Rowdy Hall

Reviews 3

BR

Bryan Field

I enjoyed the food at Rowdy Hall much, much more than I expected. I would go so far as to say their Fish and Chips make this place well worth the trip -- no matter where you are coming from! First off, Rowdy Hall is at the back of the little inlet between the Sothebys and the J. Crew on Main Street near the Citarella which gives the restaurant a nice little outdoor seating area and keeps down sound of the street traffic, but it also makes it difficult to see from Main Street. It is easy to find once you know where it is. My wife and I stopped by for a late lunch and the place was mostly empty so we got an inside table right away. Our waitress was prompt and polite. We started with two appetizers, the Chips and Dip and the Oyster Sliders. My wife and I took to calling the Chips and Dip "the French Nachos" and they were fantastic. They were fried gaufrette potatoes smothered in blue cheese with real bacon bits. The potatoes were just the right amount of crispy without being overly crunchy and the blue cheese was sharp without being bitter. Perfect. Even better was the Oyster Sliders with their homemade sriracha aioli which had enough of a kick to make the cole-slaw a great ending to the appetizer. The oysters were perfectly fried, tasty without being chewy, and crisp without being tough. I wished they came in a larger serving because they were so tasty. Now, for the main course I had the Fish and Chips. I should preface my review with the fact that I lived in England for two years and I had fish and chips on many occasions. Fish and chips are simple street/comfort food in England, like say tacos are in the US. If you think of the tacos youve had, they have been good or bad or tasty or not, but they are all about the same. You remember where you got "good" tacos and if you are in the mood for spicy, or tasty, or whatever you are in the mood for you know where to go. The Fish and Chips at Rowdy Hall are like that, they take all the best parts of what fish and chips should be and got rid of all the things that make them mediocre. The fish was fried to perfection so that it was fluffy and moist but not dry and the breading was crisp but not greasy or burnt. Even my wife, who usually hates fish, took a bite and was impressed. Also, the hand-cut fries (chips) were also perfect. They had fried them so they were crisp, but not greasy and they retained their fluffy potato center. Another thing I really liked was you could taste that they must have a dedicated frier for just the potato dishes separate from the frier they use for the fish. The Chips didnt taste like Fish and the Fish didnt taste like Chips from the frier. Nice touch. Seriously, I even told our waitress that these were far and away the best Fish and Chips I ever ate and Im looking forward to going back and having them again. My wife had the turkey burger, which was also cooked to perfection such that it was still moist but not crumbly, like some turkey burgers can get if they arent done right. It was done right at Rowdy Hall. One little trouble was that, of course, parking is a little tricky on Main Street in East Hampton. We were able to park and eat and get back to our car within the one hour limit, but if we had had to wait for our table or if we wanted to do anything afterwards we would have had to move the car to a new parking spot. It was busy that weekend and they had chalked my rear car tire to make sure I wasnt parking too long.

JE

Jeffrey Diamond

The food was bland but worst of all the waiter was just plain rude. We arrived around 6:30 and requested to sit outside, there were many empty tables but we were directed to just about the only table in the sun instead of the shade, when asked to sit at one of the other tables we were told that those are for four and we were only two. But you know we were there now, holding slightly bigger tables for the hope of other customers is wrong. We placed our orders and waited, my companion ordered a glass of wine to be served with her meal and a minute or so before the meal came the wine came, a half glass. IDK, but in the city a half glass in unheard of. I had the meatloaf and my partner the Butternut Squash lasagna. Both really had no flavor and hers was sort of cold on the inside. We had plenty of time to kill as our train was not leaving for a few hours so we ate slow. As our plates grew empty the waiter would come over many times and ask if we were finished, we told him in the beginning that we were going to take our time, and mind you there were STILL empty tables next to us, that he didnt need to keep asking and we were felt rushed. Oh and those empty tables, seems like this place does a take out service and people tend to wait outside and sometimes sit at one of those empty tables while waiting and the waiter would tell them to move. It s not like this was a sit where you please place because a couple did that and was told to go inside to see the host, so I saw no reason that a person waiting for there take out not to be able to sit at one of the many EMPTY tables to wait for there food, if the table was needed the host could then ask for the table. Just overall not a pleasant experience.

CO

CorreyHope Kustin

If you eat there -Beware that the food is below NYC standards for the price and the service is AWFUL. 1st off- the entrance was hard to locate- Back door (which allows waiters and staff to walk) as well as entrance (down the hall) is open. Sat down at 6:30 and thought nice night -nice place- nice to sit outside on 5/22- Many empty tables but we were directed to just about the only table in the sun instead of the shade. Instead of MOVING the outdoor tables. We sat in the sun for a while. When others came to wait for their take out orders-at the NOT crowded outside tables- they were told, wait on the benches! The benches were for others in the outside little mall as well. I asked for a glass of wine to be served with my meal & I got a half of glass BEFORE dinner was served. My dinner was the Butternut Squash lasagna. It was not as good as the menu promised. Large slices of squash with frozen spinach layered between. Also partially sauteed large chunks of onions. No special flavor but PEPPER which made me choke and sneeze! I felt rushed to eat and every 15 minutes instead of offering water or ice tea- I was asked am I DONE YET? how many times can you want to clear my Half eaten MEAL? The area was not full many empty tables next were to us, He never offered bread or more water,but did want to serve dessert and more to tap on to the bill. The waiters attitude was TERRIBLE! The bathroom was covered with toilet paper and there was no soap. Is this one of the busy East Hampton places to dine? Inside was several busy bar customers watching the sports. Experience.=BAD Food =BAD Cleanliness= Poor inside/OKAY outside Waiter-Hostess: RUDE