There's much to be said here so “brief” this is not. (note that in reading the reviews of others a pattern of not-so-brief rebuttals from the facility owner for any negatives, some comments rather snarky, something that unto itself tells a story!)
The atmosphere is as it is portrayed in the facility photos, let's give the designer compliments for a good look. If more designers however would take acoustics into account, diners would undoubtably have a better experience. You will see in the photo a dining room photo with a private room in the distance. This is seriously noisy as it has nothing in the room but tables, chairs, high ceiling, so the room echoes with noise. The staff should have at least offered to close the barn doors but did not.
The ordering process is old school, with staff taking notes on a diner note pad. We had a party of 18, which were three families dining together. As we do this often in the Saratoga area, we try to actually sit our families conveniently so that we could aid the staff to ring three checks rather easily. To this we explained. We were told "no". Ok; not helpful or client-centered, so we proceeded.
The food came out in a very reasonable time, and considering the large party and the overall activity of the restaurant, and the fact that almost all meals were delivered within 3-5 minutes of the first meal, props to the kitchen staff for timeliness. The dining staff exhibited a very "relaxed" process for delivering food. Staff members walked in, carrying multiple plates of ready food and shouted "who had the _". So this was repeated 8-9 times. This process is not the fault of the staff, simply poor training processes from order taking, and how to deliver efficiently, and quietly, with all diners receiving the food ordered.
The food quality was above average for a golf club greenside grill. This is not a menu that would somehow standout among Saratoga restaurants. About one third of our party felt their meal was "very good", while the rest simply rated it "very average". The difference from our group is the difference between ever returning to this as a dining option or not.
Meal costs were fair, a completed meal with 22%-25% gratuity averaging $40-$45pp. I will note that other restaurants I review, where service is exemplary will typically receive anywhere from 35-40% gratuity for great service...the kind where you know you will return!
The dining room staff became otherwise "busy" once the meals were delivered, with our diners having to ask multiple times to refill beverages. A manager visited the room asking how things were...seemingly not noticing or attempting to capture what was going on at the table. She asked "how is everything", one of our diners responded positively, and the manager flew out of the room. Again...training at another level is needed. A long table of 18 people. IF you don't spend a moment actually looking at the table from end to end; possibly engaging two or three individuals with questions about the experience...how can this "visit" to our room add any value to the dining experience; or any feedback to help your restaurant get better at what it presents to their customers. It would not have taken much to see nine water glasses empty for example.
Speed to finish seemed to be the next task on the staff's to-do list. Four of our family were still eating when the staff announced, "I have to-go boxes, who needs one". Some plates were cleared...not by clearing to a side tray and stand, but taken into the kitchen two plates at a time, and no one returning for minutes later to remove more. The side tray and stand were indeed in the room so one of our guests got up and cleared the rest of the table himself to the stand.
All diners can decide for themselves if this is a dining experience they want to try. We leave with a fair opinion about atmosphere, food quality, and kitchen efficiency, and a very poor opinion about the level of training offered the staff to produce a great...
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