The Wheel — Restaurant in Stamford

We were regulars at The Wheel for 2+ years and recently decided to not return due to continuous failures of food freshness and consistency, lack of reliably acceptable bar/cocktail experience, and guest care. As of late, my fish was not fully cooked, my husband’s wine tasted and smelled odd (we were told the glass wasn’t clean…which created additional concern with dining at The Wheel) and what has ultimately turned us away is their failure to send us a gift card our family member ordered for us on 12/7/23. Our family doesn’t buy holiday gifts, so nothing was expected. After over two weeks from the purchase date, we were asked if we received the gift card and hadn’t, so we checked with Charlie (the manager). Charlie said he would call me that day but never did. I followed up with Charlie five days later 12/28/23 and as I write this review, I still have not received a response or any action from Charlie or The Wheel. Our family member has disputed the charge for the gift card with their credit card company — a task they shouldn’t have had to deal with after having tried to do a nice thing for someone during the holidays. How does a “business” take someone’s money for a gift card they promote on their website and not provide the gift card purchased? Beyond that, then ignore the gift card recipient who is trying to resolve the issue. This level of care and commitment to their guests is inexcusable.

The Wheel has been spiraling. We’ve been hearing for years that there is a new chef, new manager, new drinks manager, new food or cocktail menu coming that will be better. Living so close to The Wheel, enjoying the atmosphere and many of the people who work there, we wanted to love The Wheel, so we continued to give it another chance. We wanted it to be our every Friday night place as it once was, but we are tired of it. There is a current problem with management and there is obviously a problem with the owner(s) because the problems we see have been consistent despite The Wheel having been through at least 3 managers since we have been going there. At this point, the problems point to ownership, and we refuse to continue to support their cash stream. There are many other amazing places to visit in the area: Ten Twenty Post in Darien or take your pick of the options in Greenwich (The Cottage is one of our favorites). In the summer, the vibe at The Wheel is amazing, but that was even ruined by a rude bartender who literally threw our bill down the bar to us (we were the only ones at the bar so she wasn’t too busy to walk the bill down and hand it to us) and she couldn’t make a Bees Knees. At a place like The Wheel, a bartender should be able to make a Bees Knees — I make them myself at home and have no bartending experience.

I never leave reviews and because The Wheel has been our place for years, I hate leaving such a bad review. We’ve seen so many great people leave The Wheel and there are still some great employees there. For the people we care about who remain at The Wheel, I hope the owner sees this, pays attention where attention is needed and takes drastic action. As a business, they are not living up to their responsibilities to the public or (from the turnover I’ve seen) to...

I found this to be a disappointment – one of those immediate happy-sads!! Pics/reviews just don’t align with actuality.

Location is nice as it’s backed to a cute little pier area adjacent to a small waterway, so the outside life is appealing. As one who appreciates special features and custom details, the heavy wooden door entry door with the iron wheel is clever and pairs well with the oversized iron wheel stationed on the lawn area. Very picturesque! That being said, from reviewing the website, yelp pics & pricing you could somewhat assume the overall restaurant is upscale – however once inside the venue - the furniture, menu options & staff are mid, so I wouldn’t classify this as upscale. Menu options & taste aren’t great to warrant the pricing. The Calamari was oily and difficult to place a to what seasoning it had. It states Garlic Herb Butter, but IDK…. The fish tacos (3) were micro, bland (including the bits of included mango) and upsetting. It’s one of those easy dishes that one has had at all types of restaurants, all around the world, and it’s supposed to be yummy. Not salty, nor tasteless…. But yummy small bites. The Diavolo Pizza was probably the most appetizing thing we ordered and while I think it could have been better, I will say the hot honey ingredient was a nice touch. The spicy pepperoni wasn’t spicy none, but rather more salty than necessary. Frankly, IMO, restaurants should move away from overdosing foods with salt given the compounded health risks associated and really spend the time marinating seasons to flavor their dishes. When our attendant finally remembered our table, I was able to order a Mule, albeit the food haven mostly disappeared by that time, and it was well mixed. The bar scene is probably where the action is during the weekend, and I have more confidence in a good drink vs meal at this location. Depending on the day of the week & the mood that can be a reasonable tradeoff. From nearby observation I don’t think the service is terrible here, but the attendant we were assigned was dreadful. Young African American lady with low energy and deficient engagement who perhaps loss sight of the goal that evening. We felt like we were fishing for service and had the noise level been reduced would have needed to whistle a couple times to catch her attention. Smh. Overall setting is trendy and inviting with leather upholstery and lovely blues, but the rattan chairs could be replaced with something sleeker. That odd pairing mirrors the confusing menu that hosts Mexican street corn, oysters and braised short rib = a bit all inclusive, but then not really so. Lol

Conclusion: Try the venue, have reasonable (not high) expectations, and definitely have...

This place has potential but that potential is not currently being realized. The location has huge potential given how close they are to the water. The space is really fabulous looking side. The cocktails we ordered were really enjoyable but the food was, on the whole, so below average, that we left feeling like we wasted a date night. Our waitress was delightful even though it took a bit to have her come over (guessing there was miscommunication).

We came into the restaurant excited to try a new Stamford spot and loving what we were seeing on their social media posts. We tried the salmon crispy rice, which was completely average and the blooming mushroom which was really awful. The menu describes it as "hen of the woods, etc." and the waitress advised us that it is not for everyone due to it being really earthy. What was presented on our plate was probably the worst way to eat mushrooms. Essentially the dish is a deep-fried-clump-of-mushrooms. It comes across looking like a piece of coral and when you bite into it you are just eating tasteless mush. I LOVE mushrooms and hen of the woods are amazing. I was anticipating something coming in a pan, sauteed, etc. This was not that.

We ordered the truffle pizza and thank goodness we did. That was an above average pizza and helped save the evening. My wife got the brick chicken which was totally mediocre and I ordered the ribeye, thinking that there is no way they can screw up a steak. Unfortunately for me, they didn't screw it up, but it was just blah and tasteless. With descriptors like "black garlic", etc., I was anticipating something with tons of flavor. I was mistaken.

The fries I got as a side were really delicious. We also ordered the ice cream sundae which came with house-made salted caramel ice cream, which was also delicious.

Overall, I feel robbed. There needs to be a huge upgrade with the flavor profile of this place. If this spot was somewhere where the restaurant competition wasn't so good, it may stand out more, but in Stamford, and lower Fairfield County in general, there are just too many good places to choose to come here.

I would love to give it another shot if they work out the kinks but overall a really disappointing experience. I hope they figure it...