Pines Tavern

Incredible food. Delicious. Fresh. Creative salads. Seafood exceptionally well prepared. Desserts were worth the calories. Banana crepe with home made caramel was superb.

Only drawback is the nasty elderly woman when you enter. Never smiles, is crabby and very unfriendly. She needs to retire, or  take a class on being pleasant to customers.

Me and the hubby tried this place on Saturday.  It was good but we are not in a hurry to go back.  It seemed to be an older crowd, which is fine.  The dining room was nice with a nice fireplace that was all aglow.  We were a little taken aback entering the dining room.  There is a big desk when entering and the hostess is seated there.  I felt like we were entering a bank.  We were seated next to the wonderful fireplace. The hubby started with the lobster bisque and said it was good but noted it was more of a puree.  I started with the snapping turtle soup.  It was more of a stew but it had great flavor and it had a nice texture.  It was very much like a stew.   I had the fish special, a fried barramundi with cous cous and corn.  It was delightful.  And not really all that fried.  The hubby had a fried fish sandwich and fries.  He enjoyed it but it was not something he will HAVE to get again.  All in all it was a nice lunch but we will most certainly go to other places before going back.

5 of us came to the Pines on New Year's Eve for an 8pm reservation. There was no parking, and then we ended up needing to wait about 30-35 minutes (which was light compared to other patrons). This was not overly surprising for a holiday evening, but I was very annoyed with the lack of any area in which to actually wait (not even the bar was available). We ended up needing to stand in a hallway with the bathrooms, between one of the dining rooms and the kitchen, with servers passing through every minute or so and the toilets flushing just as often. Other patrons were forced to stand in the entryway of the restaurant, getting a chill every time the door opened. It was all very uncomfortable. It would have been nice to have been offered a small glass of cheap champagne or a finger food while we waited, also, considering we were not walk-ins (no one was) and should have been seated by 8:05. I understand that occasionally it's out of the restaurant's control - but then you should do what you can to accommodate your waiting guests.

Once we were seated, we were greeted by a very friendly server. She was knowledgeable and offered great suggestions. I thought the dining room was oddly bright, especially considering the evening, but was otherwise decorated nicely.

We started with 2 appetizers - one was great, the Chesapeake crab dip, and one, the grilled brie, was just... bad. We didn't come close to finishing it. It sounded promising... baguettes, bay shrimp, peppers, olives, and herbs. What we got was a very small piece of brie on top of a dinner plate full of soggy toasted baguettes covered in what was absolutely canned ingredients (the hot peppers, olives, and possibly the tiny tiny shrimp were all straight from a can). There was about enough brie to cover two of the bread pieces (see posted photo). It was an unfortunate way to start the meal.

Two guests had the lobster bisque (I think all 5 of us would have if it came in a smaller portion). It was decent.

As for our main courses, they were definitely the highlight of the meal. I had the scallops, which were tasty and cooked properly. My husband had the duck, which he enjoyed, but it was a bit overcooked. Our other 3 guests were happy with their meals (a mix of pasta and red meat dishes).

We were all craving something a little sweet so we opted for dessert - which we regret. Between us we had ordered the "Pecan Ball", vanilla ice cream rolled in pecans and topped with hot fudge & caramel, and a coconut ball reminiscent of a snowball. The pecan ball had either been pre-made or made with very stale pecans, and they were soft and flavorless with very little actual ice cream in the dish. The coconut ball was equally unimpressive and was left behind almost in its entirety.

Apps: 5/5 for one, 1/5 for the other
Mains: 4/5
Dessert: 1/5
Service: 1/5 from restaurant, 5/5 from server

Perhaps if we had had a better start to the evening, I would have had rosier glasses on. But if you stick to the meal portion of the menu (or that delicious crab dip) and you should be happy.