Surf Woburn — Restaurant in Woburn

I sat down to eat with my wife and 2 kids at 4:30pm on Wednesday night we were one of maybe 4 tables in the restaurant. I am allergic to gluten and my kids are allergic to nuts. We notified our waitress of the tables allergies and proceeded to order. Our waitress brought regular soy sauce to our table, my wife had to remind her I was gluten free to which she replies “right, should have put that together” I wish this was the end of my ordeal.

Next the gluten free sushi we ordered came out, it was put in front of me by a food runner who said “gluten free sushi”. I ate a piece and immediately realized it was not the gluten free version I had prior. I tried to flag down a waiter who wasn’t ours to get a hold of the manager immediately to ask for clarification, this server responded with “don’t yell at me, I didn’t take your order”.

The manager Cheryl, came over and had to bring the sushi back to the kitchen to see if it was gluten free or not, it wasn’t. She came back and apologized and reiterated how they had allergen training and took food allergies seriously. She offered to pay for the 2 drinks and 2 cups of milk we had ordered, thanks it really makes up for the weeks of illness I will now endure.

They made not one, but 2 major mistakes and still served me food containing an allergen. Nobody bothered to check the allergies, the manager didn’t know if it was gluten free or not without bringing it back to the kitchen to verify, clearly the kitchen didn’t check the food going out either. More parts of the allergen training course which weren’t in place.

They blew through all of the Massachusetts mandates around serving allergens and all they had to say was “sorry we take allergens seriously”. Clearly you don’t, it wasn’t an accident, it wasn’t cross contamination it was pure negligence to knowingly serve me food harmful to my health. I have since lost 2 days of work, and will be in discomfort for 2 weeks due to the staff being poorly trained, not caring or just oblivious.

If you have allergies please stay away from here and choose a restaurant who actually commits to serving allergen friendly food in practice, not just in theory. I was directly served 2 things containing the allergen I specified I was allergic to, imagine what goes on with cross contamination in their kitchen. They house and use eggs, seafood, cheese, meat, nuts and gluten, it’s not a far stretch to imagine these ingredients ending up in other dishes unexpectedly, especially considering they’ll willingly serve them to you after letting them know of your allergies.

I’ve spoken to the GM and the Vice president of the restaurant group, neither can give me a reason for what happened, nobody has taken responsibility, they just keep telling me disingenuously how seriously they...

My friend and I have dined at Surf twice for lunch, and our experiences were a real tale of two visits.

Our first visit was truly a 5-star experience all around. The food and service were exceptional, and we left looking forward to a return visit. The server was attentive, kind, and proactive about our needs (especially with the consideration that my friend uses a power wheelchair), which made for a wonderful dining experience.

Unfortunately, our second visit was disappointing. The service was a 3 out of 5, as our server seemed to avoid us and only appeared when absolutely necessary. The food, which had been so great the first time, was a letdown, earning a 2 out of 5. I ordered the Korean BBQ Scallops, which arrived in a bowl with about a half-inch of what tasted like a low-quality, bottled BBQ sauce. The scallops and potatoes were swimming in it, and I had to fish them out onto a separate plate to eat. My friend's Fried Seafood Platter was also subpar. While the fried scallops were good, the haddock was mediocre and left an unpleasant aftertaste. The fried clams were undercooked, gummy, and wet.

For an upscale restaurant, you expect consistency in quality, not a hit-or-miss experience. The stark difference between our two visits suggests a lack of consistency that is hard to overlook.

On a positive note, Surf is very wheelchair accessible, which is a huge plus. Both entrances are easy to navigate, and the restaurant is spacious. I would give the accessibility a 4 out of 5. The women's accessible restroom stall is a nice room with a sink and easy access. In the men's room, however, the accessible stall is a bit tricky to get to, located right behind the entrance door. Once you're in, the stall itself is well-designed.

Given the significant drop in food quality from our first to second visit, it's unlikely we will return. It’s a shame, because our initial experience showed what a great restaurant...

My niece called to see if they could accommodate 27-30 people. They said yes. Even with the website stating they could. After two hours, two of our tables were done eating yet our table of 8 still haven't gotten one meal. They kept trying to give us every dish that wasn't ours smh. We had family that haven't had the seafood from east coast and thought it be a great experience. Not so much !!! I gave the service a lower score because she should have asked for help and never did!! Also, I found out after, one of my nieces was told that "We" were making things difficult. If ordering or trying to order drinks and appetizers made us too difficult, should have let us know before some got their food we all would've left!! Also, my daughter and her family of 5 were charged for four items they never had a $60 difference. The newly wed bride, never got her appetizer at all. By the time I got my lobster, it was way over cooked. You never know who you are serving because for the majority of us work in food service. From bartenders, to servers, to cooks, ECT. I would NEVER recommend this place at all !!! Four out of 8 didn't get to eat yet the bill was over $500.00 that was mainly drinks waiting to order then, to receive our food!!! With about four appetizers so we ALL planned on spending good money of course just some shouldn't have paid one penny!!! Don't go there in a large group or...