Hagan's Grill

Hagan's Grill was another restaurant seeming to fall short on service while excelling in taste.

The entrance to the building led us through the bar into the dining area, where we were met by our server that seated us. It was a dim-lit atmosphere, tables lit by candle light, with a floor layout that separated the bar and the dining areas by a windowed wall. This made the dining area noisy. Immediately I noticed wine lists propped up on each table behind the candles, while the place settings were a basic layout; with a bread and butter plate and rolled up silverware settings placed on each, centered at each seat. There were paintings on the wall that seemed too new-age and modern even for my taste. The painting that loomed over our table read "home grown 10th generation marijuana" with a picture of a man pulling a cannabis leaf. The other paintings surrounding the dining area were indistinguishable colorful abstract shapes and bold faced lines. To say the least, these did nothing to add to the atmosphere nor did they compel me to buy food or beverages.

Our server greeted us with food menus and a list of specials that included two cocktails, two starters, three entrees, and three desserts. The server did not offer a beer list, rather offered a few selections that the bar had available on draft. The server saw me fixated on the wine list and the food menu, and even after I had told her that I was looking to pair food with wine, she offered no incite, suggestions, or direction, rather just gave me more time to decide.

For my meal, I went with the Pan Seared Atlantic Salmon, complemented with whipped potatoes and asparagus, all topped with a  honey ginger butter, that was off of the specials menu. I paired my meal with a Pinot Noir.

The food was wonderfully prepared and excellent in taste. Presentation looked fantastic, and enjoyed every bite.

A knowledgeable service staff would definitely be an effective strategy to increase sales. A good server can open a guest up to food and wine pairings they may not have considered or would not have chosen prior to a sales pitch or even just a nice conversation from a passionate seller. If the server had stopped to offer her advice or recommendations on a few wine and food pairings when I was deciding on what I would wine and dine on for the night, I may have enjoyed my meal a lot more and gone with a starter and maybe an aperitif, finishing with a dessert complemented by a dessert wine or espresso martini (a cocktail featured on the specials menu but not mentioned at all throughout the course of the meal).

Indeed, the service staff was lacking overall, and good wine sales come from a knowledgeable and passionate service staff that is eager to assist the guests and take initiative.

A few suggestions: The place setting was far too basic. Bread and butter plates and silverware rolled up in cloth. Place fancy napkin folding, silverware in their appropriate setting, and wine glasses on the table if you want the guest to start thinking about dining with wine earlier on, and make them feel like a valued diner by taking the time on setting up a table that looks like it had been fitted just for them. Higher a sommelier to assist each table, approaching the guests with a presentable wine bottle to the table and carry out appropriate wine service. When our wines came to the table, I didn't know if the wine was from the gutter or from a bottle. It simply arrived out of thin air.

Overall, the food made it an enjoyable night out.

Went here last night for the first time, but it definitely will be the first of many!  The owner is delightful, the staff is friendly and attentive- and the food was amazing.  We decided to split some aps and a salad- and couldn't have been more happy with our selections.  Baked brie with a berry chutney, crab and lobster cakes and ahi tuna melted in our mouths!!  My boyfriend then added the beat salad, which he loved (I was full).  

The ambiance is misleading from the street, but once you are in this warm and stylish establishment you don't want to leave! You might even see some people you know, which we did!  It was the kind of place that you could have a romantic evening, or night out with the girls.  If you are looking for a change and want to reward your palate- try Hagan's.

My friend and I stopped at Hagans for a glass of wine and dinner.  I have to say, it was a terrible experience.  I ordered the mixed green salad with Mongolian Beef, which was a skewer of steak tips (supposedly marinated for 3 days) with 2 peppers and one onion piece, over a bed of spinach and mixed greens and lots of red onions, dried cranberries.  The salad part was fine; the balsamic dressing really yummy, but the steak was like rubber.  I have never had to SAW through steak before, especially after marinating for 3 days.  I asked for medium well, and it was rare.  I sent it back, and essentially they just threw it on the grill again..I tried it again, and it was seared more on the outside, still very pink and fatty on the inside.  So disappointing.  

My friend ordered a seafood dish that was $26 dollars, and from the first bite was unimpressed.  This is a girl from New England who has eaten seafood all of her life, so she knows good seafood.  When the bartender, who was very nice and attentive, came to check on us, I had to say something.  I told him..I know you brought the food back once, but I'm sorry, it's not good.  I've never had to work so hard to cut steak before in my life.  He apologized and took it from me.  My friend didn't want to complain (who really does?!) about her meal, but it was $26 for this dish, and she was very unhappy with it.  She did say something to the bartender finally and he took that and spoke with the cook..which we could see, because it's an open kitchen.  Apparently that wasn't a good thing.  The owner/manager came out.  The woman was very nice, but in a condescending way, tried to tell my friend that they had never had food returned at their establishment, and that the seafood dish couldn't be bad, or she just wasn't familiar with the ingredients.  I was stunned.  We're not super young, and to almost argue with a patron about what they were expressing to you about the dinner that was very pricey, is obnoxious.  I had to bite my tongue.  At one point, I could take the condescension no more, and said that we were old enough to know bad steak and seafood. The woman talked and talked and talked. Honestly, in my opinion, she should have gone with the "customer is always right" approach. We had both eaten there before and had good luck, but I'm not going to sit back and have food that is not good and not say something.

They took the entrees off of our bill, and we tipped the bartender very well-wasn't his issue.  He was very nice to us the entire time.  When we walked out, someone shouted something to us..I'm guessing it wasn't very nice.  Sound juvenile? Exactly. I'll never go back there. I'll tell everyone I know not to bother with that place.  It's too bad really.  It's a great location, nice atmosphere...unfortunately, they need better food.