Jake's Place — Restaurant in Virginia

My husband and I got out last night for a much needed date. We decided to try something new which can be a daunting task for me as I am neurodivergent. I looked at the menu on the way and decided we would be okay. Upon arrival, we were seated quickly. The waitress came over to take our drink orders and my husband asked if they served Coke or Pepsi products. Pepsi. He ordered a Pepsi and I asked for a Mountain Dew. She informed us they didn't have Mountain Dew and offered me Dr. Pepper instead. Huh? Not even a comparable drink. I said water would be fine. Our drinks arrived and we started to order. We each got an appetizer to try since this was our first visit. My husband ordered the Remie burger. I asked if it would be possible to order a grilled cheese since they do offer it on the kid's menu and said I'd be happy to pay whatever price they decided to charge. She let me know that under no circumstances could that be done. I understand kid's menu options are cheaper. But as someone with a very limited diet, if I'm offering to pay adult prices what on earth is the difference? Is there an allotment of bread and cheese slices that is calculated for the weekly number of children that enter the restaurant? I felt scolded for even suggesting that I would like to order it. My husband asked if I wanted to leave and I said no. I decided to just eat my appetizer and let him enjoy the food. It took quite a bit for what we ordered to arrive. The cheese breadsticks were good and the wings my husband ate were decent. His burger arrived and he enjoyed it. The waitress was scarcely seen at the table after ordering and my husband's drink was empty for the majority of the meal. When she did come back there was still a slice of cheese breadstick on the plate and she asked if I wanted to grab it. I thought that was slightly odd and picked it up and looked for another place to set it. She got defensive and said if you're not finished I'll just leave the plate. Ok... you hadn't asked if I was finished. She stopped by once more and gave us the bill. My husband had to stop her to ask for a drink. She offered a to go cup. We paid the bill and went on our way. As a person with Autism, this encounter was extremely out of my comfort zone. I felt belittled and embarrassed the entire time. I work very hard to put myself into new situations and experiences for the sake of my family and my own mental health. Let's think about this- if someone has dietary issues and needed to order a certain item would that be an issue? It shouldn't. If someone has allergies and needed to order something specific? Same thing. You never know what a persons situation is at first glance. Over all, the experience was not worth the decent...

Good location and atmosphere. Went with a group of about 10. Ordered drinks, apps, kids meals, and entrees. Intended on buying merchandise as well. 1 of the adult entrees was a grouper sandwich. It was the tail of the filet and very thin. It was folded over on itself to look thicker and did not even take up the entire bun. First bite was only bun. Second bite was mostly breading. The sandwich also had about a teaspoon of sauce in the middle of the bun. Showed the waitress and watched her get instruction from management. We were told they were all the same size portion (we had ordered two of these meals) and it would take too long to remake it. We were confused, asked what to do, and were told if we accepted it she would ask about a discount. By the time she came back the meal was cold and the discount was told to be 25%. We refused and asked for it to be taken back and removed from the bill. At that point we were told 25% was the best that could be done or we could talk to the manager. The manager came, was extremely rude, told us they came in prefrozen and portioned. He did take it off the bill.

The bills came out. 1 fish sandwich as charged extra for 1 small cup of tartar sauce. 1 bacon cheese fry was charged for a small sauce cup of ranch. 1 $7.99 kids meal was charged $3.49 for a side of fruit when the waitress told us what sides we could choose from.

Management had a smug look and stare down to us when we left. Extremely rude and unwelcoming.

Go to some local establishments and ask about Jake’s place. You’ll find that mostly only tourists go here for a cool location. Locals will openly tell you about rude management and mediocre/overpriced meals. We should have asked around first, but lesson learned.

Go spend your hard earned money elsewhere. Plenty of fantastic places to get great food and great customer service on the water.

Message to management - You’re in the service industry. If you have someone have a meal they aren’t happy with, there are a few very easy options. Have the kitchen jump to remaking it, offer to take it off the bill, give a free desert, apologize and ask the customer what you can do to fix it. As new locals, you could have earned a lifetime customer very quickly, instead of losing one and letting them share their experience with friends, family, and the internet. Your $21 loss (including profit) on the sandwich becomes much more really quickly by being incompetent and making it something it...

We were so excited to return this year and have our family have a nice dinner there on our stay at Smith Mountain lake, but the evening turned into a disaster. Once we were having appetizers a young boy came over to pet our dogs. He was sweet and engaging and was not an issue at first. However after about 10 minutes of him being there, we were ready for him to leave and go back to his family. It did not appear that there was anyone looking for him or understanding that this was our family time. I went to the hostess desk and ask about this, it was clear that this was A child of someone with the restaurant. She told me she would make sure that he was moved on. Shortly after our food arrived and he helped bring our food to the tables. He then again engage with our family sitting in our seats and adding condiments to food that no one wanted and just insisting on engaging with us in ways we were not comfortable with. When I finally went and asked for a manager to come out and please remove him from our area, he was taken away. He then returned to our table asking who was the mom who did not want him at our table. this was very uncomfortable for our family. When I was confronted by the manager about his situation I explained that I am a single mom with four children and I own my own business. I get that this is not an easy thing to do. But I also do not feel like it is the responsibility of my customers to deal with my children. It saddens me that this is the level of service at a place that charges high end prices. Again, I feel I have the right to say these things as I also have a high-end business. But if you’re going to have a high-end business, you need to create the best possible experience for...