Just mediocre. I'm not even going to give them one star, because a) I'm honest, and not retaliatory. And b) they have a nice patio.
But overall this place is a mediocre sorry excuse for a restaurant with food that barely passes for decent fried bar fare, no decor, no personality, and just okay service (but it's not their fault their manager is bad! Read on). This is the place you come in Davis because all the good restaurants have hour long waits, and somehow magically you can always find a table here. It's the place you can get a seat on the patio on the nicest days with a party of six. Gee, I wonder why.
Because this place has basically nothing that makes you want to go here. They subsist by leeching off the popularity of other Davis restaurants. They're like a vampire restaurant who should be dead in any other town but survives based on their one redeeming quality.
Anyway, we tried to come here with our dog and a couple friends after a walk and have dinner. Nice day, empty patio; classic. Exactly the story: we tried Boston Burger, no dice an hour wait. We tried Mike's and Five Horses, all full patios and long waits. Sigh. With five of us and a dog, Orleans was the only option. Gotta love it when your main quality is "process of elimination" right?
Long story short, a hostess told us the patio is cool for dogs. We settle in, order our drinks and food, then the manager, a 40 something deadbeat with a mullet and a stick up some part of his body comes out and snaps at us that dogs aren't allowed. He barely stays to argue and just tells us the dog can't be on the patio. She's a perfect dog mind you, not that that matters. I get it. Health code or whatever (though I HIGHLY doubt that since other Somerville restaurant patios allow dogs). Meanwhile we already had our food order in, so we waited for it and had them box it up. I figured they'd at least do something for us given their mistake, but nope, full price. Ask to talk to bad manager again; he comes out, our neighboring patrons are arguing with him as well and are very supportive (thanks everyone) and he tries to blame us for ordering even though we knew dogs weren't allowed (nope, order was already cooking), and then he blamed the hostess for the mistake (nope, bad communication is your fault as manager), and then finally relented and cut half off. He said "we get this 20 times a week," ... really? How dumb do you have to be not to just put a sign up?
Bad management, mediocre food, middling to bad experiences every time I've been (probably 5 times at least). Never again. Honest and fair review. Get some new management in this place and turn it into a high quality joint and it would be a cash cow for its location. As it stands, the management is failing miserably, and I pity them for the lost opportunity and feel bad for the good employees who have to deal with it. Avoid. read more