Artesian Wells Tavern — Restaurant in Woodstock Township

First I will tell you that we were here last month and had an outstanding meal and service was great... today not so much. We were warned before were seated that they were short staffed so please be patient, we were and that was not the problem... even though we waited 20 min. for someone to take our drink order. We could see the waitress that came standing at the bar chatting the whole 20 minutes. When she finally came the first thing she says was, "I am sorry I didn't know this was my table" and she never even tried to make up for it. We went ahead and ordered our entire meal to save everyone some time. It did take a long time for food to come out, but as I said that was not the issue... we figured in was the kitchen that was short staffed because it looked like there were plenty of wait staff. When our meals were set down the waitress was walking away before the plates stopped moving, she never said a word or returned. I had ordered cole slaw that did not come out. My walleye sandwich was acceptable but was not the same quality as the one I had last month at all and not really worth the money. My wife's chicken salad was nothing special. As we were about done eating the waitress finally came back to ask if we needed anything and I mentioned the cole slaw, but as we were finished eating I said to nevermind, just remove it from the bill...and her response was "it comes with the sandwich so it's free anyway"... OK silly me for asking. It was some of the worst service we have ever had... the waitress had no interest in making up for the kitchen delays at all. I never hold the wait staff responsible for food quality or kitchen delays and routinely tip 30% minimum if you just act like you give a flip. My daughter's supported themselves by waiting tables so I know how tough it can be. However, there was no effort on this occasion and I am sorry to say my tip reflected it. I doubt we we be back. I am going to miss their onion rings though, they are fantastic, but service and consistently is the name of the game. Dining out is to expensive to...

We have been to The Well’s many times and always been pleased. I have tried many sandwiches and a pizza. My favorite is the pulled pork, it is perfectly done with just the right amount of house sauce. I prefer to have it on a burger bun as I’m not fond of the tough hoagie rolls. The fries are always cooked to perfection. My partner loves their fish baskets but this time chose the brisket. He thoroughly enjoyed it. It was tender and juicy. I have had the brisket sandwich and agree it’s very good. My partner tried the Rueben Sandwich once, it was perfectly cooked, tender, juicy and flavorful. I was impressed as well. tried the Fettuccine Alfredo it was neither bad nor good. I tried it once and that was enough for me. I was excited when they first offered pizza. I tried it and was not impressed. I tend to be very picky about pizza. The crust needs to be tender instead with a nice crispy outside. This was just not cooked well. It was cooked through but was very tough, difficult to bite into. I also expect a generous amount of flavorful toppings. They did not deliver. The toppings were few and nearly flavorless. Stick with the American fare and you won’t be disappointed. We still go several times a year I just stay away from the pizza. Expect to spend a little time because the service is always a bit slow especially when the place is not busy. They seem to spend more time in the back than out front where you can at least flag them down. The times I’ve been there when it’s busy the service has actually been fast and spot on. The servers are always very friendly. We will continue to eat here when...

I had looked forward to coming here since we moved into the area last September. From the outside, it just looks like it would be good!

Don’t read a restaurant by its façade, I guess. Such a disappointment.

The brisket was as dry as the Sahara. Rib tips weren’t as dry but were still seriously overcooked. The flavor was good but wasn’t great - also, rib tips are supposed to be meaty and have cartilage, but no bone. These had a lot of bone. Pickle chips were made with cheap pickles and lazily coated - thin, coarse coating with a lot of voids that allowed the oil into the chip. A lot of very hard end cuts. The horseradish dipping sauce was good. Coleslaw was salty - who puts salt in coleslaw?! The fries were crispy and tasty. And there was something off in my wife’s glass of Dirty Blonde ale. Old keg? Dirty draft system? Dirty glass? My Alaskan Amber was ok, so likely the keg or the glass. The delivery of the beers was overlong - the waitress blamed it on the bartender, but neither the bar nor the restaurant were incredibly busy for a Thursday night. Probably less so due to the night’s entertainment. Which brings me to the atmosphere. Haphazardly decorated with mostly sports memorabilia. For entertainment, they had some guy loudly doing things disallowed by the Geneva convention to classic rock songs. Couldn’t sing a lick, and ‘round the campfire-quality guitar work. People clapped after each bout of noise, but likely just in relief than it was over. Or maybe they’re related to him. Don’t know.

Based on this experience, it’ll be hard to give them a...