The Hops Spot Clayton — Restaurant in Town of Clayton

If I could give this zero stars, I would. When we entered we stood for an extended period of time waiting to be greeted. We could tell they were probably short staffed as there were unclean tables, but that’s pretty much everywhere. We’re understanding. What we could not get passed was what happened once we were seated.

We were seated by one young gentleman, and then waited again an extended period of time for the waiter…who was the bartender. Cam? Can?- something like that was his name. This gentleman couldn’t be more unprofessional looking- backwards hat, stained shirt with stomach hanging out, but I digress.

We had waited so long for him that we were already ready to order when he asked if we wanted drinks. With three kids in tow, we wanted to get their order in asap. We ordered, and he wrote none of it down. Now, we’ve had servers not write down entire orders in the past but it’s very few and far between. We knew it wasn’t going to be good.

Not only was this gentleman watching whatever game was on the television before placing our order, but chitchatting and walking around aimlessly PICKING HIS NOSE. I thought for sure I was seeing things. We were seated at the 6-person table right next to the bar- zero obstruction of view. I continued to watch while he finally entered our order into the computer and there, boldly in plain sight of the few dining customers he continued with his nose excavation. I couldn’t believe it. I told my husband to turn around and look (I was facing the bar, he was facing away from the bar). I then watched this bartender put straws in drinks with those same hands, lifting the straws from the top where people put their mouths! He then continued to slice a lemon. I immediately put our waters aside (we asked for lemon in ours), and watched for the gentleman who sat us to let him know what was going on and to ask for new waters.

I did catch the other young gentleman and he got us new waters, but I’m not sure what more he did to address the situation. When our waiter brought our food I immediately hopped up and insisted on passing out the plates so that his disgusting hands wouldn’t touch them. After that, we never saw him again. The food was sad. The chicken tenders were burned, he forgot several items (which we foresaw being that he wrote nothing down), and I genuinely believe the kitchen forgot to put cheese in the $17 macaroni and cheese skillet. I truly believe we were served pasta baked in the roux with panko on top. The patty melt was a thin patty with a slice of cheese and three strands of carmelized onions on toast. There was nothing appetizing about any of the items we ordered. It was the complete opposite of our last experience there. Unreal.

I had to catch a woman who appeared to have just started her shift to ask for the check. We just wanted to leave. Being that she had just entered the picture, I let her know that we were displeased with the food, would not like to pay for the macaroni and cheese that was uneaten, but would pay for the rest of it as we did eat it. That’s fair. I also informed her we did let the other gentleman know what our main issue was (the unsanitary waiter). She did remove the macaroni and cheese from the bill and also deducted 20%. I did appreciate that, but we will not be back.

It is the obligation of the restaurant and their employees to ensure they maintain professional standards in terms of appearance and sanitation and they very much missed the mark this afternoon. You could potentially...

This is a nice place to go in Clayton amidst the shops and waterfront of the St Lawrence River. I really enjoyed sitting outside here and just taking in the day. My wife likes the burgers here and wanted me to try them. I ordered the Beer Cheese and Bacon Burger. My bad, I should have requested Medium Rare, for me it was overcooked. The pretzel bun was good and it has pretzel cheese along with homemade beer mustard. This was a big sandwich and very sloppy! Have napkins on hand. You will not go away hungry. As for the French fries, well, they are soft and mushy. I normally don't use ketchup on my fries preferring the saltiness. Not salty, just mushy. Unfortunately this is one of those places that doesn't have a ketchup bottle on the table. They serve it in one of those tiny 1/2 oz tubs. Dreadful. I also ordered an October Fest beer thinking I'd be getting a Sam Adams, nope...it's a Great Lakes beer in a can. For her part, my wife enjoyed her burger and the small salad as a side. She also ordered fries, she had one or two and didn't eat anymore. I was really hoping to like this place, but it's a struggle aside from the atmosphere. Another couple sat next to us. I noticed the wife's sandwich and asked about it, it was the lobster roll. I will return here and order that sandwich and a salad next time. Take aways: If you like crispy fries, possibly ask them to keep them in the fryer longer. If you don't like overcooked meat, specify the doneness. If you want Sam Adams October Fest, go somewhere else. Request extra ketchup. Enjoy the ambiance of the place, don't have high expectations for the food. Also overpriced, but this is a tourist town so to be expected. See the pics...

This restaurant has lots of potential to be a truly nice place for outdoor comfort food dining in the center of Clayton, NY. Great location, huge shade trees and a beautiful facility (the old Johnston House). Unfortunately, there is no attention paid to the details. The landscaping around the outside dining area is full of weeds and overgrown shrubs (some dead) with a little messy mulch thrown in. It would take very little effort or cost to have someone come in once a week to tend to the grounds to make them beautiful. The outside area is where 90% of everyone eats and wants to eat. The beer selection is good but if you want wine, not so much. We tried to order wine off the menu and three different times they didn’t have the bottles advertised. They sent other bottles we didn’t order as a substitute thinking we wouldn’t notice. Again, no attention to detail on what wines they are advertising and what wines they actually have in stock to sell. The burgers are good. The kids really liked the choices and taste. The French fries are horrible. Just a mass of greasy, limp fries that the kids wouldn’t even eat, which tells me they aren’t keeping their grease hot enough to make them crispy and appetizing. Kind of the same thing with their fried haddock and chicken. Too greasy. Salads are fresh and the dressings are good. The fried pickles and pretzel bread appetizers are great. So this place could be a beautiful, fun and enjoyable place to eat. It just needs some quality control and attention to detail. Until then, under the current management and substandard conditions, you may not be enticed to return for a...