Ellen's on Front — Restaurant in Town of Southold

I came here Mother’s Day with my 91 year old grandmother. We ordered $100 worth of food and left a 20% tip and were told to arrive in 40 minutes to pick it up. After arriving 40 minutes later and waiting more than 20 minutes on the curb with no response from the staff, my grandmother asked me to go inside to ask what was going on.

Inside was an entire family of four crowding the entrance all not wearing masks. When I asked the employee why they were allowed inside the building without masks she instructed me that she was not the police and was not required to regulate people wearing masks. When I asked the family why they were not wearing masks they told me they were friends of the owner and did not have to wear masks. After I instructed them that by law they either needed to put on masks or they need to leave, the employee again told them they could stay without masks. She reiterated it was not her job to regulate masks despite two signs on your frontage (and the law) that said the opposite.

Then your “manager” entered extremely angry berating my 91 year grandmother on mothers day for being rude to her staff. When we asked your manager why those people were allowed in not wearing masks she instructed us that it actually was not required in this restaurant so long as you keep six feet from all people. They were standing not even one foot from the entrance of the restaurant and as you well know this is not how the law works anyway. She spouted off several more minutes of ad hominem attacks on us and misinformation about how COVID-19 is not a real danger.

Now more than an hour and twenty minutes after we ordered our food we asked to speak to the owner which your manager replied, “I think it’d be better if you just left”. The only other two patrons still inside thanked us for standing up for what is right as we left. Even without your staff being rude to us, the health code violations, a one hour and twenty wait time is ridiculous for a restaurant that gave out one order in the time we were there.

COVID-19 is not a joke and you need to take it seriously. You are putting lives at risk. My family has given your restaurant many thousands of dollars of patronage over the last year. We know you were struggling for business even before COVID-19 and only wanted to give you some help in your time of need. That will never happen again. How could you let your staff be so callous and rude in a time like this? Especially to such frequent and loyal customers? How can you hire and train such a woefully under-prepared staff? Most importantly, why do you endanger a 91 year old woman’s’ life on Mothers Day?

EDIT: In response to your comment. At no time did your "manager", your one staff member, or the four individuals without masks say that they were not wearing masks because they were immuno-comprised. You know you are flat out lying about this. In fact they said they did not have to because they were friends of the owner who said they did not have to. 30 minutes later your "manager" came out the back and finally made them put masks on. So don't openly lie to try to cover your own errors. You let four people into your business without masks then refused service to two patrons who were wearing the legally required masks. Own up to your mistakes!

You really can't sit there and type that you take COVID-19 seriously when you kicked out two frequent patrons for complaining that you were breaking the law. Your business did this. Own it. No amount of you spinning the truth into lies will...

First off, I would like to say that our server(I forgot the name, she is a nice older lady), was such a beautiful thing. She has accommodated us as best as she could and recommended meals also. I give five stars on service for her.

Atmosphere, I think they can do better on the lighting, the light from the outside brightens the entire space which makes the candles lose its dim effect.

FOOD: Now, this is where you SHOULD read.

Me and my partner has planned a getaway to NorthFork for seafood and local cuisines. We have traveled to Riverhead for their food as well.

I, personally, do not like to consume raw because as someone who has a medical lab background, I just cannot. I will only eat it if I prepare it myself. I know that raw food requires a very strict way of preparing or it will not end well for the one who will consumes.

Unfortunately, my partner is a lover of sushi, and, raw tuna and salmon. When we dined here, I ordered the Grilled Romaine and Calamari. He ordered Chowder and Spicy Tuna (raw). Mind you, with all our travels to restaurants around the area, we’ve bene eating the same, except the Tuna because it is raw.

We have dined at Halyard Restaurant the night prior and ordered the exact same thing also.

Anyway, after dinner, we headed straight back to Hotel room (walking distance) for our dog. Three hours later my partner started throwing up. We had zero sleep last night because he would throw up every 15 minutes with an interval of Diarrhea. He hated it, I hated it. I, on the other hand, was okay. I enjoyed my food.

The next day, we have to travel back to the city, worst day ever. My partner have to hold it. He was sick for 3 days and the Doctor has found food poison from fish. We cannot pin anyone else since the only time he has consumed fish was when we dined at Ellens. We have ordered Lobsters from other places.

I have reached out to management but they have denied but said they will re train the staff.

If you are out to visit this side of the Island with just a couple of days left, I do not recommend visiting. The horror we experienced far from home was a nightmare.

He has completely taken off NorthFork as our vacation destination which I was extremely heartbroken because I wanted to come back for the...

Where do I begin....when first walking into Ellen’s on Front you are greeted with a magnificent and elegant portrait of a women hanging above the simple yet elegantly decorated bar. The women in this portrait stares back at you and gives you the feeling of comfort and warmth. Greeting you with her eyes that you are going to eat some of the best cuisine today. The hostess greeted us gently and so polite asking if we were ready to be taken to our table. As she guided us to a window side seat facing the scenic and famous street of Main Street Greenport, you take in the cleanliness of the entire restaurant. Not a crumb to be seen it was fantastic. Especially during times like now with COVID spreading throughout the nation. I felt safe and secure the entire meal. When it comes to the food the women in the portrait did not let me down. I had the daily special of the swordfish steak on a fresh bun with arugula and herbed mayo. My first bite was divine and the next ones were heavenly. What ever chef is in back just WOW! My wife got the lobster roll and I have never seen her tackle a meal so fast in all my life with her (fifteen glorious years). Also as suggested by our amazing waitress ironically named Ellen, so crazy I know! We also ordered the short rib grilled cheese sandwich. Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys food as much as I do. The thing is a mash up of A-M-A-Z-I-N-G-N-E-S-S. As we neared the last bites of our meal I began to sadden as the amazing feast we were served was coming to an end. I enjoyed every moment of our time at Ellen’s on Front. The staff was excellent, everything was clean, the restaurant knew what it was doing. As I left the restaurant I looked back up at the women in the portrait and said you were not wrong I WILL BE BACK...