Drift Restaurant at Hideaway Bay Resort — Restaurant in Town of Hanover

I’ve been here twice, the first was one of the worst restaurant experiences I’ve ever had and the second was only slightly better. To start, I am a Sous Chef at one of the higher end Italian restaurants in Buffalo so I know a thing or two. The first time I tried to dine here, and I emphasize TRIED, we were sat, ordered appetizers, after about 20 minutes served an extremely sad excuse for a charcuterie board and very good calamari. That’s when our server asked about our dinner order, so we ordered, they were out of the chicken, switched to the salmon, all good, 20 minutes later we were told they were told they were out of the salmon, switched to mahi, 20 minutes later, told it’ll still be 20 minutes, 20 minutes later, told it’ll still be 20 minutes! This sounds like a sitcom but actually happened, then we just cancelled the meal and went to the beach bar where they got the drinks wrong, this was Father’s Day. Figured it was an off night so gave it another shot for my birthday tonight, first thing the waitress said was the THREE menu items they were out of. We started with ceviche and, again, the calamari which were both very good. The dinner orders were a pork chop which was asked to be cooked to medium by us and came out well past well done (the request was made before the waitress could ask, but I’m guessing they’re not trained to, which they should), I’m talking 160 degrees easily, and chicken that was unevenly cooked with skin on the was never seared and thrown in the oven to braise, so just soft stretchy skin with some okay chicken and some tough chewy chicken that was not seasoned well served with COLD smashed potatoes and spicy corn (the corn was actually very good) but the dish was Blazing Chicken and the chicken had no flavor. The pork chop was sent back and just gave up on getting anything different, but they offered a dessert, right thing to do. The thing that gets me is they give us the menu and immediately say they’re out of the crème brûlée, we sat at 5:15, that’s four menu items they did not have at the beginning of the night. There’s also bar issues, I got two of the same drink, if I did not order them, I would have questioned if it was the same drink. One more thing, make sure to wipe the edges of your plates, if anyone sent or served plates with the dishes with the rims looking like that I’d be screaming! You need serious adjustments! The place is gorgeous and you could do something great but right now...

We had such an incredible experience at this restaurant! The interior design is modern and open, bright and inviting, all while still being cozy, comfortable and warm. The large and small details, the beautiful wood finished interior, all add up to an exquisitely beautiful and impressive piece of architecture. Beyond the aesthetics, the staff were absolutely incredible. They were professional, attentive and genuinely friendly. They were knowledgeable with the menu and I never had to wait for drink refills or anything else I needed for us or our kids during our dinner. The food was delicious! Served hot and fresh (despite being incredibly busy at the time). The pork-chop was super flavorful, tender and huge! The Dan Dan pasta was al dente with a sweet and savory sauce — flavorful with tender pork! You can taste the quality in the dishes and the ingredients! The owners (Kevin and Christian Cullen) just happen to be two of the sweetest and coolest people in the whole world and we are lucky to call them friends! I am beyond blown away with what they have done here. This is truly a special place they have built, a genuine gem! I can’t wait to visit again and try more menu items...

We tried this place that was recommended by a friend. Absolutely stunning when we walked in. We thought the location, decor and view were incredible. We were told by the hostess that there was a backlog in the kitchen and it might take a little while for service. We were fine with that but decided to sit at the bar and also decided to eat our dinner there. The wine was good. We shared the Drift salad which was good and fresh. My fiance got the Mahi Mahi and I got the Roasted Chicken. Both were disappointing. The Mahi was so overcooked it was rubbery and dry. We've never had fish that overcooked, he could not even eat it. The Roasted Chicken was ok, the dark meat was acceptable but the white meat was quite dry and generally just not great. We eat out a LOT and when you spend almost $100 for a meal and wine you at least should enjoy it. We told the bartender who comped us on one of the glasses of wine. That was nice but it would have been better to have a great meal. Not sure if we...