Chess N Checkers

Reviews 5

JO

Jonathan Quagliarello

If you are looking to have a social function where you have to give the place a head count and they give you a price per head, do NOT NOT NOT go with this place. I was given a choice of 12 entrees to which we had 3 to choose from BUT you get NOTHING with that; no salad, no appetizers, no drinks, no desserts...NOTHING! Anyway, the entrees ranged from $15.99 to $22.00. The price per head was $25.00 which does not include tax or tip. Right there, that threw up some red flags. When you are bringing a lot of people to a place to eat, you usually get a discount, not get ripped off. I was going to bring 40 people there. If we all ordered the $22.00 menu item, that place would have walked away with $120. Go with anywhere else if you want to have a party there. If you want to hear the whole story, read below. I was looking for a place to have my rehearsal dinner and I fell upon this restaurant. My fiance called and George and her discussed some of the options about the rehearsal dinner. We wanted to check the place out, however the day we were going to go there, he would not be there because it was a Sunday. Sunday came and we went. It seemed nice from the outside and the inside was very nice. I went inside and was greeted very nicely by the bartender, Steve, and the second in command, Joan (I forget her title). The place was EMPTY. It being Sunday morning-afternoon, it made sense. Steve and Joan talked with us for a bit about what we were looking for. We checked out the upstairs quickly. It was very nice as well. We ate there to try out the food. I had the Chicken Parmesan. The chicken was overcooked and kind of dry. The sauce tasted like it was from a can. My fiance had the crab cake (it was pretty big). That was delicious. Very little filler, the rest was scrumptious. We both got the same sides; potatoes and the vegetable of the day. It was good. The bad part about that was it took 25 minutes to get it. Remember, we were the only ones there. After lunch (we ordered from the dinner menu) we talked about the rehearsal dinner. Steve and Joan lead us to believe that we could have either a buffet dinner (2 entree choices), order when we get there (3 entree choices), or pre-order (12 entree choices). Makes sense. We parted ways and with one more look at the place, we left. We were instructed to call George to finalize everything. I called George the next day and we talked about the options. The pre-order of the 12 entrees was off of the table. We had 3 to choose from. He quoted me a price of $25.00 per head BEFORE taxes and tip. I asked what that entailed. He said we get the entree, a potato, and a vegetable. THATS IT! No appetizer, no soda, no dessert, nothing. For $25.00 dollars we get dinner entree and two small sides. I looked at the menu he gave us (which has no prices on it), and went to their website to get the prices of the menu items. The most expensive entree was $22.00. The least expensive was $15.99. If everyone ordered the most expensive entree, they would have made $120 off of us. If everyone ordered the least expensive entree, they would have made $360 off of us. WOW. No thank you. When you go to a place for a big party, ANY PLACE, you get a discounted price. Every other restaurant in the area does that.(I checked) This place, not so much. They are ripping you off if you decide to have a party there. Steve is a great guy. Joan is a nice lady. George...well, that is another story all together. I rated this place poor-fair because of this experience. Just remember, if the food took 25 minutes to get to us with no one there, how long it would take when its busy.

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A

A Private User

My wife and i stay at the Hotel within a stones throw away, Convient, right? No, you go in the enterance and there is a sign that tells you to go UP the stairs. You tap on the glass door to get someones attention. Someone peeks out from the bar and motions to go upstairs. Several stays at the hotel we trek to the Checkers, and there is that sign, again. So we go to the Red Robin instead. We do make the climb when we are hungry enough to do so, some of the food is worth it. But the price for those Crab Cakes is a crime. For that price i can get the crab meat and all the ingredients needed for much better crab cakes. The price and portions need to be changed for these difficult times. The drinks and beer selection makes it a bummer to pass this place by. They have seen me come up the stairs with my canes or walker and have never addressed the issue. I hope they read this. Update: Went back at Christmas Eve, 2009. Used the Handicap Ramp to go to the Main Enterance, guess what, that sign to walk upstairs was there, again. I and my wife ate somewhere else. Why have a ramp if you have to walk up stairs?

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DO

Dorothy Fries

I think these people are really trying hard but they have a hard time taking honest criticism. The food was cold, service a bit rude, but then when we finally had a chance to talk to the owner he told us how we dont know what food should taste like. My husband had the Cajun sirloin that had him coughing and sweating, that is not cooking that ruining a sirloin with spices. My husband cooks with ghost peppers, he knows spice and to be told we as the customers are wrong... that is no way to run a restaurant. the fact that the place was empty on a Friday night should have been the first clue, if you are going to spend 25 dollars a plate or more go where they know how to listen to the customer and prepare food, NOT HERE

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AA

Aaron Galley

I have been staying in the Staybridge Suites, which is located right behind this place, and decided to try it. Big mistake. Beer was lukewarm. My $8.00 garden salad was full of brown lettuce and not much else. I had the crab stuffed shrimp with a baked potato and they were both forgettable. Left with a bill for $43.00 plus tip. The cooking and wait staff spent more time in the bar area than in the back cooking. The waiter was pretty good but otherwise the place was not. The fact that the parking lot stays mostly empty should have been a clue. I wouldnt spend another dime in here. They need to "Kitchen Nightmare" makeover...felt like I was sitting in an episode before Ramsey gets there.

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JP

JP Maritz

What a shame.... we are new to the area and is trying everything but known restaurants. Arrived at a quiet time for the restaurant around 6 on a Thursday night sat at the bar quick friendly bar service order beers and a appetizer that was as good not great but good... order dinner pie and a burger.... 30min give or take dinner arrived warm not even hot... my wifes burger was ordered medium rare came out raw to rare. What made me pissed is this.... its not a cheap restaurant/bar with dinners around $20 or more and the kicker is the bartender seemed pissed at us for complaining... so never again.... now I know why its dead quiet at 6pm

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