The Whately Inn — Restaurant in Whately

On 8/6/23, I brought my parents to the Whately Inn for dinner to celebrate their 60th Wedding Anniversary. More recently, it seems that an extraordinary dining experience is an exception, rather than the norm. For this reason, as well as the fact that it was such a milestone celebration, I emailed the owner(Stephen) beforehand and shared that I was considering bringing my parents to his establishment for a special dinner and wanted reassurance that we would not be disappointed. He acknowledged my initial email and evidenced a certainty that left me feeling confident enough about moving forward and making a reservation(He even noted a server he recommended). In his return email to me, he had asked me a couple of questions, which I responded to in a return email, followed by one more email after I secured a reservation, but I never heard back from him thereafter. I telephoned the restaurant on 7/30/23 to make the reservation. I explained to Krista(I believe that was her name) that I had exchanged emails with the owner and that the reservation was for a very special occasion, being it was my parents' Anniversary. Our initial call was disconnected and when we re-connected(I called back), I made a point of telling her a couple more times that the reservation is for a special celebration and we would be coming for my parents' 60th Anniversary. She acknowledged this. When we arrived on 8/6, it was not very busy(reservation was for 4:30), we were promptly seated and our waiter Liam was timely greeting us and taking our drink order. From there, the customer service left a lot to be desired. We learned that Liam was the bartender that day, which was consuming his time, and likely the reason for our lackluster service. Never having personally been to the restaurant, it would have been helpful to receive a little tour of the menu, which we did not. We needed a napkin that I had to take from another table--we needed silverware replaced that had been taken away and I also had to take from another table. Our bread plates were taken and we had nowhere to put the family style veggie. I had to wait for a water refill, which is a biggie for me, but Liam did redeem himself there when he brought a pitcher of water(which I requested). After we received our meal, there was never a check back to see how the food was. Then, after we finished our meal, we sat with our dirty dishes for at least 20-25 minutes before a different server came and told us he was sent by Liam to take our dessert order. We then commented how that should have occurred a while ago. Things happen and we understand. Given it was necessary for Liam to tend to the bar that day, you'd have thought a different server would have been provided to us. We would have been more than happy to have someone who was going to be attentive. The dirty dishes still remained on the table until the dessert was brought and we had to point out that we would like them removed. To top it all off, there was never ever any mention of "Happy Anniversary" to my parents. Nothing!! Interestingly enough, when it came time to pay the bill though, Liam resurfaced quite promptly and started talking to my parents as though they were his regular customers, which they were not, and in fact they have only been to the restaurant one time, years ago. As for the food, it was good!! Sadly, the service is part of the whole experience and the fact that it fell short, overshadows everything. Very disappointing, especially having done my due diligence ahead of time, researching the restaurant(I read reviews) and having contacted the owner in an effort to avoid the very reason I am writing this review. I'd have thought he would have communicated something to his employees, particularly the fact that it was an anniversary dinner. Just like a thank you goes a long way, acknowledging a very special day, would have meant a lot to me. I really...

After working there for 2 years I can say the business and everyone in it is incredible. They really do think and cater to every detail. I learned so much working there, not only about the job, but about myself. I grew there. The staff is wonderful. The customers were kind and generous most of the time. I ended up with a second family there, and a big on at that. Chip and Lisa have huge hearts and they truly care for each of their employees. I recommend the Inn as a place to work at if you have a good work ethic and want to learn and work with some great people. It’s a fast paced job that’ll keep you busy, that was one of my favorite parts. I enjoyed the hustle and bustle especially on the busy Saturdays or on holidays. As far as the food goes, it’s drool worthy. I never once had a bad meal, ever. The filet mignon is impeccable, so tender you can cut it with a butter knife. Their signature au gratin potatoes are delicious. And desert always get the brownie ala mode, it’s huge and the brownies are made fresh in house every week! The tomato soup was my favorite along with their clam chowder. And as a person that doesn’t like seafood, their lobster bisque is so so good! Everything is made fresh. You can have any dish made to your liking. All meals are prepped in house daily. Nothing is reheated or ‘old’. Salads made fresh every day too. Dressings are home made style made in house. Same with sauces. Honestly, it’s all fresh, all prepped in house, all cooked to perfection, and they cater to health/allergy needs too. They even have vegetarian dishes! And a kids meal list too. Drinks are so so good too and they have such a huge list, and can even make some that aren’t on the list! Lots of non alcoholic options too! As I said, they cater to every single detail. All in all, I loved working there and truly appreciate the love I felt there. The staff, owners and everyone in between are incredible. From ‘The girl with the pens’ I sign off and now get to move to SC. To everyone, go ‘Eat greatly at The Whately!’ You won’t be...

Interesting dining facility. The Whately Inn appears to keep the interior decor aged. It gives you a sense of dining in a early american establishment. The exterior of the Inn is well kept. Looked very inviting upon arrival. Meals average $35 - $40 and include app or soup, a salad, dinner and desert with coffee. You can expect to spend $120 for a couple if no alcoholic beverages are purchased. The interior seating is very cramped. If you get seated at a center table you barely have enough room to pull out your chair to get up. We chose a 5:45pm seating and restraunt was very busy. Very loud inside to the point it was hard to understand our server. We were sat next to a server station were servers were stacking dishes and boxing peoples leftovers 3 feet from my head which was also very annoying. We had prime rib and baked stuffed lobster. The apps on menu were not enticing. Chicken liver patte does not excite me. We opted for soups. Lobster bisque was inedible. Actually had a cinnamon flavor. Had to send it back. Mexican tortilla soup was decent though. Baked stuffed lobster stuffing was flavorless mush. And the prime rib came to the table rare instead of medium as requested. The prime rib presentation is different as they leave a massive bone attached. Which makes cutting and eating this meat very difficult. None of the connecting tissues were broken down and meat was extremely chewy. My wife and I both commented to ourselves that the vegetable which was butternut squash was the best thing we had. In closing, it was just an OK dinner, not the romantic venue we were...