Portsmouth Publick House
| Address: | 1 King Charles Dr, Portsmouth, RI 02871, USA |
| Phone: | +1 401-682-2600 |
| Site: | portsmouthpublickhouse.com |
| Rating: | 3.5 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 8AM–10PM 8AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
GU
Gustavo Culbeaux
Not a whole lot of restaurant selections in North Newport county, and this place does not appear to care much about their customers. I physically visited the place twice in attempts to make a reservation (for 25 people), both times the Manager was unable to meet me. Both times my contact information was given to the server; no call back from the Manager. Finally, 3 days later, I actually called TO MAKE the reservation; waitress put me on hold and FINALLY Jon (Manager) got on the phone. After a small discussion, the reservation never happened. Jon insisted on a $350 non-refundable deposit for reserving whatever tables they would sit us on?? I had no problem putting down a deposit, but I did have a problem with the non-refundable part. I tried to negotiate but no dice. I even mentioned that we could be placed (sat) elsewhere, but as we all know, their layout does not have a whole lot of options for a large party--so I guess I should pay the $350 just to sit there. All I wanted was a reservation for 25 people, at 530pm, on a Friday. I guess business is so good on a Friday, that they are willing to pass on my group reservation. Not to mention all the negative reviews listed here in Yelp as of late; Ive been here before, but stopped coming due to bad food quality; recent Yelp reviews show not much has changed- food is still plain, bland, poorly presented, Manager is also the cook (no eyes on the dining floor) and if it wasnt for their recent groupon offers, I wouldve never gone back. I went back to try it (w a groupon, hoping the quality had improved), but it was still the same quality. I tried offering my business (25 people reservation), but it was almost as if I was begging them to take my business. This place does not compare to Fieldstones, or Melville Grille, both within 1.5 miles from Publick House. We ended up booking at Melville Grille, who was very accommodating (unfortunately Fieldstones was too small). About the only thing Publick house has going for itself is the cheap raw bar, their wide beer selection, and lack of competition here in Portsmouth. Their quality would flop in Newport, not to mention Chicago, San Diego, Minneapolis and all other places where I have posted Yelp reviews from. I came here once to discover (since I live in the neighborhood)- no good! Came back because of a groupon- disappointed again. Tried coming back a 3rd time with a large group- not very welcomed! Good luck!
AN
Andrew Sardinha
This place gets a 2 because of beer selection and I did receive a decent meal there once. On my second visit I brought the wife and kids. Service was a bit slow but I usually let that slide a bit. We all ordered entrees and I ordered an app. After 10-15 minutes I asked when the app would be up. The waitress told me everything would be out in a few minutes and she didnt know I wanted the app out before the meal. Hmm, I guess the wires werent touching upstairs that day. When someone orders an appetizer it typically comes BEFORE the meal. The food was disgraceful! Quality, preparation and flavor. Its what you would expect from a school cafeteria I think. Let me elaborate: Buffalo wings: soggy, spongy chicken like the $1 menu stuff at McDonalds. Fish and chips: tasted like previously frozen tilapia topped with 4C breadcrumbs and baked and the fries were nothing to be impressed with. Portuguese Steak: you can get a better steak from a Chinese restaurant and is shameful to even call it Portuguese steak. Anyone can put an egg on steak. Pizza: HA, how do you screw up a pizza? Easy, lay out some dough, pour spaghetti sauce on it and top with a bland cheese blend, cut and serve. OK, the beer was cold and the selection is good. To be fair, I did have a decent sandwich there once. It wasnt what I was expecting when I ordered a buffalo chicken sandwich but this preparation wasnt too bad. It was skinless chicken breast tossed in buffalo sauce, not the nasty stuff from their appetizer menu. I have no clue why its different.
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Don LaBerge
I showed up for breakfast at Portsmouth Publick House at roughly 10 A.M. during the week. The place was empty, besides one other couple. I ordered coffee and orange juice, which both arrived promptly. the waiter was a college student, who had a good attitude, but was new at this. The coffee sat empty on the edge of the table until far after food arrived. The orange juice was the kind from concentrate, although they at least had the mix right or they use the bottled kind. The english muffin under the eggs benedict couldnt be cut very easily. I struggled even with a steak knife. Homefries were dry and tough and had too burnt of a flavor. They seemed like they either sat on the stove for hours desperately waiting for a customer, or they had been put away from the day before. I must admit, though the rest of the food was terrible, the waffle i had was surprisingly really good. Maybe someone else runs the waffle machine. I think, whoever cooked most of this food, is either reusing old ingredients to save money, or they are trying to chase away customers. Ive seen this place quite busy at night, maybe theyre just not morning people.
TO
Tom Imbriglio
Unfortunately, the overall experience was at best poor. While the food was quite good, the delivery to the table was abysmal. We ordered a raw bar platter as an appetizer for a party of six. We waited 45 minutes only to receive our entrees first. The raw bar platter arrived about 10 minutes later. Adding salt to the wound, a cup of soup (another appetizer mistimed) arrived after the raw bar platter. There was no evidence of any reasonable organization at this establishment. The manager and waitress were apologetic and tried to offer excuses for the badly mistimed delivery of our appetizers and meals. One would expect that the manager would immediately offer some form of compensation for the poor experience we endured. Unfortunately, I had to request some compensation. To his credit, the manager agreed and applied a 10% discount to our bill. By far, this was the worst dining experience I have ever had.
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Haley Gates
Quite easily the worst dining experience of my life. The waitress got our drink order wrong, left for about 40 minutes and was outside cleaning the windows, had to be asked to check on our food, and practically threw it on the table. On top of the terrible service the food that was brought out was disgusting. The appetizer came out with the meal, two of the dishes were cold, and an order of wings were charcoal black from being over cooked. I have never seen anything like it. When we spoke with the manager informing him we intend to leave (meanwhile half of our party still hadnt received their meals) he overcharged us for the drinks (some of which we did not receive) and could not have cared less that the experience was so dreadful. Never will I eat in this joke of a restaurant again.
CH
Cherie Squire
Host told us 30 minute wait on a busy Friday night, though there were empty tables in view. Shouldnt have believed him! When there are 6 waitresses stacked up at the kitchen door waiting for their orders, you know the kitchen is short staffed. After all, its not a big place. People with reservations even waited for a table! Not a way to run a restaurant. You should tell your waiting patrons what the hold up is so they can leave! After waiting an HOUR, we left.
