Ed's Chowder House

05/27/11

Decent

by serenaconnelly at Citysearch

Had my sister's graduation dinner at Ed's - service was really poor. Our waitress seemed like she was in a hurry to get us out; never once came by to check on us. The manager had to come by to introduce himself. The appetizers were great our entrees were okay. Overall I'm not sure if I'll be back.

01/02/11

Wow! Best lobster bisque I've ever had!

by dmarino3h at Citysearch

My husband took me to Ed’s for my birthday and I was blown away...the food was fantastic, the service was great, the décor – white leather banquettes, rich, dark wood, mirrors & crystal - elegant but not stuffy - I loved it! I'm originally from the Boston area so I'm very particular about my seafood and I loved the pureed lobster bisque... rich, creamy & smooth. We split a surf & turf - filet mignon & grilled jumbo shrimp...both were great. And I asked 1) if we could have some of the vegetables that were in the combination dinners & they said, ‘Sure!’ and 2) if there might possibly be some béarnaise sauce for the filet mignon. Our waiter said he’d ask and a few minutes later returned with some béarnaise sauce the chef ‘whipped up’ just for me! The mashed potatoes with caramelized onions and bacon were delicious as were the garlic collard greens. The lemon meringue tart and banana cream pie with shaved chocolate desserts were mouth-watering . Our waiter and porters & the manager, Louis, were very attentive and friendly. It’s hard to believe the people who wrote the previous, negative reviews were at the same restaurant!

11/07/09

Just not good enough for the money disappointed

by searchcity at Citysearch

After reading rave reviews from Time Out magazine, I made sure to run over for a sampling. For a $70 lunch I expect clams in my clam chowder. The ladies sitting next to us and had the trio of soups and said they didn't like any of them. The couple on the other side said they had no clams in their chowder. The crab cake was fantastic. The lobster roll was loaded with lobster, the rest of the ingrdients let us down. Am I wrong or should the waiter be filling my glass with sparkling water.......well I did it for us. The room is gorgeous. I didnt realize they opened a month and a half ago. Not expecting to go back. Tried reaching management but found it impossible on line. (The manager did take the chowder off the bill and gave us a small bowl of' 'freshly made soup. Still wasn't impressed.)

• Pros: crab cakes
• Cons: clam chowder with no clams sub par service

10/19/09

Decent value; poor service

by dancepenguindance at Citysearch

As others have mentioned, Ed's Chowder House has a few bright points (nice decor, good corn chowder, lobster value), however the horrible service is such a drawback that I cannot recommend this restaurant to anyone.

As other have mentioned, the service was nowhere near what should be expected for a restaurant offering $3 oysters, $20-30 entrees, and $10-13 drinks.

It must have been the waiter's first day since he did not know anything on the menu, failed to serve the entrees appropriately, and didn't return with drinks for almost 30 minutes.

As "TheSkinny" mentioned, I would have been happy to have people "hover" near the table, at least the service would have improved a bit.

The decor is nice, but the drawbacks are enough to make us forgo another visit.

• Pros: Good deal on lobster; prompt seating; nice decor
• Cons: Poor service; poor service; poor service

10/18/09

Awful, absolutely awful

by tigger2970 at Citysearch

Unless you're 65 or older they won't pay any attention to you. We recently went in for dinner and had some of the worst service we've ever had. We both live in Manhattan and dine at nice restaurants frequently (not that Ed's is considered a nice restaurantby any means). In fact, we had been to Center Cut and had a wonderful experience. All I can say is they should have kept the wait and kitchen staff.

While the food wasn't as expensive as Center Cut, I'd rather pay more to have something edible and have service that is respectful.

Our server? I swear this was his first job waiting tables. When we told management that it had been 25 minutes and we didn't even have our drinks yet, nothing was done. The manager never even came to check on us. Meanwhile the 2 couples seated next to us spending their social security checks, dressed as if they were in an Atlantic City casino, were fawned over. Inexcusable. I really hope they were worth it and left a good tip, because we did not.

• Pros: decor, nice hostess
• Cons: horrible service, unattentive management, chewy clam chowder