John Davenport's Restaurant

Ace Ricker

write reviews for two reasons out-of-this-world experiences and horrible/won't go back experiences.....This clearly from the one-star was not a good one. I went this past weekend for my mother's birthday (one of the bigger ones) and being the eldest/most local of the son's, my dad and myself wanted to give her a very special day/night; ending with a great dinner. (that highly fell short) We had made reservations for this past weekend for my parents, a handful of relatives and myself. I got there punctually for our dinner reservations to be greeted by the hostess which was nice to give me a menu to lookover while I waited a few minutes for the others to park their cars. (Note: always use the valet service Friday-Saturday; parking can take a considerable amount of time otherwise) Soon after the rest of my family showed up and we were seated. Aedan (think I spelt it correctly) helped by getting all of us water and asked him a few times throughout the evening for things, that he was very quick to get. Robin was our main waitress, and she was great throughout the night; especially with the disarray that was about to commence. So the party of seven (sadly one couldn't come finally) of us were there at 6:30pm and got water/drinks/rolls in the first 20 minutes. Robin seem to be only one of one of two main waiting staff (with 1-3 helping dining staff/ not counting the bar staff) because of this she appeared to be swamped by the number of tables that she was serving. **That night was also the night that Yale vs. Harvard game was and that was one of the main excuses that I heard continuously on why things weren't going smoothly. *So now that you have the mood set; after the first 30 minutes everything started to fall apart* We than waited more than HOUR for our meals (came right before 8:30pm) not an hour from when we got there but an hour from when we got appetizers. **Got there at (I can time stamp all the activities of the night because of the slow escalation of frustrating text messages I was sending my partner throughout that evening) After receiving our food ( several people at the table ordered the ribeye steak with chard corn and what was stated to be mash potatoes with horseradish infused.) The individuals at the table (including myself) who ordered the ribeye, tried the food and all of our mash was cold but also have barely had any flavor of horseradish. My mom and my uncle couldn't even taste it but this was a hint of horseradish I could pick up. So as soon as I got my food I was sending it back, along with the other two orders. Robin empathetically apologized numerous times before this for the wait for our meals and now again was having to apologize for this she could change. She had the chef make mash for the table, which came out in small cast iron pans. This mash potato had no flavor of horseradish what so ever. I emphasize about this horseradish because that was the main/ pretty much only reason my mom got that dish in the first place and this was my mom's night and she was not having a good dinner.... so she than tried her steak, as well as I did. They were cooked to the right temperatures (rare/medium rare) but the steak as a whole just was tough and not worth it. I have had a better steak at Texas Roadhouse/Long Horn and get it for cheaper and leaves my taste-buds wanting more....this steak just left me frustrated and wanting to order something different. ***ON TOP OF IT ALL.... there was a piece of cooking twine left on the plate that was almost eaten. {Picture below} Robin our waitress could clearly see I was highly upset by this point and had her manager (think his name was Dan) come over. He apologized too and said he was extremely sorry and would take the plate off the bill. That was a nice gesture, but I am not looking for a handout.The wrap up: (only get so many characters) Chef made a horseradish sauce but pretty much we were done with eating when it came out. Dessert was good overall but half the tables coffee didn't come till we asked again for it. I won't be going back...

Josh Orlinsky

I can't imagine why people are giving this less than 5 stars. However, when you read the less than stellar reviews, a lot seem like people that just have a general axe to grind. My wife and I both had shrimp and scallops, over a corn sauce that was out of this world. The service was stellar, and our waitress was attentive, polite and prompt. Everyone we came into contact with was pleasant. The views of New Haven are breathtaking, and there doesn't seem to be a bad seat in the house. Its pricy, but you're paying for higher end food at the top of one of the nicer hotels in New Haven, so if you're surprised by that, maybe you should re-evaluate how you look for restaurants. Would definitely return for a visit, and perhaps a special occasion.

Bilal Qizilbash

This place is delicious and priced well for the quality of food. Especially the breakfast buffet is one of the best I have ever had.

Nikhil Samuel

Accommodating, clean, great service + nice views. Lots of options on the menu. The Christmas buffet was excellent