O Bistro at The Inn On Main — Restaurant in Wolfeboro

I feel really bad leaving this review. I've been a server for quite a while, so I get the whole under staffed aspect of things right now. And I'm not one to typically leave a review because most of the time I can find a positive, even if things weren't top notch.

We had made a reservation at O's Bistro in Wolfeboro for 6pm. We waited at the hostess station for 20 minutes to be sat with not a single wait staff looking our direction. When we finally were sat, we were sat at a far table under the AC. I was being dripped on the entire dinner experience, but I could tell there weren't any other tables to be sat at, so that was only one small fraction that I could stand to deal with, it was 90* today so I understand.

We then waited 20+ minutes just to get water and our order taken. Luckily we both knew what we wanted by then so our order was placed all together (drinks, aps, meals). We ordered the pain killer for a drink. Side note: I've also bartended in my lifetime so when I took a sip of it and it was sour and curdled I knew that something wasn't right. By the time our poor (probably very stressed and over worked) waitress finally made it around again we asked for something different.

We then got bread and butter. The butter was some attempted version of fancy. It was a strawberry lemonade butter that tasted like butter mixed with strawberry syrup. I'm sure some people might enjoy it, but we did not. However, by the time we could even ask for regular butter for our bread, we were starving and had just eaten it plain and dry.

My side Caesar salad had little—to no dressing on it. I covered my salad in salt and pepper so that I wasn't just eating plain lettuce. (By the way I had to take the top off of the salt and pepper because they were filled to the brim and nothing would come out.) I finished it because, again, I don't prefer to complain and I could manage with tons of salt & pepper😂.

When we got our meals (both steak tips and frites, one with mashed potatoes, one with garlic parm frites.. one order rare, one medium) our server asked us to cut into them to make sure it was done right.. as if she knew they wouldn't be. Both were well OVER done. One of us said it was fine and he would keep them, while my rare tips were sent back.

Both of our meals came with very cute-looking, cooked carrots. However, the carrots on one plate tasted like fish and were hardly even cooked. When my steak tips finally came out, the waitress said "I think we lost your carrots, do you care?" Again to make it easier on our very overwhelmed waitress I told her it was fine. The mashed potatoes were delicious and so were the garlic Parmesan frites (fries). My rare steak tips were now too raw. I ate maybe one steak tip.

When we got our bill it was $95. Unfortunately it didn't seem right to pay SO much for such an unenjoyable experience. Our waitress was so busy that we ended up calling another server over to fix this. I know that there are some people who will complain over the smallest thing and ask for things to be taken off their bill just to be greedy. This was not the case for us, and I've never asked for something to be taken off before in my entire life. The waiter that helped us was super accommodating and apologetic. We told him multiple, multiple times, that it in no shape or form was any of it the wait staff's fault—And we're sure that the kitchen is also understaffed as well.

I will give 3 stars out of 5 because I don't believe, even with our experience, that a restaurant should get 1 star. It is one of the hardest industries to work in. I can't imagine working in a restaurant right now with how the service industry is lacking. I feel for the owners, and the kitchen staff, and mostly for the wait staff because their income comes directly from handling situations out of their control. This review is hopefully for the owners to see so they're able to make some small changes to the restaurant even with...

We love to try new restaurants and establishments in our town but had originally assumed O Bistro was well out of our everyday price range. On a whim while driving by in the rain, I thought how it was just my daughter and I that evening, and I did not feel like cooking dinner. We entered and were pleasantly surprised that the place felt inviting and we weren't "underdressed" in our jeans and sweatshirts. Immediately, we were greeted very warmly by a hostess who asked if we would prefer to eat in their pub area or their dining room. She showed us to a lovely hi-top table in the pub area where about 5 other couple parties were seated. We perused the menu and were pleasantly surprised that the prices were no more than any other similar style restaurant in the area. Our server was very attentive and personable. She made us feel at home immediately, recited some food and drink specials, and offered some suggestions when we told her this was our visit to O. They make their own variations of sangria, which was delicious, and the owner Patti introduced herself and told us how happy she was that we took the chance and decided to stop in to her establishment. She warned that if we were looking into the appetizers, the portions were substantial. Our server started us off with some fresh baked baguette slices that were crusty on the outside and soft and warm on the inside served with a compound butter. My daughter ordered the pork potsticker app and a 'side' of their homemade 5 cheese macaroni and cheese with cavatappi noodles. The side was way more than she could finish, and I can't even imagine how big the full-sized entree portion was! I ordered the roasted quarter chicken with sour cream and chive homemade mashed potato and steamed whole young carrots. For such a basic sounding meal, it was anything but. The chicken was perfectly season and juicy, the flavor of the potatoes was incredibly delicious, and the al dente texture of the carrots (which at many places can be typically soggy and straight out of a freezer bag) was perfect and everything tasted as if it were locally sourced or picked that morning. Their menu offerings are based on in season ingredients, and we were told items rotate regularly. They also made us aware of the all you can eat Easter Brunch Buffet to be held this Sunday in their big renovated barn venue that they use for just such special holiday meals and events such as weddings and parties. By the time we were done, we had to take home leftovers and skip on dessert, but the offerings sounded amazing. It was clear to see that their executive chef is an artist who knows his craft well. By the time we were finished, we parted ways with Patti with a hug and a promise to be back soon as regulars. O Bistro is without question our new favorite...

Almost a great experience

First time visitor. Anniversary dinner with my wife so I was hoping for a very very memorable experience. In making reservations, was overwhelmed by the politeness and courtesy of both the hostess, Patti, and the front desk innkeeper staff person, named Shannon. This first impression was in dramatic contrast to our actual dinner experience.

When checking in for our 7:00 PM reservation, there was a back up at the hostess stand. Patti appeared to be doing everything on her own, and had no greeting assistance from additional staff. After being seated, things started to fall apart.

Though Patti had prepared and presented a bottle of our select white wine at the table, my preference for a cocktail was the start of our service issues. Possibly due to a back up at the bar, my cocktail wasn’t delivered to my table for at least 20 minutes. It was apparent that they were short staffed this evening, and the wait staff was being assisted by bussers who were trying to help.

It was clear that the wait staff was overwhelmed, and that the bussers weren’t necessarily trained to properly assist.

A request to have our wine put on ice at the table was met with a “deer in the headlights look”, as if it was out of the ordinary. The wine requested in advance was in a bucket without ice.

We ordered a dessert to share, vanilla bean crème brûlée, which was tasty. At the same time, I ordered an after dinner drink, that arrived 10 minutes after we finished our dessert.

The crowning blow, was when a busser came by when I was in the middle of my after dinner drink, served 10-15 mins after our dessert, and asked if we would like dessert. I had to remind her that we had already been served dessert. It was clear that the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing.

I attribute this to being short staffed. In addition, it’s clear that there needs to be more training for bussers who are assisting the wait staff. Patti was friendly and certainly open to feedback and advice. I appreciate that.

The food was certainly tasty. We recommend the bistro chips, and for an entrée, both the stirfry with ahi tuna, and the steak tips & frites. The drinks were also good, but as implied above there was a disconnect between orders and promptness of service at the bar.

We might return, but it is so competitive in Wolfeboro with other great restaurants. We will probably first try other venues to see how...