Nick Stoner Inn Seafood & Steakhouse/Special event Venue — Restaurant in Town of Caroga

I’ve been looking forward to dining here for some time. Last minute trip for the kid and buddy at Wheelerville so this was perfect timing.

I’m sure people will trash my review, but here it is. I should’ve read reviews on Trip Advisor and not just the great pics on their Facebook page.

Called at 3:08 Friday 9/5 and said they couldn’t do a 5:30 for same night but they could do a 4:30. We said we could be there at 4:45 due to travel and they said OK, we arrived at 4:56.

A couple people at the bar. Got looks from a few girls that worked there. Finally was asked if we had a reservation and seated.

Water (with melted ice) was waiting at the table. Seven minutes later our waitress came and asked us if we wanted drinks. Ordered a draft ale for me and wife stuck with water.

Waitress returns to tell me the keg is empty. Stuff happens. Ordered the goto, Fiddlehead IPA. Somewhat flat and warmer than most drafts I have had elsewhere.

She dropped off the drinks and finally returned 12 minutes later to ask if we wanted to order apps. I told her we wanted to order everything now (knowing the tempo/timing was going to be off).

Shrimp, crab, and corn chowder 0/10. I never send food back. This was so salty. Looked good, thick and chunky. But couldn’t get past the saltiness. Had my wife try it. She agreed too salty so I asked to return it and take off the bill.

Waitress brought it back to the table and said “they added something to make it less salty.” as she went to set it down it was sloshing all over, you could tell they watered it down. So basically they took half the nice chunky, thick seafood out, and she told me they added a bunch of heavy cream to cut the salt. It was still too salty. Told her to take it back and we were done with it.

Shared - Scallops with bacon. 8/10

Salad 8/10. Waiter told us salad is family style with balsamic house dressing. Nope. Definitely creamy Caesar. Was good though.

Me - special - Salmon stuffed with crab and shrimp (no prices listed) 1/10 and loaded baked potato 5/10. Stuffing was liquified mush. Salmon was slimy and soft inside. The part on the hot plate and outside was fine so I ate that. Left it all there. Mine was served and we waited another five minutes for my potato and my wife’s dish to finally arrive.

Wife - special - (no prices listed) Filet 5/10 with blackened shrimp (very salty) 2/10 and Alfredo sauce pasta 6/10.

Tempo: 2/10 Food: 2/10 Service: 4/10 IPA: 5/10

Worst. Meal. Ever. $265 with tip and only one drink! Never again. Now I read reviews on other pages and I could’ve saved the time and money.

And for anyone asking why I didn’t speak with the owner or manager, after sending my chowder back twice, wouldn’t you think they would have been informed and make a table side visit? They didn’t. Tells me all I need to know about how it is run.

I know the locals love it. They...

After reading so many great reviews, and seeing so many postings of their incredible dishes, I decided to treat my husband to dinner there for his birthday. We made reservations, and in doing so, I let them know it was a birthday dinner, and our first time dining there. Upon arrival, we were quickly seated; there were only a two other tables at that time, and no one at the bar. It took the waitress over 5 minutes to give us menus, told us the specials were on the board and she quickly walked away. Several minutes later, she took our drink order. When she came back, I asked about the the tomahawk, and she ran off to reserve one for my husband-never mentioning anything more about what it might be served with, etc. She came back, quickly took the rest of our order (I had the ribeye, lobster tail, scallops and shrimp) and ran off again. She was curt, unfriendly and unseen most of the time. The bread was hot and very good. The appetizer, mozzarella rounds, were cold-but the marinara was good, at least. The salad was served with what we assumed was a house ranch; she never mentioned it at all-just showed up with it, and you guessed it-dropped it and ran off. Once our meals arrived-we didn't see her again until we were finished. The tomahawk, ordered medium, came medium-well, while my ribeye was spot on. The seafood was tender and delicious; however one tiny lemon wedge and no butter, really didn't do it for me. When I was finished I needed a box-which I said I'd need two pls., and she only brought one. It still wasn't very busy; empty bar, only 5 tables. The bartender filled in for her a few times-asking if we'd like another drink, and another box. She also brought out a complimentary birthday dish of ice cream for my husband. While she was pleasant enough, I expected more from the waitstaff overall-including both interaction and attire. I felt like they were feeding rabid wildlife-just throw 'em the food and RUN! Additionally, we didn't realize see-through leggings, crocks and a T-shirt were in fashion in a higher-end restaurant like that. For a whopping $400 for two people; appetizer, 2 drinks each and 2 meals, I expected at least friendly and attentive waitstaff. I guess with a 20% gratuity included it doesn't matter if the waitstaff is decent or not-they get a very good tip for doing basically nothing either way. Oh, and don't forget the nearly $15 fee for using a credit card. I'm kind of surprised they didn't charge us for the ice in my drink. Overall, a far cry from the experience I expected. We...

If patience is a virtue, this restaurant might just make you a saint. They don’t take reservations, never answer their phone, and apparently treat Facebook comments like junk mail. We drove an hour and a half to get there — basically long enough to drive to another state and probably eat somewhere better.When we arrived, tumbleweeds could’ve rolled through the dining room because it was completely empty. Still, the waitress (who announced she was “too busy” because she was the only one) refused to seat us there, so we got stuck at the bar like forgotten extras in a bad reality show. The waiter had to be reminded three times to bring water — by the end, I was considering just bringing in my own bottle. Our dirty glasses stayed on the bar so long, I almost gave them names.The menu didn’t have many choices, which was perhaps a kindness, because making a decision here could take longer than their service. We were supposed to get two salads and two loaves of bread, but only got one of each — maybe the other portions are still in the kitchen waiting for approval. Despite that, the ribeye steak was impressively well seasoned and cooked just right — easily the highlight of the night. The New York strip, on the other hand, was fine… let’s just say it didn’t give Broadway energy.It took ages to get our bill and even longer to pay it. The entire experience lasted over three hours — basically the length of a blockbuster movie, minus the entertainment. In short: great ribeye, okay strip, and a whole lot of waiting. If you go, pack a snack, a good book, and maybe...