Cove

User Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

I first learned of The Cove while on a bicycle ride through Lancaster County. It's located directly on the Conestoga Creek, and has a very nice outdoor deck/patio with a scenic view of the river. My wife and I visited on a lazy Friday evening - the place was packed; we were told that it would be 90 minutes until we could get an outside table (they do accept reservations, but I didn't think to call). We waited at the outdoor bar, and, about 45 minutes later, we were seated. The menu consists of standard (though pricey) bar fare. An eight ounce cheese burger with fries cost $12.99 (which, by Lancaster County standards, is high). My spouse ordered scallops with bacon, which she enjoyed. The burger I had was nicely prepared.

The attitude of the staff, management, and owner was pretentious (please, we're not in NYC). The outside manager was "appalled" that we didn't have reservations, and instead of putting our name "on the list", told us to "remind him" that we wanted a table when we saw him walking around. There were many empty tables the entire time we were seated at the bar, waiting. I'm not sure if this is a marketing ploy, or they're that disorganized; it's unacceptable in either case.

While seated at the bar, our drink service was speedy and our orders were correct. Once we were seated, our bar-wait service was quite poor; despite specifically ordering Tanqueray on ice (twice), a lesser grade of house gin was used, instead. The "technique" of billing patrons for top-shelf liquors and substituting house-brands is not uncommon, but, I expect better at (relatively expensive) places like The Cove.

Would we go back? When and if the restaurant is sold, and not a day before.

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