Jimmy's 21 Lake Side Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Town of North Elba

Had an extremely disappointing experience at Jimmy's this past weekend. When we walked in, the gentleman standing somewhat near the host stand (there wasn't anyone actually there, just this twenty-something year old leaning against a wall) just looked at us like we had five heads. Instead of greeting us, he just stood there and even smiled and somewhat shrugged when we asked for a table, as if he couldn't be bothered. It seemed a bit strange to have to ask for a table because nobody is saying anything remotely close to "welcome to Jimmy's!". After what seemed like an eternity of feeling like I needed to coerce service out of this worker, he eventually directed us to go downstairs, where "the people down there will help you out". I've worked in food service for years, and pawning off customers to one of your coworkers is a telltale sign of someone who is not accustomed to this sort of work. The least you can do is greet us. This was at 6pm on a Saturday, which makes it even more alarming that there was nobody ready to greet new parties coming in.

When we finally did sit, our waiter rushed us through ordering. Despite us saying numerous times that we needed to look at the menu and decide, he would not give us more than 60 seconds before coming right back to see if we were ready. When I firmly said we were only starting with drinks and needed time, he walked over to his colleagues and audibly scoffed at us. The group of them then started looking over at our table, smiling and laughing in a way that seemed more judgmental and insulting than anything else. At this point in time, we were one of three tables occupied in the basement level, and these workers were loitering on the side, making conversation. It should be noted that the first worker, who had difficulty greeting us at the door, was also downstairs, oddly staring at our table the entire time, smiling and shaking his head while talking to his colleagues, as if he had an issue with us. It was also bizarre that when other tables around us started filling up, they seemingly got better service than we did. At one point, every table around us had a basket of bread. I watched as one girl began to bring bread over to our table, and our waiter literally intercepted her and took the bread away, placing it down on the counter, saying "no, not for them". I had to ask for bread for our table while we were ordering our food, as opposed to in the beginning like most restaurants know to do. Instead of getting fresh bread from the back, our waiter just brought us the same basket he had previously deprived us of, cold and stale from sitting on that table for a few minutes. What kind of service is that?

When we finally got our food, it was fine. However, whereas our waiter was rushing us through our order before, he was now nowhere to be found. Despite him standing 20 feet away chatting with his colleagues, he never checked on our table to make sure we were satisfied and to determine if we needed anything else. I needed to wave him over just to let him know we were finished with our food. And that's when he tried to get us to order dessert, which was somewhat backhanded considering how little he tried to ensure we enjoyed our main course. It just seemed like we were the most insignificant party in the restaurant; rushing us through our order as if they had more important people to serve. And then, to not even check to see if we enjoyed the food proved to us that we could've gone anywhere else in town and likely gotten better service.

In all, I really cannot recommend Jimmy's at all. I don't know if it is a level of complacency from being one of only a few restaurants in town, but the expectation that you will get business because of your status in town should not hinder you from providing good enough service to encourage people to return. The service was completely unacceptable and I really encourage people to think twice before walking into the restaurant like we did, because we very clearly did not...

We had a lovely dinner Wednesday evening. We made a reservation for 2 people at 7pm. When we arrived, we had to wait a few mins for a table to open up, which was no big deal since you can clearly see that the restaurant was very busy and the staff were doing their best to keep things moving. The stuffed portobello mushroom appetizer and lobster bisque were amazing! The salmon and filet dinners were delicious as well! While we were waiting for our table, we heard a guest at the bar ask the bartender why some restaurants were closed that day. The bartender explained that many restaurants are short staff and need to shut down for a day or two in order to give their staff some time off. So you may have to wait a little longer than normal to get your seat, drinks and/or food, but it is definitely worth the wait! I felt bad for the host who had to deal with a very rude customer. A lady came in around 7:45ish and was yelling at the host that she was able to find a table sooner elsewhere and that she will never return to support this business all because they were not able to get her seated as soon as they hoped. She claimed that the reason why she was so upset, was that she was told she would be able to be seated by 7:15, but then was told she wouldn’t be able to get a reservation until 8pm. She made a point to yell loud enough so that everyone could hear and even commented “I hope everyone is hearing this too!” Clearly this lady has never worked a job in the service industry a day in her life or else she would have never been this rude to staff. I wanted to ask her what she hoped to accomplish by going out of her way just to verbally abuse another human being. Did she honestly think that by shouting her complaints, that those of us sitting and trying to enjoy our meal would suddenly leave or never come back all because a complete stranger had to make it known to the whole restaurant how inconvenienced she was? Get a clue lady! If anything, you’re the one who made our dinner uncomfortable from your extreme case of entitlement. I am not one to wish ill on others, but I hope karma comes back to bite you and you stub your large toe on a bed frame. I have worked in the restaurant business for 17 years and the last thing a staff member needs to deal with, when working in a highly busy and stressful environment, is an extremely rude and entitled customer! The world does not revolve around you! No one else in that restaurant had any problem patiently waiting for a table. I want to say thank you to the entire staff that worked that evening! You all did an amazing job and keep up the good work! Don’t let rude customers get you down! Karma will come and find...

Our first mistake was ordering steaks at an “Italian” restaurant. Initially welcomed by a friendly server who was attentive and accommodating, but things took a turn once our mains were served. My boyfriend ordered a steak which came over cooked and was sent back. Unfortunately when the second steak was served, when cut into, it was obvious the kitchen was using frozen meat because of the color of the meat. Disappointed as we were spending over $45 per plate, he let the server know he would pay for his plate but would not eat it given it was clearly frozen meat. Another server who claimed to be the GM came over, extremely rude, and yelled “you will not say that the meat is frozen in this restaurant” and aggressively cleared our table while saying he wouldn’t have to pay for it. He even had the nerve to insult my boyfriend in a condescending manner on how meat is cooked, he was clearly having a bad day and wanted to defend his cousin the “cook”. To add, the bar needs to learn how to make an actual dirty martini (it’s meant to have vermouth, not just olive juice FYI, our server told us there was no vermouth in the drink). It was a total mess of an evening, the server at the end would barely make eye contact and quite honestly looked embarrassed and was rude to us when we left. Never going back and I do not recommend dining there until they changed out the frozen meat or change the chef. The “GM” needs a course in how to handle dissatisfied customers instead of immediately yelling at complete strangers. No wonder the restaurant was basically empty on a Friday at 7;30PM.

IN RESPONSE TO YOUR OUTRAGEOUS ACCUSATIONS: my boyfriend was nothing but polite and still had the courtesy to leave your team a gratuity. You’re a liar and every poor review you get you blame the guests. You should consider changing occupations as customer service isn’t in your wheelhouse. He didn’t swear at anyone nor was loud. Your “GM” caused the scene. Take a look at your operation and stop blaming your customers. Teach your bartender how to actually make a dirty martini.

WARNING TO ALL POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS: Do not complain about anything, you WILL be blamed. Save yourself and don’t dine in this...