This was the worst dining experience I have ever had. I took my wife out for Valentine's Day dinner and this place had good reviews so I figured it would be a great option. However, it was absolutely terrible.
We sat down at 5:45 for our reservation. We ordered 4 oysters, mussels, and two drinks to start. The oysters were legitimately the size of a dime for $4 a piece and the mussels were so drenches in red sauce, they didn't have much flavor of their own. We saw other people's drinks just sit at the bar for 20 minutes to the point where the beer had no head left. Additionally, whoever wrote their beer menu up just made up names for beer (Big Elm Dexter's Pils does not exist).
However, appetizers were not the issue. We ordered the filet mignon and the duck and waited an hour and a half. When they came both were cold. When they dropped the duck, the runner absolutely drenched the duck with sauce, which I assume he was hoping would warm the food. My wife ordered a second drink and by the time it came, about 25 minutes later, we just wanted our check to get out of there. Our bill with tip was $215. When we were sat there were two tables in front of us who got their entrees in under an hour (clearly they got lucky) and when we left there were about 15 tables all without entrees. On our way out, I said to the table next to us, "Good luck!" She responded, "Hopefully we'll be out by midnight."
We left and went straight to McDonalds because that was the only place that was open.
I also understand that everyone that it is incredibly hard to get good staff right now and it is not one person's fault. However, I would have appreciated someone to recognize that it is unacceptable to wait an hour and a half for cold food that cost $215. When I jokingly told the server, "I'm sorry. this must be stressful" she responded as if it was normal and no big deal.
We will certainly not be returning. We would much rather go to Number 10, the Well, Prairie Whale, or Xicohtenctal. All great spots.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$30–50
Food: 1
Service: 1
Atmosphere: 3
First time at The Elm and we really enjoyed the experience. The food was beautifully presented, and taste fantastic! High praise for the kitchen staff! The service is slow, but it seemed like it was meant to allow a relaxing dinner experience. We never had to ask for anything because the waiter checked on us at perfect intervals. We are looking forward to returning.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$50–100
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Sea Scallops
This is a ridiculous restaurant. In a region hyper conscious about dietary restrictions, this restaurant thought it was a good idea to put meat in the mussels without actually putting it on the menu. The waitress didn’t even know there was meat in the mussels. When we ordered the cheese plate, the waitress couldn’t identify what did and did not have cow’s milk in it. and it took forever to make a simple cocktail drink. There weren’t that many people in the restaurant. I’m not quite sure why this restaurant is having such a difficult time doing the most basic things, like identifying what they serve and getting drinks done before food arrives.
Food: 1
Service: 1
Atmosphere: 1
We went with great expectations-- which were not met at all. The place was way too noisy, the service was slow and all three of us were disappointed about our meals. For one thing my entree was supposed to have quinoa in it. It did not. Sorry, but I don't think we're going to come back.
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 2
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 2
