The View — Restaurant in Town of North Elba

We came in with a reservation for a birthday dinner, chose this location specifically because they were rated extremely well for service. Initially everything was very nicely presented and paced, but after our first round of cocktails sat empty for much longer than we'd like our server finally came and took an order for the next round. We sat and watched as she bounced between her 2-3 other tables for about 15 minutes before she came back and asked again if we'd like to order another round. After she realized her mistake we waited another 15 minutes for drinks to arrive. My cocktail was not as specified, and although it was a slightly modified order we'd like to think that a restaurant with an $80 filet on the menu would be able to accommodate adding an ingredient to a martini. We finished dinner and watched her walk by our empty table with empty cocktails, empty plates and empty waters for about 15 minutes before we were offered a dessert menu. We just wanted the leave at that point and asked for a check. Surprise! We waited another 15 minutes or so before we received the bill. We sat for a total of 2 hours and were actively eating and drinking for about 45 minutes. The food was good, not necessarily worth the price but certainly a nice meal. My husband had so many bones in his salmon that he resorted to mashing it up and picking them all out before he could eat his entree. He pulled out more than 10 and spit the rest into his napkin. We couldn't have told anyone if we'd wanted to because nobody checked on us while we were eating. Our server was very sweet and very kind but the service was not on point for a two top with a $200 tab. Along with the long wait for drinks and the check the only table touch the entire meal was when my husband's entree was already cleared by support staff and mine sat half-finished waiting for a box. They did do an excellent job recognizing the occasion with a personalized letter, a photo after the meal and two complimentary macarons. I'd like to think our server was just having an off night and give her some grace, but as someone with nearly 20 years in the industry I was deeply unimpressed overall and would not recommend this restaurant. Even my thoroughly mild and easy-going husband was surprised by how poor the quality of service was. This is one of maybe three times in my life I've ever left less than 25-30%. Tl;Dr - overall the experience lacked the high-end service boasted by the website that would have made the price point worthwhile and we certainly would...

Sorry - but just don’t dine here.

You might get lucky and get a good waiter — but honestly we had one of the worst experiences in my life. It’s really unfortunate, because we dined here two years ago and really enjoyed it, but this time was the polar opposite.

Our waiter, Matthew, was really nice. But after taking our order, not once did he come to refill our water, or refill our champagne. All the bottles just sat there on the sill or ice bucket. When the plates were cleared after the first course, the bus person accidentally dropped a knife on my wife’s lap. When Matthew came back with the second course, we had to point out that two of us had no utensils. When he came back with the third course, we had to put an empty bottle that had been sitting on the table for an hour in order for him to realize we would like it taken away. He never checked in to ask if we needed anything, just long weird pauses between seeing, versus the table beside us who had an experienced waiter that continually checked on them along with the manager. I genuinely don’t know where Matthew went, and although he always seemed nice whenever we spotted him, his lack of common sense was just crazy.

And don’t order the gnocchi. 3 of 4 of us did, and no one ate more than 20% of their dish (which again, a waiter with common sense would have noticed.) it was doused in a heavy oil/butter sauce, and then partially fried, and heavy. Not a light and fluffy gnocchi like you might expect from a restaurant that mentions it’s homemade.

I really regret tipping 20% especially on such a large bill. We’ve eaten at so many places in Lake Placid over the years but the experience and cost here was just a total...

Wait staff are friendly but it is difficult understanding the dialect of the host and some servers. The host has the option of seating us in a choice, central location but instead seats us in a less optimal location. We ask for the center location with the best view and we get repositioned there. Not certain why we were not offered that table in the first place.

The primary reason for the low rating is we are disappointed when presented the menu and told that only a 3 course fixed prix meal is available. When the reservation was booked several months ago there was no indication there would be a change from the published menu. Further, the Inn sent multiple e-mail communications regarding our upcoming stay and never mentioned changes to dining options. We give pushback over the fixed prix menu but no alternatives are offered. Considering the restaurant has a 24 hour cancellation policy with a credit card on file, leaving the restaurant at this point isn't a viable option.

We are presented a "...basket of hot breads with salted butter..." that is the most uninspired dinner bread I've ever experienced. Slices of soft white and wheat bread that is doughy and tasteless! My wife's meal is served barely above room temperature. Wait staff is inattentive and by the time they become aware we are not happy we are not interested in pursuing a correction.

Based on this experience the staff are friendly but difficult to understand and seem to lack good customer service skills. Food is uninspired and there is poor quality control of plating to serve...