The Red Inn

My husband took me for my birthday dinner on our weekend getaway from NYC. He tried everything he could before our arrival to make it special , noting it was a birthday, explaining we were coming in from NYC and requesting if possible to get a table with a view, now I have been a GM of Restaurants in NYC for 20 years and I realize not all requests can be accommodated, but The Red Inn went out of its way to not accommodate any requests all night long . Horrible table slammed against a wall in a hallway space, and slow inattentive service. When we asked if we could substitute something based on an allergy we were told no substitutions, okay fine can it just be left off then . to which, with a huff, the server said yes … of course when it comes to the table it’s not correct and when we stopped the server , instead of taking it away and correcting it he simply said I ordered it without it and walked away …. Everything else just went downhill from there and ruined what should have been a lovely evening…. Yes the manager eventually did the right thing, after I went to speak to him, he comped the meal and the server came with a dessert which I couldn’t eat because of a nut allergy and said … it’s a full comp and we never saw him again …. I have never really been a fan of The Red Inn in the past but I understand sometimes it’s just and off night … but this might be one of the worse fining experiences I have had while in vacation anywhere .

i dined at the red inn’s restaurant for dinner on my past trip to p town and although i have heard wonderful things about the restaurant my party was left a little disappointed. the food was good but nothing special and i do think there are better spots in town. we ordered the savory bread pudding, lamb chops, and the mascarpone grits. the bread pudding was great in the center however every corner, along with each side, was burned so i did not get to eat much of it. the lamb chops were fine but not great, they were bland. the asparagus that came with the lamb chops were however very delicious. the grits were another major let down because they lacked flavor completely. it was my moms birthday so they sent us over three desserts which was very generous and made up for the savory food that was not enjoyed. we had the pecan cheesecake pie, the peanut butter mousse, and the warm bread pudding. of the three everyone loved the bread pudding and nobody liked the pecan cream cheese pie. the pudding was sweet but not overbearing and it was very moist. the pecan pie did not have any cream cheese and was extremely dry. lastly the peanut butter mousse was debated, being a peanut butter lover i thoroughly enjoyed it but others thought it was too sweet (personally i didn’t think it was). our server was consistently sweet and chatty and i would go back to try something new but i wouldn’t run there.

My wife and I have celebrated our wedding anniversary there for 20 years. We also go whenever we can get a reservation. This year we made our reservation two weeks in advance. Start with drinks overlooking the ocean, on the lawn. Every dish there is special as is the service the atmosphere. We have never had a dining experience , there that wasn't just perfect. Not too many places I can say that about.

Lousy distracted service later at night when some staff is having food. Our waitress didn’t offer drinks, forgot silverware and napkins (we got the seafood platter before the bread and silverware) forgot dessert (we were waiting for a dessert for 40 min and I had to walk around and look for the waitress). It was funny to constantly hear from our waitress “oh, **they** didn’t bring silverware! Oh, **they** forgot dessert!” Seafood platter and code dish tasted good.

Horrible service! Went there just yesterday for a happy hour. Ordered a glass of Chardonnay, the waiter didn’t even ask me which one and I found later, that he brought me the most expensive one. Oysters arrived to our table 10 min before drinks. Then we’ve been waiting for our snacks for 40 min just to find out that the waiter forgot to put an order. When we ordered beef sliders he didn’t ask how we’d like them to be cooked and just decided that medium was ok for us. And after all you finding out that 20% tips are already included, and of course nobody cared to tell you about it in advance. All they care about is your money. Very disappointing! Be aware and check your receipt carefully.

I’ve been going to the Red Inn a couple times a year for decades and have had either a very good experience or very lousy, no in between. All bad experiences have been when I’ve been dining with a large group. The restaurant has an absolutely ridiculous policy that they will not do separate checks for guests. Consequently, it makes it very awkward if you are there on a double date or with several other couples. The restaurant absolutely does not care to accommodate this very common scenario. Also, I’ve noticed that when you are with a large group, the wait staff absolutely loves to encourage drink orders even to the extent of “mistakenly” bringing sparkling water instead of tap. I absolutely feel the wait staff is encouraged to “Jack up” the bill and especially take advantage of the chaos of a larger group. Today’s waitress was snooty and rude, never once showed appreciation or said “pardon me” as she rudely reached around me. Go for dinner as a couple but don’t subject yourself to their ridiculous policies and agenda to take advantage of large groups.

After losing their recent class-action lawsuit, the Red Inn restaurant is now an overpriced tourist trap. Their bartenders can’t make a martini unless you tell them which ingredients to add. The food is okay but the waiters are more concerned with their looks than doing their jobs. There are dozens of better restaurants in P-town. Save yourself some trouble and go elsewhere.

We were very much looking forward to our dinner at the Red Inn as we had heard only good things about the place and we could not get a table when we visited ptown last year. The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated and ideally located on the bay with a superb view from the windows. The staff was nice and welcoming when we arrived. Things went down south with the food. The appetizers (wedge salad and lobster sliders) were good. But the entrées were to say the least very disappointing.... the shrimps in the shrimp and grits were the driest and most rubbery shrimp we've ever had and they were sitting on a bed of grit that had more the texture of polenta than that of a creamy delicious southern grit. And there was a red sauce on the shrimp that tasted like tomatoe mixed with pepper. Not a good innovative take on this classic.... The other entrée, the pork shank, was well cooked and tender but the ton of tomatoe sauce on it took away from the star of the dish. And this, too, was sitting on the driest most bland mashed potatoes I have see .... we both did not finish our dish and then after that experience did not want to get dessert.... very very disappointed and not willing to return.