A Little Story About Solomons Pier Restaurant

Hawkeye

New Member
So Dye Tie and I (the rhymes :killingme) decide that we are going to grab a bite to eat last Friday (June 18th) and ended up a Solomons Pier. I hadn't been there in a number a years but Dye Tie told me it was very nice to sit out back on the deck and have a bite and a glass of wine. Well, we check in with the hostess and she askes where we would like to sit....inside or on the deck. She states that it would be 15-20 minutes, we decide we will wait and she hands us a buzzer device to let us know when our table is ready. It is important to note that she was well aware that we were there to have dinner and not simply going out back to have a drink at the bar as people were walking back there to the bar without checking in with the hostess (this is very important later).

So we wait a few minutes and our buzzer goes off. We check with the hostess and she escorts us back to the deck area. Evidently (I don't remember so I am using Dye Tie's memory), the deck used to be completely open with tables all around that the bar in the center of the deck. The center of the deck in now enclosed with the exception of the edges which have tables spaced around the deck rail all along the outer edge. As we walk to a large, round white table (first on the left for those who are familar), the hostess has to shoo away a number of semi-anebriated people who spoke with an English accent. We sat at two of the high bar stools surrounding the table and settled in for what we had hoped would be a nice dinner with a glass or two of wine. Our server showed up relatively quickly with menus and we requested a wine list. She returned promptly and we both order a glass of Bancroft wine. As we talked, we noticed that the crowd of Brits ebbed and flowed across the bar and would close on our table, realize that they were crowding us and excuse themselves and move away. As Dye Tie and I talked, one of the British ladies asked if one of our bar stools was being used. I was not so we both said no, thinking that she wanted to pull it over to her crowd and have a seat as opposed to standing up. The next thing we knew, she sat what appeared to be a 8 to 10 year old boy in the table and set him up with what appeared to be either an Ipod or an I-Touch and headphones. She then proceeded to set her camera and purse on the table, basically making herself at home. As Dye Tie and I watched, what appeared to be her husband walked over with a menu and she and her husband stood looking a the menu, talking to a server appearing to be ready to order. So the question is "At what point do you say something and what is the best way to handle this situation"?

I decided to handle this situation as follows. The server brought us our glasses of wine in a plastic cup (some how, a plastic cup doesn't make it feel like $7.00 a glass wine). I pointed to the couple and asked if she could inquire what their intentions were and to inform them that the table they were sitting at was occupied by someone else. She went over and whispered to the couple that they were encrouching on our dinner and the lady promptly packed up and moved. The husband however, wanting to have the final word apparently, decided that he was going to have a word with me. He asked if his wife had asked if it was OK to use the chair? I replied in the affirmative but then informed him that no inquiries were made as to the use of the table or ultimately dining with us. He then replied, rather abrasively that he was of the opinion that I should have asked them directly to move and not get the hostess involved. I replied that, based on his current response, that it probably would not have gone as well as it did and that I was not interested in discussing the matter with him any further. Rather than disengage however, he decided that he would press the point and move around the table and get in my immediate space and continue to question why I would ask him to leave our table. At this point, we decided that further conversation with this individual was pointless and, since the hostess and restaurant staff were not interested in intervening, it was best to leave.

In my opinion, the service and hospitality at Solomons Pier is below average at best ranking a close second to the Burger King on Great Mills Rd. They are very proud of their product, which is evident by the prices on their menu and beverage list, but the prices do not match the service or the atmosphere. Additionally, I would not recommend asking or waiting to be seated out on the deck unless you're ready for some dinner table roulett as you can not be sure if you will be enjoying a nice bay breeze or battling it out with a rude Brit with Napoleon complex. Suffice to say, I will never patronize this establishment again. I hope that anyone else who decides to try the Solomon's Pier has better luck than we did on June 18th.
 

Dye Tied

Garden Variety Gnome
We also had to ask to have the filthy table washed and the husband's friend also decided to jump into the 'discussion'.

Believe it or not, I kept quiet. I was very disappointed in the restaurant, the fact they built a hot house around the bar and the whole experience. :boo::boo:
 

Bay_Kat

Tropical
My husband and I went there once about 5 years ago and swore we'd never go back, what a horrible experience. We ordered drinks (there were only a few other people in there) and about 20 minutes later, no drinks, we walked out.
 

Hawkeye

New Member
We also had to ask to have the filthy table washed and the husband's friend also decided to jump into the 'discussion'.

Believe it or not, I kept quiet. I was very disappointed in the restaurant, the fact they built a hot house around the bar and the whole experience. :boo::boo:

Dye Tie was a perfect lady through out the entire ordeal. If she had busted loose, it would have been like a declaration of war on the Brit's again :duel: It would have made the War of 1812 look like High School Musical :geek:
 

Dye Tied

Garden Variety Gnome
Dye Tie was a perfect lady through out the entire ordeal. If she had busted loose, it would have been like a declaration of war on the Brit's again :duel: It would have made the War of 1812 look like High School Musical :geek:

okay :lol:

naw, you handled it well and certainly didn't need any 'help'. :buddies:
 
Dye Tie was a perfect lady through out the entire ordeal. If she had busted loose, it would have been like a declaration of war on the Brit's again :duel: It would have made the War of 1812 look like High School Musical :geek:

I am absolutely impressed that Dye held her tongue..... :twitch:

That's too bad about the Pier. Some of the best times I've had were sitting out there with a quiet drink on a warm evening. I guess those days are gone. :ohwell:
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
Dye Tie was a perfect lady through out the entire ordeal.

Good for Dye. I have absolutely no tolerance in the face of rude drunks. :jet:

Sorry you all's dinner sucked. We had a wonderful time Saturday, sat in that same area. No obnoxious Brits and no little kids trying to join our table.
 

Aerogal

USMC 1983-1995
The Brits (maybe Aussies) weren't being rude. In the UK or Australia, if you're in the bar area (pub) tables are shared. I admit she might have asked if they could share the table with you and I think in her way she thought she did.

just sayin.....
 

Bann

Doris Day meets Lady Gaga
PREMO Member
Good for Dye. I have absolutely no tolerance in the face of rude drunks. :jet:

Sorry you all's dinner sucked. We had a wonderful time Saturday, sat in that same area. No obnoxious Brits and no little kids trying to join our table.


Using the table as a parking spot for their stuff and their kid - geeeeeez, how roooood! I'd have had to say something.

But I've heard the crab cakes are good! :biggrin:
 

Bann

Doris Day meets Lady Gaga
PREMO Member
The Brits (maybe Aussies) weren't being rude. In the UK or Australia, if you're in the bar area (pub) tables are shared. I admit she might have asked if they could share the table with you and I think in her way she thought she did.

just sayin.....

When in Rome...

They should have asked if they could put their stuff and park their kid there.

It's not the same as borrowing a chair to use at another table, which is clearly what Hawkeye & Dye thought they were agreeing to. They didn't HAVE a table, so they wanted to dump their stuff (not to mention a kid!) at someone else's.

Come to think of it - they should have been paying Hawkeye & Dye to BABYSIT! :lmao:
 

Dye Tied

Garden Variety Gnome
When in Rome...

They should have asked if they could put their stuff and park their kid there.

It's not the same as borrowing a chair to use at another table, which is clearly what Hawkeye & Dye thought they were agreeing to. They didn't HAVE a table, so they wanted to dump their stuff (not to mention a kid!) at someone else's.

Come to think of it - they should have been paying Hawkeye & Dye to BABYSIT! :lmao:

First the kid sat down and she turned the chair from the table. Then she snuck this huge camera onto the table, all the while side glancing to see if we were watching. I was watching what she was doing. Then came the purse and then ordering for her child. She knew what she was doing.
The bar area is too small now and I don't babysit :smack:
 

Bann

Doris Day meets Lady Gaga
PREMO Member
First the kid sat down and she turned the chair from the table. Then she snuck this huge camera onto the table, all the while side glancing to see if we were watching. I was watching what she was doing. Then came the purse and then ordering for her child. She knew what she was doing.
The bar area is too small now and I don't babysit :smack:

:lmao: That's what I mean! They should have paid you for it, that's basically what you were doing!
 

NewsJunky

Member
The Brits (maybe Aussies) weren't being rude. In the UK or Australia, if you're in the bar area (pub) tables are shared. I admit she might have asked if they could share the table with you and I think in her way she thought she did.

just sayin.....

I think their behavior after the waitress intervened was rather rude. Who takes their kids out drinking with them, anyway? The babysitter should have been hired before they ever left home with the little chap. :buddies:
 

Hawkeye

New Member
When in Rome...

They should have asked if they could put their stuff and park their kid there.

It's not the same as borrowing a chair to use at another table, which is clearly what Hawkeye & Dye thought they were agreeing to. They didn't HAVE a table, so they wanted to dump their stuff (not to mention a kid!) at someone else's.

Come to think of it - they should have been paying Hawkeye & Dye to BABYSIT! :lmao:

That's why you are the man Bann.....Always thinking :high5: At least the evening would have been profitable.
 

Hawkeye

New Member
Using the table as a parking spot for their stuff and their kid - geeeeeez, how roooood! I'd have had to say something.

But I've heard the crab cakes are good! :biggrin:

To cover my A$$, Bann....if you are a lady, I apologize in advance. I don't know everyone yet and I get confused by names on occasion. :doh:
 

ItalianScallion

Harley Rider
I've never had bad food service there but my only complaint was their prices. Higher than what I'm normally used to for seafood.

I stopped by there last Thursday for a cold one after an hour long ride from Annapolis down rte 2 and rte 4. The bar tender gave me my drink and then left before I could pay her. 5 minutes later another bar tender took over. She never asked if I'd paid for it but asked me if I wanted another. I said no, and told her that I need to pay for this one. She looked surprised; like she thought I'd already paid for it.

I kinda like the new enclosed bar area because it does keep the sun off of me better than those umbrellas did.
P.S. I hate those silver bar stools though...
 
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