We recently sat down and ate at this restaurant and were left bitterly disappointed. We had…read morepreviously visited this restaurant when we were in Sitka in 2023 and had an outstanding experience.
Before even dining in the restaurant, we had visited and discussed local specials and food options, and we were assured that the local specials would still be available the next weekend from the date we spoke with the hostess. Yet, when we visited the restaurant, we were told that these specials were no longer being offered. We were informed of this only after waiting approximately 25 minutes after being seated just for a server to come over, greet us, and take our drink orders.
We decided to accept this misunderstanding regarding the local specials and ordered. Drinks took a long time to arrive, with a draft beer being served well after our cocktails were.
We ordered crab combos for the table to share so we could sample multiple items without over-ordering. The server was fully aware that the crab plates were for the entire table, yet we were given only two pairs of crab scissors for a four-person party, no extra plates, and no containers for crab shells. Later, extra scissors were hastily delivered without the server checking on anything else we needed. We were only offered shell containers after we had already built up a large pile of crab shells on a plate we had to repurpose ourselves.
The food itself was very good, with the exception of the clam chowder, which was mediocre. However, as the food was served, we noticed flies buzzing around our table and landing on our food. We constantly had to shoo flies away from our meals and our faces, with one landing directly on my face. Because the crab was protected by its shell, we ate that, but we ended up leaving the majority of the rest of the food once we noticed the flies landing on it.
When one member of our party asked to refresh their cocktail, we were told the bar was closing after 5:00 PM. Had we been greeted and served promptly after being seated, this wouldn't have been an issue.
After these experiences, we brought our concerns to our server's attention, and she brought the manager over to speak with us. The manager claimed that our server was probably just busy with other things and stated that she couldn't help flies coming into the restaurant, though she assured us they sanitize everything daily. The manager agreed to reduce our bill by 50% to compensate for our negative experience. However, when the server brought the bill, she stated it would only be reduced by 20% and tried to explain why this was sufficient. We were deeply disappointed that the manager would not honor her own agreement, just as they refused to honor what they had communicated to locals.
If you're looking for outstanding clam chowder, I recommend The Pub downtown, which also has outstanding burgers. If you're looking for local crab, I highly recommend the Burger & Crab Shack just off downtown. Both of these places offer a great atmosphere and service, and will provide a much more authentic local experience.