Cioppino Cioppino

Cioppino: A hearty seafood stew with clams, mussels, shrimp, and fish in a rich tomato broth.

Esca Restaurant & Wine Bar

Esca Restaurant & Wine Bar

437 Main St Middletown, CT 06457, 06457-2838, United States

Cafés • Kebab • Pizza • Fast Food


"Great atmosphere and decor, very good northern Italian food and other diverse selections, excellent appetizers and charcuterie, surprisingly large well prepared portions, amazing bread, responsive service, but, sadly a self inflicted wound on the wine by a restaurant that calls itself a wine bar. Wine should be stored and served at 55 to 65 degrees. This is challenging for many restaurants who will hover around room temperature. Unfortunately, the bottle we ordered, a well selected unusual norther Italian gem, was nowhere near even that. It was every bit of 80 degrees. Literally warm to the touch as if it were close to bright lights or the kitchen. We had to put it in the water bottle chiller. At this temperature, for any length of time, wine “cooks”, a trade term indicating spoilage. Unfortunately, ours was close to “cooked” indicating long term poor hot storage. This is sad because Esca has a smartly selected list with some delightful options. It makes no sense why they would invest in very nice wines and then undermine them. We thought maybe it was our bottle alone but we saw other reviews complaining about the warm wine. The average customer might not notice but anyone with any wine expertise will. Please Esca, fix this.We would like to come back for your delightful food but frankly, we would be hesitant to order another bottle.What an unnecessary loss…"

Portland City Grill

Portland City Grill

111 SW 5th Ave Portland, OR 97204, 97204-3667, United States

Steak • Seafood • American • Steakhouse


"First let me say that I always submit reviews when they are positive and try to avoid submitting negative reviews because restaurants can have off nights. However, this time there were too many negatives to not say something. We selected Portland City Grill because our aging parents hadn 't been there before and we wanted to treat them to a really nice meal where they could see the city lights. We were disappointed in the changes since we last visited. Our waitress was nice and started out attentive, but she disappeared (at least 20 minutes) after taking our order an didn 't check in with us during our meal...the other wait staff delivered food, filled water, cleared the table and delivered the dessert menu in her absence. When she did return, she just said that she was 'slammed ' and took our dessert order. Again, she disappeared and only returned to give us the bill. I had to stop her from leaving the table to tell her that some of the seafood was not prepared well and was either old or overcooked. She apologized and said she would tell the cooks. The manager came over to inquire and he ended up comping us a meal. Midway through our meal, it got so loud that we could hardly hear what our parents were saying across the table from us. This used to be a really nice place with reliable food and a fine dining experience. We will not return anytime soon."

Links

Links

11 Lighthouse Ln, 29928, Hilton Head Island, United States

Seafood • American • Steakhouse • North American


"It was my last night in Hilton Head so I knew I wanted to have a great meal with a drink! I decided to come here with an open mind not knowing what awaited me. When I first drove up to enter the resort, I wasn't aware there was a cash entry fee just to enter the resort! Had I known this in advance, I would have made sure to have cash in my wallet. I quickly found an ATM nearby and came back to enter. As it was nighttime, it was pitch black with minimal lights so I made sure to drive slow. I didn't realize the property was this big and it was a nice adventure up to the restaurant! It was a pleasant drive and I quite enjoyed it. Upon arriving outside the restaurant, you're taken aback by the properties itself which was beautiful and statuesque. I went up the stairs and then proceeded to the restaurant and sat at the bar. The staff was super professional and they pulled out the chair and helped me get closer to the bar, which was nice! I decided to sit at the end of the bar, which was a smart choice as the night progressed. The restaurant is quite enchanting inside with tons of seating and you could tell the entire experience is all about the customer, which I can appreciate. I ordered an old fashioned to start, which was excellent! They even used fresh nutmeg, which is what really brought that whole drink together. After hearing the specials and reading through the menu, I decided on oysters, a wedge salad and the Scottish smoked salmon. The oysters were great and all 3 sauces it came with complimented them well. I found the wedge salad to be bland and felt it needed more seasoning. Although I asked for fresh cracked black pepper, that still didn't bring that dish together for me. Now, I asked for my salmon to be cooked medium rare, which was perfect! The mashed potatoes had this silky smooth texture and texture wise, were some of the best mashed potatoes I've had. However, that dish was lacking some serious salt and flavor for me! Had that seasoning been added, this would have been a magnificent dish. Aside from the lack of salt and seasoning on my dishes, the food was still very good. While at the bar, I ended up conversing with the staff, who were not only attentive, but engaging and made sure that my experience there was extraordinary. For me, they made my night and I will definitely be returning in the future. All I can say is this is a restaurant you should come visit and you will not be disappointed with the overall experience!"