MacArthur's Riverview Restaurant — Restaurant in Town of Highlands

We have not been to the Sunday brunch for a few years, due to the pandemic and because we moved to Connecticut. We decided this past Memorial Day weekend to go for the Sunday brunch, and accordingly made reservations for the 1:30 seating.

We were among the first people to be seated, and I was actually the first to approach and uncover the steamed items. Based upon the fact that the steamed items-eggs, potatoes, fish, meats, were clearly dug into and not replenished, it seemed that the 1:30 seating was being given the leftovers from the earlier seatings. In hindsight, we probably should have left at that point but based upon prior brunches, I was sure that the items would be replenished.

Similarly, the shrimp, salads, and smoked salmon platters were all messy and sparse, despite the fact that the restaurant's own website emphasizes "giant shrimp, smoked salmon, an array of salads..." as highlights of the brunch. I brought this to the attention of four staffers, including the assistant banquet manager "Tim" who by his actions, brushed off my concern, stating that shrimp would be immediately replenished-it took nearly half an hour to do so-and that in his opinion, there was "enough smoked salmon there for you." As the smoked salmon was not carefully individually sliced, people had to chop away at the platter, so that the remains were unappetizingly tossed about.

The few shrimps were in melted ice, clearly having sat around long enough for the ice to melt, a possible health hazard. They were not freshly put out.

I, and several other people, wanted the waffles with bananas foster. The station was unmanned when I and others approached, while four staffers stood around the general area doing nothing. I asked if they would handle the waffles/bananas foster station, and one staffer told me "go ahead, you can do it yourself."

The steam tables were not warm, the scrambled eggs and fish were lukewarm at best. The baked goods were stale and the bagel was dry. The sliced meats were turkey and ham; previously it was roast beef as well.

The omelets and desserts were okay.

I have had better food and better service at roadside diners. This whole brunch was a waste of time and money.

NOTE: I forwarded this to the Hotel Thayer, on their contact/comments page and in a separate email, and have not had the courtesy of a response more than a week later.

UPDATE: Ginoh Luz, the McArthur Director of Food and Beverage Services, reached out to me after reading my earlier comments. Ginoh explained that the poor attitude and unacceptable food that my spouse and I experienced was unfortunately due to a number of reasons that unfortunately, simultaneously occurred, and invited us to return another day for Sunday brunch. What a difference! The food was tasty and replenished, and the service excellent. A completely different experience, and one similar to the brunches we have enjoyed at the McArthur in the past. Ginoh Luz is a treasure, and an enormous asset to the McArthur restaurant. We will continue to go there and enjoy, so long as he...

The food was excellent but the service was terrible. Upon entering the restaurant, we were taken outside and asked to select a table that we would like to sit at. I picked one that had a great view of the river, but there was another party that had just left so they needed to clear the table. They seated us before the table was cleared and all they did was take away the remaining food and utensils, etc. The white tablecloth was covered in crumbs and they left that there. They gave us some menus. I had asked them if they can replace the tablecloth and give us a clean one. My server’s name was Talia. We ordered two lemon waters and one Coke with grenadine because they didn’t have a cherry Coke to start. We were brought two lemon waters and a Sprite with grenadine. I told her I did not order that and would like a Coke with grenadine. She said she would bring it right out and we never saw her Because she either forgot or just didn’t feel the need to do it. So I had to ask again when she came to order our food. She took my order and then took the order of the second person in our party and then turned back to me and asked me what I would like to order. I told her that she already took my order And then went on to take our third person in our parties order. At this point, we finished our waters and we’re looking around and other people had carafes on their table so that they can refill their water glasses. Our server was nowhere to be found. I went inside and spoke with a manager about this whole situation And so she ended up, bringing out us a carafe of water and apologizing and bringing out my daughters Coke with grenadine. Our food finally arrives and it looks delicious. But there’s one problem because we have no silverware or napkins and the server Talia was no longer to be found again. So I had to go back inside and ask for Silverware and napkins. We ate our lunch and there was another party sitting at the table next to us and their son somehow ended up leaning on top of their table and it collapsed and the glasses fell off and broke. It was such a fiasco. They ended up giving us a 20% discount...

We had an amazing guide GLENN for our West Point tour. It was a natural to make a reservation at The Thayer for lunch. We walked in to an almost completely empty, huge restaurant that resembled the dining room in a nursing home and smelled like a room deodorizer. They were accommodating when we asked to sit out on the patio overlooking the beautiful view of the Hudson. Every table had oversized dirty tablecloths that looked so unappealing and left from a decade ago. Our server was nice enough to put on a fresh cloth before seating us.

Three of the four asked if it would be possible to order the Caesar Salad with a scoop of their chicken salad, rather than the grilled chicken add on. Initially the server said the kitchen wouldn’t do it, but we all begged, and she returned with the good news that they would accommodate us. Boy, we didn’t know what we were in for. When our lunch arrived we had a Caesar Salad with something that resembled a lump of puréed food in the shape of a chicken breast all patted together. It was dry, inedible and just pathetic. Do chefs taste the food they serve beforehand? Or for that matter see how a plate looks before sending it out to the guest?

This place had needed a complete overhaul for at least 10 years!! That was the last time we were there and had a very similar experience. I was sure it had to have improved. For such a prestigious institution WEST POINT should hold their restaurant to the same standards they do their Cadets!! Don’t go, McDonalds is a way...