West Street Grill

sometime ago, my friend and i tried to have lunch here...a gentleman seated in a chair as soon as you walk in, gruffly told us he was no longer serving...he turned out to be one of the owners....ironically, that same day they had a problem in their kitchen when their gas line blew up....today, we were once again in litchfield and went in hoping to have lunch. we were immediately greeted and sat...we ordered a cocktail and coffee...the drink arrived and after an uncomfortable wait, coffee was brought by a busser...which i found a bit odd...nevertheless, i asked him what type of coffee west grill used and he had no idea....had he just started that day???? fortunately, our server brought back the humor at the table and told us their coffee is specially brewed by daybreak...it was delicious....my friend ordered the chowder and pulled shortrib sandwich and i opted for the broccoli and cheddar fritatta...when the chowder arrived all i could see were literally ""logs"" of celery...was the prep cook hungover? the clams were miniscule to none in the bowl....for a hefty 11 to boot!...the shortrib was tasty..however, the roll was non descript. my fritatta was a pathetic excuse...instead of bite size florets, it was loaded with stalky broccoli stems...at least dice them!!! Pros: server was amiable & friendly...seemingly knowledgeable Cons: food, food, food!!!!! more

Last Christmas Eve was spent at the West Street Grill where four of us were sat at a table that could not fit more than three people. This year, we decided to return because of the restaurant's proximity and because we had gone to the restaurant in person over a month ahead of time to make a reservation for any table other than the one we had been sat at. That is why we were shocked to learn, as we arrived there two nights ago, that we were to be sat at the very table we had been sat at the year before. When we asked for a different table, and explained that we had made a reservation well in advance in order to avoid being sat at a table that does not fit four people comfortably, we were told that WE were being unreasonable, that they couldn't have possibly promised us a particular table, and that we would have to wait. At 8:30pm we were told that the kitchen was closing and that we would have to order from the bar while we waited for a normal size table to be cleared. Because it was Christmas Eve we all decided to take this ridiculous demand in stride, but again reminded the owners how unfortunate it was that our reservation had not been honored and that instead of being inexplicably angry at US he should understand that the customer is always right. His reaction was shocking. ""NO, that's not true,"" he replied. At this point all of us decided to get our coats and leave. I will never forget what shameless, disgusting treatment my hosts and I had suffered at the West Street Grill. The establishment is categorized as a restaurant, when in fact it's essentially a private eating club. The food at this club, as I recall from last year, is good, but I would never want to be a member. And since it's all too eager to have George Clooney as one, I'm not quite sure why he would want to be one either. Cons: Terrible service, horrible attitude, rude owners! more