Garlic John's needs to look into getting someone on staff who can figure out basic economic principles of how to optimize revenue. Â Had the really unfortunate experience recently where the bartender insisted on trying to charge us a split entree fee when my Mother and I had ordered 3 dishes in total, yet 2 of them appeared on the appetizer portion of the menu. Â Split entree fees are big in this area, I guess to detract tourists from sharing meals and establishments from not taking in full revenue during the few times a year it is more crowded here (ski season).
The average entre price was around $11, as all pasta come in half or full orders ranging from about $9 - $16. Â One of the appetizers we ordered, mussels, was more expensive than more than half of the entrees. Â I asked if this could qualify as my entree. "No." The salad we ordered was also more than 4 of the entres. Â Can this qualify as my entree? "No." Â I think tried to appeal to basic math and profit potential - if I paid the split charge on just one entree, the restaurant would earn $17 from 2 people on food, an ave of $8.50 pp. Â If they allowed us to order the entree and then an app, the restaurant would make $25. Yes, they would cook 2 dishes, but the ave check would be $12.50 pp, still more than the average entree price on the menu. Â We were trying to order 3 total items for 2 people for $32, at $16 pp - double what they would make off the split charge up-fee. Â In that scenario, we'd already passed what I believe to be the spirit of the 'rule' of one dish pp, we were at 1.5 dishes. Â Out of principle, I refused to pay the fee, so reduced the order to the 2 appetizers only, for which we then paid a total of $19 in food, less money than the restaurant would have earned if they applied the split charge and less than if they allowed us to keep the original order (note we only stayed because everything in this town closes at 9pm and Garlic John's is open till 11).
I left upset, but more so feeling troubled that they could not grasp such basic concepts of economics and how to run a profitable business. Â The profit potential is obviously further lessened here because I will never go back and will encourage anyone in the area to approach with caution.
yay for gluten-free Italian food! Â i had the shellfish in brodo with gluten-free penne and it was delicious. Â it had more p.e.i. mussels than clams and shrimp - and unfortunately for me i learned the hard way that i don't care for p.e.i. mussels. Â but i picked some of them out and the rest of it was great. Â the salad was too small but good and our server was great.
Review Source:Like another reviewer, we were in VT for our anniversary weekend. Â It's more difficult to find a place that does a good gluten free meal but my hubby called here and asked and they said absolutely they could, so we gave it a try. Â I was a little hesitant because of some of the reviews, but we're really glad we went there!
We started off with the Prince Edward Island mussels in garlic and white wine sauce. Â Wow, were they good. Â Hubby opted for Veal Saltimbocca for his meal while I went for the gluten free pasta with vodka sauce and grilled shrimp. Â Both were delicious! Â It wasn't the best vodka sauce I've ever had (hubby's is the best as far as I'm concerned) but it was delicious none the less and since I rarely get to have pasta at a restaurant anymore, I really enjoyed it!
As we ate the parking lot and restaurant began to fill in and the place was hopping by the time we were done.
Overall a good meal and good service and we would definitely go back. Â Appetizer, two dinners and two glasses of wine cost us about $80.
Maybe we hit this restaurant on a bad night. The food was decent. My wife had shrimp scampi with artichokes which she said was good. I had an eggplant dish that was just ordinary. The real problem was the service. It took over a half hour to get the salads and then another 45 minutes for the entree's to come. After questioning the waitress about the long wait she said the kitchen was short handed tonight. It would have been nice to be told this much earlier on. I'm giving it two stars mostly because of the long wait and service.
Review Source:I'm not sure why Garlic John's has an average of 3 stars. My wife and I went here during our anniversary weekend. Our waitress was very nice, the atmosphere was very nice and our food was GREAT!
We were unsure what our dressing attire should look like. When we got there we noticed it was across the board! There was a couple dressed semi-formal all the way to a family dressed like they just got back from the gym. It was very odd to see such a wide variety but I would say the majority of people were wearing polo shirts.
As for the food, I had the puttanesca and my wife had the colossal shrimp special. Both were amazing! For desert I got the raspberry lemon drop special, which was a small five layer cake with a lemon custard on top and a raspberry in the center. It was a great way to end the day! If we ever end up in Manchester again, you can bet we will be stopping there again.
Worst service ever. Waited 2 hours for food. I understand we had a party of 18 but come on. We watched a 2 parties come in the restaurant a half hour after us order, receive their food eat it and leave before we received our food. Also my pregnant wife ordered a virgin Daquiri and they gave her one with alcohol. Â Also took 40 minutes to get our drinks. I would rather go to McDonalds than ever go to this place again.
Review Source:Food was decent. Bacon wrapped shrimp tasty. Bread a little hard, and server seemed confused when asked for balsamic vinegar. Brought out balsamic dressing first time. Sauces seemed a tad bit watery. Service ok, but needed reminders for water a couple times. All in all, an ok place. Would eat here again.
Review Source:An upscale restaurant in Manchester that serves great Italian food at decent price. Â From when you walk into this restaurant, you will be impressed with the decor. Â The wait staff are all very friendly and helpful in recommending specials or items of the menu. Â I had the Red Clam sauce with Penne (instead of linguine because penne is easier to eat) ($18). Â
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/2mrYa2RyKAE4BeMdxwlDiw?userid=-WvlGS3ERPU5JgUK2jmNZg">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
The entree comes with a field greens salad. Â Even though the sauce tasted good, I thought it had be watered down with too much pasta water. Â Despite the high price, I think what makes me give this place a 4 star rating over a 3 star is the desserts. Â I has Suzie's Cheesecake ($6) is light, airy and tastes the way cheesecake is supposed to taste. Â If I am back in the area, I really want to try the Hazelnut Gelato.
On our usual yearly trip through Vermont, a friend of mine and I wanted to try somewhere different. Drawn to the name, we decided to stop at garlic John's on our way home. From the time we walked in, the service was pretty bad. No one materialized at the door to greet us for at least ten minutes. Once we were greeted we went to the bar to get a drink and wait to be seated. It took fifteen minutes for the bartender/manager to acknowledge us at the quiet bar, though he looked right at us and continued to chat with other customers. Luckily, once we were finally sat, our waiter was very sweet and attentive. The Chicken marsala was okay but certainly not the best ever. The Gorgonzola dressing that everyone raves about was a watery mess with a few sprinkles of cheese. All in all, we will try somewhere else next year.
Review Source:Ever had a Celentano frozen meal? Or Rice-A-Roni? You know - the San Francisco treat?
Well - thats the Eggplant Parm and Chicken Saltimboca at Papa Garlics. I mean Garlic Johns.
Tonight, we defyed logic as Brooklynites by getting Italian in Vermont. We should have known better and I should have eaten more bread.
I didn't expect much from a place called "Garlic John's" in the middle of rural Vermont. But let me say - wow. I had the best Alfredo sauce ever! Words cannot really describe how amazing this meal was but suffice to say I typically don't eat all the pasta on my plate at Italian restaurants and I cleaned my plate and sopped up the extra with bread. It was that good. My fiancee still raves about the pasta primavera that she had; she also cleaned her plate.
The Achilles heel here is the service. Ours was fine until the place got busy. Still I think the food here is stunningly good and I would go again if I traveled this way.
Love this place! I can't tell you if it's actually as good as I think it is or if it's just nice to be off my feet after a day of hardcore skiing, but one thing I know for certain is that their food is fantastic, filling and reasonably priced. Basic Italian food dishes, pastas and such, prepared well and great desserts! Would be a good idea to get a reservation in the winter - or at least call ahead and put your name on the list/check and see if there is a wait. It's always packed!
Review Source:So you might be tempted upon entering - as you note the hanging straw basket chianti bottles densely adorning the entire ceiling  - to immediately lower your expectations. Write it off as commodity-dining-where-there-is-something-for-the-Âwhole-family rather than an-excellent-meal-worth-searching-out. And as far as the wine list goes - you'd be right. Any Olive Garden has a far better list.
But the food is another story. The food was fantastic. I think. It did take an extraordinarily long time to show up. It took something like an hour just to get salads, and another 45 minutes to get our main dishes (we totally gave up on getting ice water refilled). Â So maybe we were just really really hungry - we had hiked 14 miles of rollercoaster Long Trail earlier in the day, it could be that even Hamburger Helper would have rocked. But I don't think so. I think the food was genuinely excellent. Â I had penne with olive oil, garlic, broccoli rabe, and sausage (maybe some tomatoes and white wine also?). Wow. Simple but memorable. The others in our party were similarly impressed with their selections.
At this price point - I can overlook the sub-par wine list. But the service? Well, unlike our experience at Lawyer and Baker (see review), our waiter was working. He was running all over the place all night, and was pleasant when he finally got back to our table. It just really seemed GJ was totally surprised by a mid-week crowd that was way bigger than they were expecting. They really seemed more understaffed than inept. I'm willing to give it 4 stars and try again.
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