Dish Bar & Grill

Service was slow. They ran out of turkey and 3 at table ordered turkey burgers. Food took 45 minutes to come out.

Mentioned we were coming from the theater (Bushnell) and received 20% discount off bill. Definitely will have to come back next time.

This was an unpleasant experience.
1. Asked three times to tap off water
2. Asked twice for straw
3. Burger not cooked as ordered
4. Fries came way after burger, couldn’t eat fries, had to go back to work

We've been to Dish a few times recently, and we've enjoyed it. We had tickets to a play on Saturday, and when I went to make a reservation, it appeared a lot of Downtown Hartford restaurants were not available. As it turns out, in addition to the local theater crowd, there was a concert at the XL Center.

Long-story short: While we've had some good meals at Dish, service can be spotty. If the restaurant knew of the concert - and it should have -- it really didn't have enough wait staff scheduled. The staff who was there was working hard and doing a good job, but they're clearly not set up to be full and slammed. (At 6 p.m. or 6:15, they usually have A LOT of room available.)

Anyway... knowing it may be a while, we ordered an appetizer. Unfortunately, it came with the meal - about 45 minutes after ordering! I understand how it happened. (After we ordered, I walked up to the waitress - while she was putting it in the computer -- to say we would have an appetizer in addition to our order. They apologized and took care of it.)

When it came, the food was very good. The hot food was hot. The food was presented nicely. The brussels sprouts in particular were crispy and delicious.

It was very busy but food came out hot and not too long of a wait. I loved the salmon over crunchy rice and my husband loved his pork schnitzel.

There was a staff shortage so I can’t blame our waitress for that but it took 45 minutes to get an espresso martini and another 45 to get a bottle of Bud light. Food was good. We won’t be back.

Worst service I have ever had. Were there nearly 2 hours. First drinks didn’t come for over 25 minutes. Ordered a 2nd round and it never came even though we asked 3 times.

It was the biggest train wreck of a restaurant experience I have ever seen. Not sure how this place stays in business.

AWFUL

Very unorganized - waiters had no idea where food was going. Table of 4 - 2 served dinners while other 2 waited 30 minutes for dinners. They apologized and said were very busy due to concert. When we arrived the place was empty no reason for this. The food was not good.

The food was very good but service was poor. I don’t think they had enough staff for the very busy Saturday night dinner crowd before a concert. Our server was just spread to thin. I think management needs to figure out staffing.

I made reservations 2 weeks before my birthday. I called a few days before my birthday to confirm. The lady called me a day before my birthday to confirm if I was coming. On my actual birthday, when I showed up they were just setting up the table. We had to wait! I had a party of 19 and most of my guests were there or parking because they don’t have parking. This lady had the audacity to ask me if I’m sure all 19 people are coming. My table should have been there waiting for me because the restaurant was pretty much empty. My reservation was at 9 and the restaurant closes at 10. There was no one there eating. I only saw two men at the bar and I had to wait on my table. I’ve made reservations elsewhere and they had my table waiting for us. I even called a restaurant last minute for my husband’s birthday dinner once and they had the table waiting for us, a large party. They need to be more organized. Our waiter Mike was amazing and the food was good. The only thing that made me angry was waiting for my table. I would never make a reservation here again, if I do feel like eating here, I would not bring a large party and I would just walk in.

Great brunch food. However, menu was not the same as here on line. Space itself needs a bit of sprucing up. And while host was helpful, server was more than laid back — almost disinterested. Young person who brought out food was very sweet and upbeat. But, again, terrific and plentiful brunch plates.

We love this place, however this time, the service was terrible. We were seated by the host into a mostly empty restaurant and waited 10 mins for water and menus. Then, we waited a very long time for the waitress to return and take our order. The food came out in 3 different waves, kinda of weird because there was only 3 of us. On wave 1, one person got all their food, another got half and the 3rd got none. On phase 2, the second person got the rest of their food and the 3rd person still waited. On wave 3 the 3rd person got their steak but no steak knife. It took another 5 full minutes to get the knife straightened out. The ending was just as awkward. it was painful to wrap up the check and get boxes for leftovers. Just seemed very unprofessional and disorganized. We expect more from a place like this. They really need to step it up to be a classy downtown establishment. But the food is good.

Excellent meal! There were four of us and we all had something different for our main course. We did start off with oysters which were delicious! Everyone’s meals were exactly as ordered from the filet to tuna. Side dishes were great and a couple of us shared the creme brûlée. Delish! We moved to TX from CT but try to get to Dish whenever we visit.

We love Dish! We start with a drink at the bar because we love the bartenders. Then we head into the dining room. I had the most delicious Vegan bowl and my husband had the Ricotta Pie - one of his favorites. The service was, as always, excellent. We usually dine there before a Hartford Stage performance, and I would go more frequently if we lived closer.

I have taken my daughter-in-law to Dish for the past several years when we attend Hartford Stage. We really appreciate the discount but have been finding the menu boring. We wish we could get the bar menu in the dining room. Service is always good, however.

nice place to grab dinner, dishes were a little inconsistent and service was just satisfactory

Great service by Jenna! Would recommend to anyone looking for good food and service.

Manager is awesome.

most of the items here had the score brought down due to the service. We were a noon reservation on 8/14. The gentleman who served us opened up with an inappropriate comment to one of our summer student we were treating to their last day lunch. He then barely checked on us throughout the lunch. When we questioned him at the end about our meals, specifically the BAP burger he could not confirm for us what the A stood for. We assumed it was avocado since the description in the menu advised that but we did not notice any avocado on the burger. What should have been a pleasant sendoff for our summer student ended up being tarnished by this individuals actions. I do not believe i will be treating any further student to eat here again.

Thanks for a lovely family celebration for our Anniversary! Everything thing was wonderful.

Dish was recommended by a colleague who lives in Hartford . (My daughter and I were there for the day, to watch an afternoon ball game a few blocks away). It was a wonderful time: quiet, excellent food and coffee, very nice table, and great service. Great place for Sunday brunch!!

Food was overall good, 3 of the 4 of us got salads and were happy with them. I however ordered the short rib meat loaf and it was way overdone, dry as anything. Service was good, not great but adequate.

Great food, very friendly and knowledgable waitress. Would definitely go back and highly recommend😊

Our lunch was served fast and delicious. The staff was attentive and friendly. It was a wonderful experience. Thanks!

Very slow to seat us even though it was not crowded at all. Slow service for dinner/drinks. Food ok but not what it used to be. Not the restaurant it used to be and no valet service so parking cost $15. Overall not a good choice for the evening

Host did not check off our Open Table reservation so no credit was received for that. Really slow service even though only one other table had guests. Those guests were offered complimentary take-home cookies. We were not. Took 40 minutes from our arrival until we finally were served the appetizer. Main course veggies were good, but the steak had far too much fat to make it enjoyable. Eventually, a check was presented. We were automatically charged 20% tip which was not what we would have paid, given the extremely slow service that was provided. A lesser tip would have been more appropriate, considering that service was not as anticipated. Not likely we will return to this establishment.

We were seated on time, given menus, and ignored for the next 40 minutes. This gave us the opportunity to see that the menu was not particularly interesting or creative. When we finally got the attention of a staff member, we asked whether they'd be able to serve us in time for us to make it to the theater by curtain time, and were informed that they would not. No offer of free drinks or appetizers, no suggestion as to where else we might be able to eat quickly in the neighborhood (we asked), no coupon for a return visit. Very disappointing.

Used to love going to Dish. Unfortunately this was the second time in the last three months it took nearly an hour to be served. We waited over 40 minutes to get a glass of wine. Not sure if they were short staffed in the kitchen, but it’s not likely I’ll be returning anytime soon. I hope they workout their issues.

Had a 530 reservation for 8 ppl on a Saturday night. The beers were flat, service was extremely poor, took 20-25 min for drinks to come to the table, no silverware napkins or side plates were brought to the table when the two extremely greasy apps (cheese curds and tator tot nachos) were delivered. By 645 our dinner had still not come out, so we left. When we walked through the dining room to use the restroom we noticed most tables also had no food. Possibly a kitchen wait, but unacceptable to not have drinks. Awful experience, will not be back.

Our server Emily made our experience wonderful! We loved the atmosphere of the restaurant and the food was excellent. We had a Groupon and had a cold seafood platter to start and a 16oz steak. Would highly recommend!

We used a Groupon for a steak and seafood tower. It was great. All the food was delicious as was the customer service. Would definitely recommend.

Sat at our table for 10 minutes before getting approached by a server. Then 5 minutes later we still had no drinks. We got up and left. The place wasn’t even busy. Terrible experience.

If someone is having a burger, they should be offered ketchup. I waited tables for 6 years. This is common sense. Other than that, the service was excellent.

Food is often served room temperature or cold. This is a drawback. Close to Hartford Stage is a plus, and the food is good, even if it is not always hot. Service can be good to indifferent, depends on the server. Hosts are a problem. Even with a reservation, they often seem flustered and ill-prepared.

I eat at Dish often, mostly for business lunches. This time I tried Sunday Brunch. The food is consistently delicious. The service was great but we noticed a 20% tip was added to our bill. We had a coupon and no where did it allow for the waitstaff adding their own tip. We usually tip well, but since she set the amount that she felt she was entitled to, that's what we left. MANAGEMENT PAY ATTENTION!

Always quality food but for this lunch they were very slow. Over an hour to get our food

I hate leaving these kind of comments. Our food was wrong. We didn't get what we ordered. I am only going to go back because the waitress we had was amazing. The fact that we didn't get what we ordered but the waitress was amazing is the reason I'll go back states alot! She deserves a raise for at least trying to make up for the fact that our food was wrong. Most places would just say sorry and keep going. We weren't going to order desert but she offered to pay for a desert. That says alot about this waitress!!!

Food was cool. Service staff tried to help and very pleasant but can’t make up for food that is not hot. Slow night but that seemed to compound everything as it took a long time.

Our server was fantastic as was the food. Very good experience

Dish's food, service and ambience are excellent. Their menu is a bit limited in its variety and the evening we went there were no specials. We have also gone to Dish and sat at the bar. It's a more casual experience but just as enjoyable.