The Inn at Pound Ridge by Jean-Georges — Restaurant in Town of Pound Ridge

We arrived after an hour and 10 minute drive from New Rochelle due to an accident on 95. Things happen right? We were just happy to be going to one of our favorite restaurants and one that we had not been For several months. When we arrived it was so dark I actually thought they were closed for a minute. We proceeded to park, however, and as we are walking to the front door we were approached by a dark-haired gentleman who said “how you guys doing? “. We said fine and he proceeded to tell us that valet parking is “mandatory”. It was a Monday night?! That was fine, however I said you weren’t there when we pulled in so we just proceeded to park. He thought it was a great idea to continue to badger us which was especially irritating and when we finally got to the door and had our keys back ( He basically said, “Oh forget it take your keys” ). We were kind of shocked by him continuing to argue with us and so when we got to the front desk we asked the young lady if valet parking is mandatory? To which she replied, absolutely. By the way, I am the biggest fan of valet parking so if there was someone there and a chance to valet park I would’ve been right on top of it. Fact remains, this gentleman decided to argue with us and then the young lady at the front desk confirmed it. Actually, I’ve been to many many fine restaurants in my 65 years and never have I been told that valet parking is mandatory. We had asked for a seating downstairs which is my favorite spot and was told that it wasn’t open with no apology or explanation. As we moved into the main dining room we were to be seated at the back of the room and so we asked if there was anyway that we could sit next to the fireplace where there were at least 6 to 8 tables available. She told us she had to go back to the front desk and check to make sure they weren’t spoken for. There were only 4 tables occupied in the entire room of about 20-25 tables. While we were standing there waiting, one of the maître d’‘s , very nice, came to us and asked if there was a problem and I said no we had just asked to sit by the fireplace and he said, well go ahead and sit. At that moment, the young lady returned and decided to seat us . Thankfully, we had an extraordinarily wonderful waiter who unbeknownst to him, saved the evening. The food was exceptional, as always, and aside from lukewarm coffee which they brought when we ordered dessert, dinner was extraordinary. Curiously, our waiter surmised upon arriving at our table to check on us that the coffee was cold before we said anything so that must be a recurring problem. It was worth all the aggravation just for the delicious dinners and all staff in the dining room itself were delightful and courteous. As a closing note, as we were leaving, there was no sign of a valet. it was only 8 o’clock by that point. We did notice that he was sitting in a car in the dark in the half moon driveway. Again first of all, I’ve never heard of mandatory valet parking. However, if indeed it is mandatory, you should be standing there in some kind of a lighted area so that people can see you as they drive in and not off to the side as he said he was, sitting in the dark . Secondly, at a restaurant of this caliber, you would think that a valet would know enough to not argue with the patrons of such a lovely establishment. And finally, food for thought, you never know why people are coming to your restaurant for dinner. It may be to talk about a child who is going through a divorce, it may be over the loss of a love one, it may be a grandchild sick in the hospital. It’s not always to come out for fun. It would be nice if you see that a couple is deep in thought and discussion to not take that particular moment in time to argue with those people. As my grandson would say, ...

My wife, son, and I recently had Christmas dinner at the inn at Pound Ridge as we had for the past few years. It was busy as it always was but there was no highchair available for my son. I was surprised because when I was called to confirm my reservation I mentioned we were bringing our 14 month old son. We were seated anyway and I held him for a bit because one would be available "shortly" During that time my son who was tired of being passed back and forth knocked over my wife's drink. Our waiter was nowhere to be found but plenty of staff members rushed over and cleared away the mess and re-set our table. After another 15 minutes our waiter resurfaced and apologized profusely and offered my wife another drink. At that point we were told that our appetizers would be out shortly. We ate our appetizers without incident while still holding our son. We finished eating and then a highchair finally showed up, we had been there for over an hour at this point. We had ordered an additional appetizer of risotto for the baby and we asked if that was going to be coming out soon because he was getting hungry. I noticed that the guests around us were all being taken care of the way we were used to being treated there, however our waiter kept disappearing for long periods of time. At one point the couple next to us even remarked they were surprised how long everything was taking for us to come out.

Then dinner came. I ordered the beef tenderloin "rare" when the waiter asked me how I would like it cooked I said "as rare as possible" my steak came so well done that it's embarrassing that you would serve it to anyone let alone someone who ordered it rare. I was so disgusted at this point that I just pushed my entire plate away. I understand that it’s a busy night, however I can’t accept having bad service and bad food. When the waiter came by to check on us he saw how over cooked my meal was and tried to apologize and offer us a replacement. I told him that after being there for 2 hours I couldn't imagine waiting that long for another meal. He said if we wanted anything off the menu he would get it for us, Our waiter then disappeared and we didn't see him again for the rest of the evening. After my wife finished her meal she asked to speak with the manager. She told him of our experience and he unapologetically said it was Christmas and they were very busy but he would take care of us on our bill. I didn't ask for that or expect it but he did take my meal off the check. I hardly think removing a steak that was not edible was "taking care of me" After another spell of waiting, a different server brought us our dessert and I asked for the check. We quickly paid and left, but I was left with such a bad taste in my mouth over this experience that I would be remiss not to mention it.

I can honestly say that I won't be returning to this location, and if this is the new direction of the Jean-Georges brand I can't imagine going to any of the other restaurants...

I had a deeply disappointing experience at the Pound Ridge Inn that I feel compelled to share. My sister and I, both new mothers, had decided to have a relaxing evening out to enjoy a drink and a meal by the bar. Given the unpredictable schedules of our babies, we hadn't made reservations, and we hoped to find a welcoming and accommodating atmosphere at this establishment. Unfortunately, our visit last winter left us feeling frustrated and unwelcome.

Upon arriving, we were met with our first sign of trouble when the car valet informed us that the restaurant wasn't opening until 4 pm. We understood that, so we left the premises and returned approximately 30 minutes later. After valeting our car, we entered the restaurant, hopeful that our evening would improve. However, our optimism quickly waned as the host staff informed us that they wouldn't be serving dinner for another 15 minutes.

We kindly asked if we could sit and wait, explaining that we had already valeted our car and had no place else to go. This is when our evening took a turn for the worse. Another host, a person who clearly didn't understand the concept of hospitality, rudely interjected and scolded us, instructing us to wait outside. We were told that we were not welcome to sit by the bar or even on their couches. The tone and attitude of this person were not just unwelcoming; they were incredibly mean and condescending.

We promptly decided to leave, shocked at the blatant lack of hospitality and empathy shown to us. It's disheartening that we were treated with such snobbishness, especially as two new mothers who had hoped to enjoy a relaxing evening at the Pound Ridge Inn. The incident left us with a bad taste in our mouths, figuratively speaking, and we were both taken aback by how poorly we were treated.

It's unfortunate to have to write a negative review for an establishment that could have offered us a pleasant experience, but I feel it's important to share our unfortunate encounter. I sincerely hope that the Pound Ridge Inn takes customer service and inclusivity seriously, as no one should be made to feel as unwelcome as we were during our visit. I genuinely hope that our feedback is heard, and the Pound Ridge Inn can take steps to improve their customer service and overall...