Maplewood III of Vineland — Restaurant in Vineland

This was my first visit in quite a while. It was for my birthday and we made reservations for 630, party of two. I was slightly disappointed that we were sitting in the corner table located closest to the bartender and server's station.This meant we constantly had servers rushing by us. The table felt very confined and probably shouldn't have existed in such a location. There were plenty of other tables which was a bit confusing. The next table over was quite literally right behind me, so much that I was struck with someone's jacket or person several times. Our appetizers were delicious. Clams casino & crab stuffed mushrooms. Unfortunately by the time our apps arrived, the table behind us turned over and the new party's arrival was the moment when we pretty much lost our server's attention entirely as she was very much more concerned with the regular customers that were now at the table. Thats not an assumption either, we heard it mentioned several times about how she knows they like to put their orders in early and such. As a former server myself, I understand that regulars are extremely important for business, especially when your income is mainly made out of tips. However, I don't find that an excuse to where we had already had our entree order placed prior to their arrival, were finished our apps, and still waiting when the server was bringing out their food. An entirely different server had to bring our dinner to us, as well as the bread that our server asked if we would like more of, twice, but ultimately forgot, and it fell on the other server. I understand that in certain cases, considering what type of food is ordered and the way it's prepared directly correlates to the time it would take to reach the table, but this wasn't one of those cases. Our server was initially quite attentive to us and professional, so much so that I'm quite positive she had been serving in fine dining for a large portion of her life. I'm usually thrilled when someone with obvious experience in serving(and in life, and I do mean that with the most respect as I believe that there's always much to learn from someone older than myself) gets assigned to our table. I wish I could have rated the service higher, and if it weren't for my history in the industry providing me with some understanding of the reasons I likely wouldn't have been able to even rate the service at a 3. The atmosphere is overall very beautiful, but our very confined and crowded table felt slightly claustrophobic, which is why I rated this a 4 instead of 5. There aren't many places in this area that are on a similar level to the Maplewood so provided we weren't shoved in the corner and too close for comfort to our neighboring table as well as the staff, I'm sure other tables could easily rate this one as a 5.

I am such a finicky eater, and as I previously stated, the food was delicious. My steak was supposed to be medium but was much too rare for my liking, and I ended up just bringing the majority of it home with me. My boyfriend got one of the dinner specials offered, which was also steak, and he enjoys his steaks medium rare. Let's just say we probably should've swapped steaks had they been the same type of cut that is. He ate every bit of everything. I did finish my crab cake and sides, and they were great. Despite the level of pink/red, it was seasoned magnificently and I will chalk it up to my own error and should have said medium well instead.

My boyfriend still tipped generously despite the less than pleasant...

Took my wife & mom to dinner here because we were new to the area (we live in a nearby town) and looking for new restaurants to add into our weekly rotation. I was very disappointed with our meals...extremely disappointed. The staff were nice with the exception of our waiter. He was courteous, but made uncomfortable comments if you finished something (your sour/salad/meal, etc.). Our meals left a lot to be desired. All of our meals were very small & not all that good. My wife loves seafood & ordered the lobster or crab bisque soup which she said was like water, not like the hearty soup it's supposed to be. Her broiled seafood combination platter was tiny. I've never seen one so small at any other restaurant anywhere. They use baby neck clams for clams casino with a tiny piece if chopped bacon on top! That is NOT clams casino! The piece of stuffed flounder was maybe 2 bites to eat the whole thing. The shrimp were very small & overcooked. My wife did not like anything on the combo platter and we eat seafood all the time. The platter was ridiculous and they should be embarrassed to serve something like that to paying customers. My steak was okay, nothing to brag about. Again, it was very thin & small for the price and it was not cooked & seasoned to perfection. I've had much better steaks at much more reasonably priced restaurants. Our mom didn't like her platter either...she had seafood also and the scallops were very small and either overcooked or undercooked. It was a really pitiful dinner. We all left hungry, even my wife who eats very little in one seating. Basically I threw almost $200 down the drain with our meals. I can honestly say that anyone looking for delicious food in the local area should go to the Franklinville Inn & you won't be disappointed (my wife & I have never had a bad meal there and the portions are much better - we always leave with part of our meals - wife loves their crab bisque - the food is really delicious). Also, the Malaga Diner has very good food, not like diner food. Their portions are very hearty and we haven't ever had a bad meal there either. Their seafood combo would put Maplewood's to shame! And the staff is amazing! Sorry Maplewood, but the was the first and last time I'd waste money on the food you offer to patrons. You need a new, better trained chef and you need to step up your platters...you charge enough for them! Give customers the kind of meal they deserve for what they're paying! We have never and would never dine here again. Too many other restaurants in the area can put Maplewood's food to shame. Not sure how they stay in business really...unless people don't have...

I think this is the second google review I've ever written, but I want to share my experience with other brides who may be considering the Maplewood III for their rehearsal dinner. My fiance and I are getting married at Running Deer and there are few restaurants within 10-20 minutes of the venue and hotel where guests are staying. We have heard how great Maplewood's food is and this was our first pick for our rehearsal dinner. Over the last month and a half I have tried to get in touch with management, or anyone, about booking our rehearsal dinner at Maplewood. I have left a total of 7 or 8 messages. I received a voicemail from Kenny last week (finally) and he told me that maybe connecting through email would be easier/best. No problem- emailed him, no response. I finally got ahold of Kenny on the phone a few days after that and asked to come in to speak further, see where the rehearsal dinner takes place, etc. His response was quite short and rude, stating that all the information is online, not understanding our reasoning for wanting to see the restaurant before booking. I tried to explain that we live 40-45 minutes away and have never been there, all we wanted to see was the space where the rehearsal dinner would be and I had a few basic questions that weren't answered online under the banquet info/tab. He also said that he emailed me back (I checked spam/junk, current, unread), no email. After this exchanged I emailed one more time to ask a few questions about pricing (alcohol specific) etc as not listed online and didn't want to drive all the way there if we can't afford to have our dinner there. No response back. Tried sending it one more time because honestly Maplewood was our first choice and I couldn't let it go even though my fiance told me to as it's really not worth the aggravation when you're already planning a wedding. No response. In total I probably left 7 voicemails and sent 3-4 emails. Needless to say, I let it go and will be pursuing elsewhere for our...