Lyons Den

[baygo]

Originally Posted by JanN

First time I ever heard restaurants telling customers they had to finish in a certain time. Not sure I would frequent restaurants with this policy. A disturbing policy if this is a new trend.

How about this scenario; A restaurant gets a call on Wednesday for a table at 7 o'clock Saturday night. The restaurant pencils in the reservation. A customer without a reservation shows up as a walk-in at 6:15 on Saturday night. The only empty table in the house is the one being held for the people who reserved it at 7 PM. What would you suggest a restaurant and do?

[tis]

Baygo, that is a little different. If I couldn't be there on time, I would expect to be pushed a little. But if I had reservations and was on time, I would not want to be rushed through my meal. It seems to me that the amount of time most people spend in a restaurant depends on how quickly they are served. If they are done eating and just sitting there for a long time while people are waiting, that is a different story.

[SAMIAM]

Wow....that is a tough call. Either way, someone is going to be unhappy.
To make matters worse....if you turn down the walk-in customer, the reservation will probably show up half an hour late.
Not easy being a restaurant owner.

[TiltonBB]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

Wow....that is a tough call. Either way, someone is going to be unhappy.
To make matters worse....if you turn down the walk-in customer, the reservation will probably show up half an hour late.
Not easy being a restaurant owner.

In any business serving the public you will never keep 100% of your customers happy. But social media has made it easy to "out" any place that a customer has a problem with. Even if the customer is wrong, it is difficult for the owner or manager to engage in a public fight with a disgruntled patron.

According to CNBC: 60% of new restaurants fail within their first year. 80% fail within the first five years.

Yes, it is a difficult business, but some local places still manage to do it very well. You know who you are!

[Phantom]

I am happy to see that Lauren has stayed out of this debate (and I know that she watches this forum) unlike other Establishment owners who only dug themselves deeper by making comments. A great tactic in "Letting your reputation speak for you"

As TiltonBB says, " you will never keep 100% of your customers happy" but for the other 99% of us ...... Lauren & Roland had their early years rough patch (primarily just getting the word out that they existed) but have now firmly established one of the Lakes Regions finer and consistent dining establishments for which, at least I, will continue to support strongly & introduce new people to this great dining experience.


.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Phantom

I am happy to see that Lauren has stayed out of this debate (and I know that she watches this forum) unlike other Establishment owners who only dug themselves deeper by making comments. A great tactic in "Letting your reputation speak for you"

As TiltonBB says, " you will never keep 100% of your customers happy" but for the other 99% of us ...... Lauren & Roland had their early years rough patch (primarily just getting the word out that they existed) but have now firmly established one of the Lakes Regions finer and consistent dining establishments for which, at least I, will continue to support strongly & introduce new people to this great dining experience.


.

Well said!

Dan

[GBGX2]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Well said!

Dan

We really enjoy both the bar staff and the food here...always very consistent and a very warm environment anytime of the year !

[Airedale1]

We have never had a bad meal there. We love the Lyons Den! Great food, views and service. They have the best onion soup I have ever had!

[Resident 2B]

My wife and I have dined numerous times at Lyon's Den over the years. We have always enjoyed the complete dining experience. We like other restaurants in the area, but Lyon's Den is our favorite, by far.

Thank you Lyons' family and everyone that has worked there for making this such a special place.

R2B

[Barney Bear]

We had our usual wonderful dining experience yesterday while celebrating my brother's wedding anniversary at the Lyons Den. Both my brother and his wife chose the duck recommended by Slickcraft in post #53 above. They heartily concurred! A fantastic time was had by all. 🐻

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by Barney Bear

We had our usual wonderful dining experience yesterday while celebrating my brother's wedding anniversary at the Lyons Den. Both my brother and his wife chose the duck recommended by Slickcraft in post #53 above. They heartily concurred! A fantastic time was had by all. 🐻

We have our reservation for Saturday dinner, 40th anniversary. Duck it will be.

[Woody38]

My wife and I had a fantastic late lunch, early bird or early dinner today. Fabulous as usual with fresh tasty food done right and very pleasant staff.
Lauren is a nice person. Homemade sour cream and coleslaw.

I am a retired workaholic and continuing aquaholic.

[Sully]

My wife and I dined at the Lyon's Den last night with two of our close friends. Although we are all Lakes Region long timers, none of us had ever tried the Lyon's Den. It was forum reviews that influenced us to try it out. I am representing both couples as I share our thoughts with regard to reception, ambiance, service, food quality, and general appreciation for our patronage.
It sucked. Just a bit better than the New Woodshed.

[ACME on the Broads]

My wife and I also dined at the Lyon's Den recently and while the food was good, the service friendly(main courses took forever to come out of the kitchen on a not so busy night) portion size was only fair to light and it's highly unlikely we will return.

Other than a good view, not sure how they compare all around the LR but we have tried the Woodshed 3 xs this year and like Sully, would agree, both are only average at best. BTW, after paying the bill, no one ever came and thanked us for our business or inquired if we enjoyed our meals, common theme?

To each their own but, certainly there are far better restaurant choices around the lake.

[rsmlp]

Went Saturday night and was disappointing. First time in four visits this summer that it was underwhelming. Service was literally rude and food sub par.
I'll call it a one off for now...

[joey2665]

Originally Posted by ACME on the Broads

My wife and I also dined at the Lyon's Den recently and while the food was good, the service friendly(main courses took forever to come out of the kitchen on a not so busy night) portion size was only fair to light and it's highly unlikely we will return.

Other than a good view, not sure how they compare all around the LR but we have tried the Woodshed 3 xs this year and like Sully, would agree, both are only average at best. BTW, after paying the bill, no one ever came and thanked us for our business or inquired if we enjoyed our meals, common theme?

To each their own but, certainly there are far better restaurant choices around the lake.

I agree, the atmosphere and service are excellent but I find the food average and the portions small. However I will give it one more chance because many have said the duck is excellent and I love duck so I will give it a try.

[Sully]

Where is ACME on the Broads?

[ACME on the Broads]

On Winnipesaukee, go North, you'll find it!

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by tis

Baygo, that is a little different. If I couldn't be there on time, I would expect to be pushed a little. But if I had reservations and was on time, I would not want to be rushed through my meal. It seems to me that the amount of time most people spend in a restaurant depends on how quickly they are served. If they are done eating and just sitting there for a long time while people are waiting, that is a different story.

tis, nobody with reservations has been told they have to move quickly--here nor (as best I saw) on the Canoe thread. The only people being asked to eat in a time span are those without reservations coming in to a restaurant where the only open tables are those that have upcoming reservations.

I don't get the big fuss here--as we all know, most (if not all) restaurants in the Lakes Region need to make as much money as possible during the season in order to make it through the winter. I, as mentioned in the Canoe thread, am glad restaurants decide to give patrons the option to eat in that time frame rather than turn them away completely.

PS As above, the Canoe, and Bob Shed threads show, even though it should be a win-win, it's really a lose-lose.

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[tis]

tis, nobody with reservations has been told they have to move quickly--here nor (as best I saw) on the Canoe thread. The only people being asked to eat in a time span are those without reservations coming in to a restaurant where the only open tables are those that have upcoming reservations.

I don't get the big fuss here--as we all know, most (if not all) restaurants in the Lakes Region need to make as much money as possible during the season in or


Think,

My friends DID have reservations at Lyon's Den and were told they had to move quickly because somebody else was coming in after them, also with reservations.

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by tis

Think,

My friends DID have reservations at Lyon's Den and were told they had to move quickly because somebody else was coming in after them, also with reservations.

Ah, I didn't see that (I reread all the comments in this thread, but maybe I missed it)--I agree that wouldn't be right.


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[hd333]

Originally Posted by baygo

How about this scenario; A restaurant gets a call on Wednesday for a table at 7 o'clock Saturday night. The restaurant pencils in the reservation. A customer without a reservation shows up as a walk-in at 6:15 on Saturday night. The only empty table in the house is the one being held for the people who reserved it at 7 PM. What would you suggest a restaurant and do?

Very easy.

Host/Hostess is honest with the customer.

Tell them the open table has a party coming in at 7:00 and if they would like the table they need to be out by 7 and that you will do everything in your power to expedite their food coming out. Let the customer decide if they simply want to eat or if they wanted to be there for a while.

Don't say you can have the table but you have to eat fast, give them some background.


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[FlyingScot]

Originally Posted by hd333

Very easy.

Host/Hostess is honest with the customer.

Tell them the open table has a party coming in at 7:00 and if they would like the table they need to be out by 7 and that you will do everything in your power to expedite their food coming out. Let the customer decide if they simply want to eat or if they wanted to be there for a while.

Don't say you can have the table but you have to eat fast, give them some background.


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I agree it's easy if the host is honest and smiles. But I think 45 mins is too tight, so I'd tell the 6pm arrivals that I'm sorry but that table is reserved, and I'd give them a business card with a phone number so that next time they can call.

This situation is very different than the complaints above

[Biggd]

I'm sure we all have restaurant horror stories. My wife and I always loved Frattello's but we walked in there one night and was told there was and 1 1/2 hour wait. No problem, we put our name in and went for a nice walk down by the lake as it was a nice night. 1 1/2 hours later they sat us, the waiter came over and told us that the kitchen was extremely backed up and we probably wouldn't see our meal for over an hour. If we had been told that in the first place we never would have waited. Now it's 830 pm and we are not going to see our meal until 930 pm at the earliest? Not acceptable behavior!
We left and went to Patrick's and have never been back. That was 2 years ago. They may not need my business but I also don't need their food.

[Doobs41378]

Originally Posted by PeterG

I agree it's easy if the host is honest and smiles. But I think 45 mins is too tight, so I'd tell the 6pm arrivals that I'm sorry but that table is reserved, and I'd give them a business card with a phone number so that next time they can call.

This situation is very different than the complaints above

But if others did not think 45 minutes was too tight ( if the kitchen worked with them ) then why not let the customer decide? I am sure the owner and wait staff would appreciate the business if the customer was ok with it.