Woodstock Inn Brewery — Restaurant in Woodstock

Went out to a special dinner here, celebrating athe one time of the year I can have dinner with my father and stepmother.

As we entered, host staff somehow seemed irritable rather than welcoming. Then, as we were sat we were told "you have to scan the QR code for the menu". I was already turned off from the walk to our table, before even sitting down. Here we are in a quaint little town to feel "off the grid" and were instantly REQUIRED to use our own internet devices at the dinner table in order to see the menu. The free unsecured wifi was spotty at best. It seems anti-hospitable and full of irony to require guests to being an internet device for a rustic-themed restaurant on the Kanc. (We did ask for a paper version, and the repu was they maybe had something but it was outdated and they sometimes have their own tablets to use, blah blah blah. I was thoroughly unimpressed)

I was wholeheartedly disgusted by the inaccesible menu. It felt like I was at the self-checkout at a walmart.

The server greeted us and seemed way more interested in turning the table than actually serving us, her current patrons. The server seemed annoyed with our questions about the menu and even more annoyed that I had stepped away to the restroom when she had wanted to take our order.

After the lackluster food arrived, we were luckily checked in on one time so I was able to switch out an empty condiment container for a full one.

The next time the server came back, their arms reached out across the table to gather plates while I was still eating. I was then offered a box. I accepted one for part of my meal, stating that I did not like the side that came with my meal so I didn't want to take it home.

This was a missed opportunity: not only did the server not notice or not care that I hadn't eaten my side, I was also not even offered a simple "I'm sorry " about the food I didn't like, nevermind an offer to make the customer happy with a discount, free drink or dessert. Nothing. Because noone gave a f*

The server was also very quick to pick up the dropped check. We had just enough time to gather the payment and the server was there immediately to grab it.

We are good customers. We complain very little. We assume it's the server/cook's worst day on the job. We never overstay our welcome; always leave a good tip.

We were in the buildung about an hour in total, which seemed way too long for our server although most tables around us were there before and after us.

I've been in the restaurant business for over thirty years. I know everyone has a bad day every once in a while. I also know when the entire staff seems over it. they all seemed over it.

I'm over it too. Probably not...

Just an overpriced Applebees with worse food.

The menu is much too long which should have been a red flag. I chose the Salmon Station which I figured would likely be good as it had the Station signature in the name. Ordered pan seared, garlic butter sauce, upgraded to asparagus. Received a thin, dry tail section. It was oven baked and not pan seared nor was there any garlic butter sauce. For some reason it was presented on top of a few pieces of lettuce that I couldn’t even see until I picked up the brick of salmon. All the lettuce did was turn the plate into a pool of water. Five pathetic stalks of overcooked asparagus. An ear of corn which wasn’t listed nor requested and a plastic butter packet resting on top of the salmon. I removed the corn, picked up the salmon to drain the plate and remove the lettuce, but still tried a bite. Likely the driest piece of salmon I have ever had in a restaurant.

I handed the plate back to the waiter and said it was not edible. It was removed from my bill but not until I asked when I received the check. The rest of the group had a better experience but nobody enjoyed it enough to even consider returning.

Edit: Since we can’t respond to the owner response.

You can see that the owner response to bad reviews is always that the customer should have asked for a manager. What a terrible response. If the owner was concerned about quality then there would be someone at the pass checking for quality. There is no way that this plate would have left the kitchen if there was any quality control.

I also don’t fault the server for not speaking to a manager because clearly their training is not up to par. It’s ok to have new staff but perhaps one should focus on simplifying things for the new staff to make sure the customer has a great experience. It is clear from recent reviews that quality is at best...

I have been debating whether or not I wanted to leave this review but we were pretty disappointed with our experience here overall which was very surprising based on all of the 5 star reviews we read. Maybe we came on a bad night? When we arrived we were looked at by at least 3 different employees that didn’t acknowledge us standing there (no big deal, they were probably busy focusing on other things). Then when we were greeted and brought to the table there was an overwhelming unpleasant smell. Also not a big deal, I figured maybe it was a fish dish. Our server seemed annoyed and sarcastic right off the bat along with most of the employees working that night. We saw our server 3 times total and even the person who ended up running our food commented on it and said they have no idea where the server kept disappearing to. When we got our appetizers, both of them were undercooked and cold like they were barely placed in the fryer. There was nobody around to address this with and by the time someone came around it was to bring our meals. Our meals came and were underwhelming to say the least. Then when it came for dessert (and this is my main reason for leaving this review) the server dropped the dessert on the table and sarcastically said “there ya go that’s enough sugar to stop 3 hearts beating” and that really didn’t sit well with me. Based off of the behavior of the employees we had already interacted with, I did not feel comfortable asking for a manager but did want to leave my honest reviewed based off of the...