Canoe

[jeffk]

I'm not sure why it is a bad thing for a restaurant to cater to an adult audience? They probably should make it clear when they take reservations that families with children will be seated in the lower area. If you don't like it, don't go there.

As to whether children are "well behaved", all parents seem to think their little darlings are "well behaved". Can you imagine a restaurant trying to sort out the naughty or nice children? Yipes! (This may be one reason Santa lives at the North Pole, far away from angry parents) As one person stated, how could you possibly know until well into the meal. Then if they are NOT well behaved are you going to banish the group to downstairs? OMG There would be restaurant rage.

If you want a to eat in an adult atmosphere, get a sitter and enjoy your night out. If the kids must be with you, go to one of the numerous family venues around the lake.

Having said all that, I rarely eat at Canoe. The meals are mostly fine but quite pricey, IMO.

[NoBozo]

Misbehaved Children will removed from their parents custody.. and SOLD as Slaves. NB

[Bigstan]

Originally Posted by NoBozo

Misbehaved Children will removed from their parents custody.. and SOLD as Slaves. NB

Originally Posted by NoBozo

Misbehaved Children will removed from their parents custody.. and SOLD as Slaves. NB

You mean this is a complete falsehood - something completely made up by someone who has never been to Canoe, will in all likelihood never be a guest, and who pokes fun because he has nothing to do but read the forum all day and analyze literary patterns? That's sad....there are so many better things to do.

I have told the kids all week when they got rowdy - "If you don't behave we're going to Canoe". That gave me peace as the poor kids hid under the bed for the remainder of the day, afraid they would be sold to the salt mines. It was good while it lasted....I guess now I have to teach them truth vs. lies....thanks NB.

[Resident 2B]

Originally Posted by jeffk

I'm not sure why it is a bad thing for a restaurant to cater to an adult audience? They probably should make it clear when they take reservations that families with children will be seated in the lower area. If you don't like it, don't go there.

As to whether children are "well behaved", all parents seem to think their little darlings are "well behaved". Can you imagine a restaurant trying to sort out the naughty or nice children? Yipes! (This may be one reason Santa lives at the North Pole, far away from angry parents) As one person stated, how could you possibly know until well into the meal. Then if they are NOT well behaved are you going to banish the group to downstairs? OMG There would be restaurant rage.

If you want a to eat in an adult atmosphere, get a sitter and enjoy your night out. If the kids must be with you, go to one of the numerous family venues around the lake.

Having said all that, I rarely eat at Canoe. The meals are mostly fine but quite pricey, IMO.

I would have had no problem with clear feedback at the time the reservation was/is made. Have them clearly state 'if you come with children you can expect second class treatment at the same first class pricing, whenever we happen to be busy. Otherwise, you are all set' That is what it is and if that is the way they want to run their restaurants, please just man up and tell it like it is. We would have told them to shove it in a second if we were told how it would be. There are many better places to eat at, that is for sure.

To show up a bit before the accepted dinner reservation, having to wait a long time, more than 30 minutes past the reservation time, then getting a raised cocktail table for a party of three adults and three children, beside a bar with loud, foul-language-spurring-adults is completely unacceptable to any retional person. That is what we got and then they told us "if we did not like it we could leave". That is what we did and that is why I will never drop this. The public has to know what they are in for. Buyer beware!

Canoe was, and maybe still is, making judgments on how well the children might be behaved based on how busy they are. Weeknights we were good, weekends we were bad. Simple! If they were not busy, your kids were fine, if busy, they do not really need you. Clear message then and I guess still the way today.

This was a long time ago for me, but the memories do not get erased. The more I read about them still having this policy, the more upset I get.

Our last night at Canoe was clearly the worse dining experience I have ever been involved in, in all of my now 65 years of life. As I said, many better places were families will be welcomed and treated with respect.

R2B

[Newbiesaukee]

Quite frankly, I have never seen this " stealth" policy of discrimination against children in any restaurant,anywhere. The food at Canoe is pretty good,the service is usually OK, but the attitude seems to be that they are doing you a favor by serving you. This is regardless of the policy on children.

Although I am as annoyed by out of control children as anyone; loud, obnoxious adults are just as annoying and harder to screen by arbitrary exclusion policies

Well-run restaurants can manage inappropriate behavior on a case-by-case basis without arbitrary exclusion policies.

This is a decent restaurant in a resort area which includes families. Their policy on children, if it is as stated by others on the forum( and not refuted by the restaurant ) makes no sense to me.

Catering to an adult clientele is one thing, excluding all children is quite another.

[joey2665]

My family and I dine at Canoe 4-5 times a year all year round and we have been their when it was packed and when it was light. We have two children and always bring them along (and sometimes we bring nieces and nephews) we do understand the there is ONE area in the dining room that children are not permitted which is I think a good policy, the rest of the dining area's are completely acessable to children. Our service has alway been good to excellent and we have never felt or experienced subpar service because we had children, in fact the servers are usually very accomidating to them. This includes last Saturday we we had an extremely nice server downstairs near the bar and the meal was excellent. We love Canoe and will continue to dine there.

[jrc]

If you swap the word smokers for children, you could have this exact conversation fifteen years ago.

It's funny how this restaurant sticks the kids in the bar. I remember a time when a bar was the adult area and you went there to get away from kids in the dining room.

Do they have a special seating area for other people they prejudge to be annoying based solely on their group?

[chef2b98]

We were at canoe last night with our children and had a very good experience. We were seated on the porch, not a bad place, great view, service was good and food better, clearly a busy night. After reading the reviews about policy on children we asked. There is clearly a sign stating that they reserve one of there dining rooms for adults only, ok did not see an issue with that, looking around there seemed to be a few rooms to eat in. We were clearly not treated like second class citizens neither were my children. Just my opinion as I know everyone has one. We will go back.

[canoe]

Good afternoon,

I want to thank everyone for all there post and to those who continually support us, we greatly appreciate the time you take to post on the forum. We value everyone's input good and not so good.

I do have an issue with MR. No Bozo, again you have made accusations that are slanderous and false, some of which have been removed from this forum by the webmaster. If you can please tell me where the sign in the restaurant states and I quote your post-

"Sign In the Restaurant Lobby...
Misbehaved Children will removed from their parents custody.. and SOLD as Slaves. NB

let me show you what is at the front desk:

Dear Customers and Staff

House Policy Concerning Children 12 &
under.

Canoe has and will always welcome children
Of all ages. We have 5 different dining rooms
accommodating 200 guests. We do however
Reserve one dining room (Canoe) for adults
only, 50 of our 200 seats.

This is our one and only policy that concerns
children. Thank you for understanding.

We hope you enjoy your dining experience.

Sincerely,



Scott Ouellette
Owner/Chef

Again I appreciate everyone's opinion on our policy, I realize some of you agree and some don't, that's what makes everyone different and the world go around..... we try our hardest to please everyone we can. Thank you and have a great rest of the summer.

[NoBozo]

Originally Posted by canoe

I do have an issue with MR. No Bozo, again you have made accusations that are slanderous and false, some of which have been removed from this forum by the webmaster. If you can please tell me where the sign in the restaurant states and I quote your post-

"Sign In the Restaurant Lobby...
Misbehaved Children will removed from their parents custody.. and SOLD as Slaves. NB.

Attention On Deck: (A Little Old NAVY Lingo ) MR NoBozo reporting for duty: Hi Canoe..aka BenzGuy..aka Castleview: YOU need to get a sense of humor. Lighten up. NB

PS: You left out the big grin smily face in your "quote" of my comment.

[Pontoon Goon]

I have noticed you have commented several times regarding Canoe. Could you please share with us your own personal experience dining there.

[NoBozo]

Originally Posted by Pontoon Goon

I have noticed you have commented several times regarding Canoe. Could you please share with us your own personal experience dining there.

I Have commented on Canoe.. but not just Canoe. Being an old retired coot with nothing better to do than read posts on this forum...I see trends in writing styles, and attitudes... of the posters. I have noticed this with Restaurant postings.

When the comments toward a certain restaurant go negative,.. Eventually, the owner.. May come on and explain himself with a reasonable explanation.....OR... Digs himself a hole.

I look for consistancies between posts.. of the suspects: in this case: (Canoe...BenzGuy, and CastleView). Low Number of posts since joining the forum. Strong opinions In Favor of the resaurant...Same writing style. It goes on..... Notice the Smily Faces. Not interested in making trouble...just observing. NB

[chasedawg]

[QUOTE=NoBozo;209769]I Have commented on Canoe.. but not just Canoe. Being an old retired coot with nothing better to do than read posts on this forum..

[chasedawg]

[QUOTE=chasedawg;209782]

Originally Posted by NoBozo

I Have Being an old retired coot with nothing better to do than read posts on this forum..

NoBozo...Oh No...Bozo...Oh NO...I thought you were my shinning light into retirement having great experiences everyday doing something new.

Now you tell me you are an "retired old coot with nothing to do" but sit and watch the forum every morning. OMG! Please look out the window and see the beautiful mountains, sunsets, and gorgeous views of our wonderful world we view everyday.

[Shreddy]

Originally Posted by NoBozo

I Have commented on Canoe.. but not just Canoe. Being an old retired coot with nothing better to do than read posts on this forum...I see trends in writing styles, and attitudes... of the posters. I have noticed this with Restaurant postings.

When the comments toward a certain restaurant go negative,.. Eventually, the owner.. May come on and explain himself with a reasonable explanation.....OR... Digs himself a hole.

I look for consistancies between posts.. of the suspects: in this case: (Canoe...BenzGuy, and CastleView). Low Number of posts since joining the forum. Strong opinions In Favor of the resaurant...Same writing style. It goes on..... Notice the Smily Faces. Not interested in making trouble...just observing. NB

He asked you to comment on YOUR OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCES there...sounds like you're a typical keyboard jockey who just wants to stir the pot. Give it up...

[canoe]

Good morning no bozo I actually do have a great sense of humor but not knowing me there's no way you would know that. You're right I do get a little defensive especially when it comes to people making false accusations regarding my business my employees and/or myself.

I can also tell you I am none of those other people that you think I am, Benz guy or Castle View, I am canoe. I know you may not believe me but I have no reason to lie and I give the webmaster full authority to tell you that I am neither one of those two people. I will guarantee you with the utmost certainty and if you find different you may have the keys to all of my business or I will close them down.

[VitaBene]

Originally Posted by canoe

Good morning no bozo I actually do have a great sense of humor but not knowing me there's no way you would know that. You're right I do get a little defensive especially when it comes to people making false accusations regarding my business my employees and/or myself.

I can also tell you I am none of those other people that you think I am, Benz guy or Castle View, I am canoe. I know you may not believe me but I have no reason to lie and I give the webmaster full authority to tell you that I am neither one of those two people. I will guarantee you with the utmost certainty and if you find different you may have the keys to all of my business or I will close them down.

Enough said! Thanks Scott and keep up the great work!

[Resident 2B]

Originally Posted by canoe

Good afternoon,

I want to thank everyone for all there post and to those who continually support us, we greatly appreciate the time you take to post on the forum. We value everyone's input good and not so good.

I do have an issue with MR. No Bozo, again you have made accusations that are slanderous and false, some of which have been removed from this forum by the webmaster. If you can please tell me where the sign in the restaurant states and I quote your post-

"Sign In the Restaurant Lobby...
Misbehaved Children will removed from their parents custody.. and SOLD as Slaves. NB

let me show you what is at the front desk:

Dear Customers and Staff

House Policy Concerning Children 12 &
under.

Canoe has and will always welcome children
Of all ages. We have 5 different dining rooms
accommodating 200 guests. We do however
Reserve one dining room (Canoe) for adults
only, 50 of our 200 seats.

This is our one and only policy that concerns
children. Thank you for understanding.

We hope you enjoy your dining experience.

Sincerely,



Scott Ouellette
Owner/Chef

Again I appreciate everyone's opinion on our policy, I realize some of you agree and some don't, that's what makes everyone different and the world go around..... we try our hardest to please everyone we can. Thank you and have a great rest of the summer.

For the record Scott, you did nothing to try to please me. You clearly treated us like crap.

Please explian how a two-foot diameter raised cocktail table is a reasonable dining table for a party of six people who made reservations for dinner on a Saturday night at lease four days ahead of the "dinner". Ages at the time were 53, 42, 18, 16, 14 and 8. Never a question about ages of the people in the party at the time the reservation was accepted. In all fairness, I could be a year off on the ages, but that is immaterial.

Also, please explain how you or your staff tried to please us when I professionally complained about the verbal filth coming from the mouths of the intoxicated males who were five feet or so away from our dinner party at this mini dining table. I was clearly told "if we did not like it, we could leave." Is that what you refer to as trying to please us? The only people you were trying to please that evening were the men over consumming at your bar. Isn't that a high profit area in your business?

Never tell me you do your hardest to please everyone you can. That is pure crap. You have known of my situation for 12 years and you have never accepted responsibility, have you? You just fluff it off. I have zero respect for you or for any of your businesses. You are a smoke-and-mirrors kind of guy and the public is now seeing through it. You let kids into the better dining areas only when you are not busy. Otherwise, families get treated like crap.

Putting a family with children at a cocktail table five feet from your bar for dinner. Really?

I await your response.

Thanks!

R2B

[KTO]

Resident 2B -

I'm not sure I understand. Were you treated unfairly at this establishment? I don't believe your multiple posts on the topic were clear. Six more posts on the matter might clear it up.

You've made your point. Stop being a crazy ex-girlfriend and actually further a conversation.

[longislander]

The wife and I frequent Canoe and "like" and appreciate the recognition of "no kids" in certain areas of the restaurant.

The wife and I were once "kids" (amazingly) and were brought-up with an old adage of "kids should be seen, not heard"; not the norm in today's society ... for better or worse!

Kudos to Canoe for understanding its paying clientele!


http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/tex...z/-/index.html

[Shreddy]

I love Canoe and their policies. Food is great, I personally haven't had bad service, the ambiance is nice, I feel you get what you pay for.

With that said, all these people GRIPING about the kids policy need to relax. Adults with kids complaining about the "kids policy" is like me going to McDonald's with a play place COMPLAINING about why they allow kids. Canoe is a high end restaurant geared towards adults enjoying themselves for a nice romantic dinner. McDonald's is geared toward low end, fast food, and keeping kids happy. Get over it, cry about it, clearly the policies aren't going to change as the owner has voice his acknowledgement.

Resident2B - he owes you no response. Give it up, you're making a fool of yourself by taking your personal agenda against their policy public. If you were that upset about your situation you should be addressing your issue privately. If nothing less, your experience has assured me that I want to go back and their policy works.

[jrc]

Originally Posted by longislander

...
Kudos to Canoe for understanding its paying clientele!
...

It's his business, he obviously thinks that the few people turned off by the policy will be replaced by more people who like the policy. Since he seems to be successful, he must be right. Ultimately in business the market is the judge, people vote with their pocketbooks.

Too bad more issues weren't solved this way.

[brk-lnt]

Originally Posted by Resident 2B

veryone you can. That is pure crap. You have known of my situation for 12 years and you have never accepted responsibility, have you? You just fluff it off.

Dude... After 12 years, you're probably the only one with any recollection of this. Maybe it was an off night, maybe he hated your shirt and wanted to single you out. Who knows? But at this point it's probably time to move on. If Canoe was truly that terrible, they'd likely have gone out of business by now.