The Elf In The Oak — Restaurant in Town of Hector

I want to share the overall very negative experience I had at the Elf in the Oak this morning.

I was visiting the Finger Lakes with my wife, infant daughter, and in-laws, and we wanted to go out for breakfast on a Saturday morning — the final morning of our trip. We chose Elf in the Oak and drove 30 minutes from the Waneta Lake area to get there.

Upon arriving, we had a table readied for us and waited for it to be cleaned. However, we were left standing there, thinking we'd be seated, but didn't again see the woman who cleaned our table. After about five minutes of waiting, we found the woman; she was around the cash register area taking orders. We asked if we could sit, and she said, "Yes, go ahead." I'm not sure why we were left standing there for so long and not told we could sit down at our table, as that could have been quickly and easily communicated to us right after it was cleaned.

So we sat down and began to look at the menu. We noticed on the menu that breakfast was served until 11am. At this point, it was 10:50am, so the group of us four adults quickly chose something. We all selected breakfast options.

Then I began to wait in line to place everyone's order. It was about 10:55am at this point, and there were about four parties ahead of me also waiting to order. Everyone was standing there gathered in front of the closed order window, apparently waiting for someone to begin taking everyone's orders. I figured, however, that since I was already in line and still had five minutes to spare, then it would be no problem ordering breakfast by the 11am deadline.

Boy, was I wrong. The woman finally opened the window to take everyone's orders several minutes later. By the time I got to the front of the line and it was my turn to order, it was 11:04am and I had waited in line about 10 minutes.

I placed my order of breakfast choices, but the woman said, "Sorry, we are now serving lunch." At this point, I had already waited in line for so long and figured we could be accommodated since I was already waiting in line before 11am. I replied, "I understand, but I was already waiting in line with my party's orders all ready to go. Is it possible to still order breakfast for my group?" And the answer was still "no."

So I said, "Look, I just want you to understand my side of things, that we already chose our meals and waited in line for over 10 minutes, so now I have to get back out of line and everyone has to pick something different, and then I have to wait in this line again." (At this point the line had easily doubled in length.) The woman remained completely unsympathetic, replying, "Well, my side of things is that we have to get the kitchen ready for lunch, and we have a business to run," or something to that extent.

Wow. I was shocked at her reply, frustrated by all of the waiting every step of the way in this restaurant, starving for something to eat, and just ready to leave. So I simply ordered three coffees (we hadn't had our morning coffees yet; otherwise I wouldn't have bothered), and we went somewhere else for what turned out to be an awesome lunch. (If anyone is wondering, we went to the Oar House. The food, staff, owner, and atmosphere were amazing and we'll be returning there again.)

I am 37 years old and have eaten at countless restaurants nationally and internationally. I can truly say that I have never been spoken to and treated so disrespectfully by restaurant staff the way I was today. I suppose they're okay with leaving customers to stand around waiting for seating and food, being rude to customers, and turning down present and future business.

I, however, am not okay with any of those things. In such a popular tourist area with so many options, nobody has time or energy for all of that negativity just to get a meal. Needless to say I will never even think about returning to Elf in the Oak, and I will let friends and family know about my awful experience here today. If you're looking for a good meal in the Finger Lakes area, simply look elsewhere where you'll be treated with...

The Elf in The Oak and their staff were a huge disappointment.  They have no consideration for children, and they are VERY firm on their menu rules.

We arrived at roughly 10:35 am.  We tried to search their menu online on their site, but it currently says, “There are currently no menus to display.” I went inside to place an order for 2 adults, 1 child.  The menu had handwritten on it “Breakfast till 11AM.”  I was unaware that they are so firm on their policy of breakfast, which is served from 8:00 am to 11:00 am, and lunch from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.  Had I known this, I would have been more prepared and would have not wasted the gas, money, or time on this terrible place.

When I got to the front counter, I was met by a hostess who asked if she could help me.  I said that I would like to place an order.  I was then directed to step through a doorway and into the dining area (which is very confusingly backwards).

At this time, it was exactly 10:44 am.  I attempted to order the chicken and waffles sandwich, then a PB&J from the KIDS’ MENU, which is on the same page as the lunch side. The kids’ menu consists of Chicken fingers, or PB&J, or Grilled Cheese. That’s all.

The hostess said, “I’m sorry, we serve lunch AFTER 11:00.”  Puzzled, I said, “Even for a kid’s peanut butter sandwich?”  She said, “Yes. I’m sorry. We are only serving breakfast right now.”  I said, “Okay. I suppose I will return at 11:00”, (which was now 14 minutes away) to which she nodded her head and smiled.

I had to go back outside and instead gather our breakfast orders together, then return at 10:48 am to place them.  We made our child a homemade sandwich (which spared us $5, plus annoyance).  While I waited near the cook’s station, I heard perverted comments to the female servers directed by the cook.  He made comments such as, “Ya ever have a hot dog and tuna at the same time?”, and “Would ya like some?”  I can handle this humor, but you must know your audience.  There are people and small children around, so he should have some respect and class in that environment, all while being paid for work.  Their cook has the spare time to make these ignorant comments, but not put two slices of bread, spread peanut butter and jelly on them, then possibly cut it into pieces.

The location is right next to the highway. The parking is crowded and narrow. The breakfast was okay.  The female staff were polite and called me "Sir", which is was polite. The main issue that we had with this business is that they cannot make a simple PB&J sandwich for a child, nevertheless, within MINUTES of the menu changeover.  I find that to be absolutely disappointing, inconsiderate, and pathetic.  They would rather make you wait until “lunch time” at 11:00 am, and make your child go hungry, versus selling a sandwich, making some money, and making customers happy.

Unfortunately, this was the first and will be the LAST time that we ever give money to...

Another hidden gem pitstop!! We're on our way to Ithaca then passing by Watkins Glen surroundings and found this cute lunch spot with a view of Seneca lake. The front door was for staff only, so we got to walk into the backside of the house which is the porch. It has several tables on the sheltered porch and a few on the lower level with umbrellas – the best view would be seen by the porch because it is on the higher level. We ordered through the small window and there is also another window for your orders to be picked up as we would be called by our names. The menu was written on board and the printed one was placed near the order window. I guess there were only 2-3 printed ones, so when it's getting crowded you either want to wait for a while or take a look at their menu online (I mean on Google Review). However, they don't provide restrooms for customers as they only have two porta-potties beside the house. So better be more prepared!

We ordered Lemonade and Italian Soda with Vanilla for the drinks and PMT with grilled chicken (for an additional $2) and Chicken Schnitzel for the meals. The lemonade tasted unique, not that sour but there was a little hint of sweetness. The Italian soda was a game changer for me because it was refreshing and the fizziness of the carbonated soda was thick which I'd prefer that way. The food was great as they came with chips and the schnitzel had a few slices of tofu which was surprisingly good. The pesto was the champion for us! The schnitzel actually tasted amazing with very tender buns but the sourness came from the red sauerkrauts and a few seeds which I wasn't sure what those were. When we tried the chicken schnitzel solely, it tasted soooo good. Maybe considering offering chicken schnitzel as a single menu would be a good idea?

Overall, it was so nice spending our lunch here with a beautiful view of the lake. Such a great experience and recommended when you're around Watkins Glen and its...