Chelsea Tavern — Restaurant in Wilmington

Bait and switch on the prices! I wish I had seen the reviews about the 20% service fee before we went. This 20% fee has been reviewed badly for several months so it isn't something new they just tried, and the owner's excuses about the reasons for it ring hollow. We chose this place because it was convenient to the Grand Opera House, the menu online looked reasonably priced, and they had gluten free items. At least some of the GF options are not really GF as they are cross contaminated, as an example the corn chips served with the GF crab dip are fried in the same oil with breaded options. I will say the server did tell me this and offered to bring a GF roll and some carrots and celery to dip. That was the best service we had during our meal, and I would add that the place was not crowded at least half the booths were empty when we arrived at it was never fully seated. My son had ordered a glass of wine to come with his dinner, but it did not arrive with the meal. After frantically waving at our server several different times as she walked by, he started to get out of his seat to get her when she finally acknowledged him. She took another minute to get to us and then several more minutes to get the wine to him. We had told her, when we were seated just before 6:00, that we were going to a 7:30 performance at the Grand Opera House and needed to get our tickets at Will-Call, and she assured us we would have no problem. We had finished our meal by about 6:44 and two of the three us wanted dessert, however, it took over 10 minutes to get our waitress' attention again and by that point we didn't feel we had time. I also had needed my water refilled for about 20 minutes by that point. Then we received the check and were shocked to see a 20% service fee added. There was a line for "Additional tip" on the credit card slip, so it seemed clear that this 20% was intended as a tip. We all normally tip 20% and I sometimes more since I often have questions about my dietary restrictions that require the waitress to check with the chef. Since my son had been almost halfway through his dinner before getting his wine, and we were ignored for so long that we had to forgo dessert, none of us felt that we wanted to add anything to that 20%. To me, the 20% is a bait and switch on the menu prices. As to the food: The crab dip had a lot of cheese in it, the Chilean salmon was perfectly cooked with a very oily, bland sauce under it, the fish and chips was described as "very good" but the coleslaw was described as "fairly flavorless". I seriously doubt that we...

I went there for two dinners and lunch and two snacks. During lunch the waitress was super slow however it was super busy so I do understand however she never checked back if we need anything and since we were a large group 20% tip was always included. The last time I just stopped by I just to have a drink and a snack the gentleman next to me complained because there was a group that was loud banging on tables and was extremely loud. They did not quiet down. They were obnoxious they assumed I was with a gentleman who was complaining And became extremely hateful towards women. The manager came over and said that everybody has a right to free speech, but the manager should always be spoken to, even though we didn’t know who the manager was. And I mentioned that the manager should make sure that he let everyone know that he is the manager. And if he would like to be the one taking care of any issues then that’s completely OK. However, the gentleman next to me just asked if they would keep it down And the manager said that’s not OK. That there was a chain of command. And when I left the establishment, the gentleman were super unfriendly. Which has nothing to do with the establishment, but it was very clear that the men who were there were regulars, and the woman with one of the men who told everyone to shut up, said that we should all listen to him or it would not end well. And I took that as a threat. Except the manager didn’t care. I don’t see me going to this establishment again. And I have been there six times. And the manager/owner feels that he’s been in business for very long time and knows better and does not care about customers that are not regulars. When I left the establishment one of the gentleman that I actually was going to thank for being polite earlier said hey she was here last night and she left with somebody Asian. And I was there and walked out with a person however, I feel like I was targeted. And they were judging who I was hanging out with at all. And they also said I was married to the gay gentleman that was sitting next to me. So I feel like I was being attacked. and the manager, I...

Very disappointing experience. Arrived on Sunday at 5:30pm. Told there would be a 15 minute wait (2 couples a head of us). 5:45pm a couple walks in and said that they have reservations but decided to sit at the bar and told the Hostess to allow the couple BEHIND us to take their reservation slot. This should have went to the couple waiting the longest. 6:15pm the Hostess comes and tells everyone that they are no longer seating anyone. SERIOUSLY! We have been waiting 45 minutes, the next ones to get seated and she tells us this. UNACCEPTABLE and we voiced that to the Hostess. 6:25pm we are then seated. A server does not come to our table until 6:40pm - he said no one told him we were his table. We placed our order immediately as we were going to a show and had to leave by 7:15pm. He assured us that our food would come out in time. We waited and waited and was just getting up to leave when our dinner arrived - at 7:05pm. We had 10 minutes to eat. I basically boxed my dinner to throw in the car so I could eat it later. The Hostess was busy, I get it but that is no reason to be nasty to your customers. The Server did the best he could with the time frame we had, although we were given warmer then room temperature water - had to ask for ice and never received any refills (my water was empty before dinner arrived). On a good note, I ordered the Fish and Chips and it was excellent. And to top it off - we get our bill and there is an automatic 20% tip added to our bill! This is unreal - I can see adding it to a large party but to add this to every check. Waitstaff doesn't do their job when they know that they will be getting a 20% tip - TIPS=To insure prompt service - a tip is something a Server should have to earn, it shouldn't be automatic. Unfortunately, due to the wait time, service and automatic tip, it was a horrible experience which is the reason I...