I left off. Since coming back, though, my experience, quite honestly, had been a bit hit and miss.

Overall, as you can see from my rating, I'm pleased with the place. The ambiance is really what makes this place special: the decor makes you feel like you've stepped back a hundred years into a cozy British pub on the river. But the service and the food could use a refresh. The last time I was here with my family of five for a $300+ dinner, it took us over an hour to get our food. I kid you not. Thankfully, I mentioned this to management, and Debbie offered to comp me free appetizers next time I came in (which I just did yesterday with my wife; we sat in the bar and ordered two appetizers and two drinks, and this time Scott, the manager, decided to just comp the whole ticket. Classy move, and one that was enough to make me consider coming back--was ready to leave this place forever after the previous experience).

The refresh regarding food is a no-brainer: Please add legitimate vegetarian options! There is zero excuse for an upscale restaurant in the 21st century not to have a dedicated section (3-4 choices) of veggie options on the menu. Half of my family at this point are vegetarians, and all they can ever get is either the stuffed peppers with rice or the veggie pasta (neither of which are on the menu), both of which are good, but really... At our dinner experience a couple of months back, the chef actually came out to visit our table to ask how the veggie options were, and she said she always loves trying something new. So give her a chance, Management! Refresh the menu and allow her culinary skills to branch out. We live in Greenbluff, surrounded by organic farms. There's simply no excuse for a Spokane restaurant, especially of Clink's caliber, not to have legitimate vegetarian options.

Okay, enough said. I'm sure, in spite of my stated reservations, that we'll be back to give this iconic place another go. It deserves it, particularly after the classy gesture and excellent service we had from both the waitstaff and management on...