I was really excited to try this place, but--though it does a couple things moderately right (e.g., craft beer list)--it does a lot of things wrong. I'll give The Hungry Diner a little bit of a break, as it was opening night (not sure how there are reviews from a month or more ago, as I legitimately went on the first night the restaurant was open); but, when you're dropping $55 for two people for a 5/10 meal, with 1/10 service, in a place with 3/10 atmosphere, there's a lot left to be desired.
After you order your food and beer at the counter, you are asked if you want to tip. I pressed "OK" (or whatever the button said) without putting in a tip, and the point-of-sale console forced me to put in a number for the tip. I put in $0, as I was intending to leave a cash tip at the table (who tips for a $55 meal for two people at a counter, before receiving the actual service?). My wife and I both ordered the fried chicken and one beer each (this was the ~$55 tab). We were given a pager and told to find a seat.
When the pager buzzed, we went to the kitchen window and picked up our chicken. For $17 (plus tax) for the chicken, you get two decent-sized pieces of boneless, white-meat chicken (no complaints about the size of the chicken), a little smear of sweet potato, a dollop of cheese, and a little sprinkle of micro-greens. The aforementioned side items were not enough in size to really call "side items." The chicken itself was luke-warm, and the crust (while flavorful) was somewhat hard (very crunchy) to bit through. The beers were great, however. There was a good selection of local brews from which to choose. We paid $7 each for our beers (higher-priced, but within the realm of good beers). With this said, I still don't know how I would order another beer. Would I get up, stand back in line; and, when I get back up to the counter, order another beer?
Throughout our entire time at the restaurant, we were not checked on once. There were more than enough "waiters/waitresses" (if you could call them that), but I still don't know what they were doing the whole time. To be clear, they don't take your order, they don't bring you your food, they don't check on you...so what do they do? Well, it turns out, they take your cafeteria-style tray (and the plates that come on the tray) away from you when you're done. Even at this point, they didn't ask us if we needed anything else (e.g., "Would you like another beer?" "Would you like dessert?", etc).
I had every intention of leaving a tip, but we ended up not leaving one. Do you tip at Chipotle when you dine there? How about at McDonald's? Nope.
I'd put my money on it: This place will not survive UNLESS it changes its model. The food was far too expensive for its quality and the overall dining experience; and the model itself (e.g., order at a counter, pick up your own food, no one checks on you, etc...) is flawed. The restaurant will need to cut its prices significantly or provide real service, to account for the significantly high prices. This meal and experience would have been worth it for a lower price.
The only reason I've taken the time to write such a lengthy review is because I actually DO want a restaurant like this to succeed in Walpole. I can only hope that someone from the restaurant reads these comments and takes them to heart. I sincerely wish The Hungry Diner the...
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