Tilghman Island Inn - Don't eat there!
 

My husband and I just got back from a long weekend at Tilghman Island/St. Michaels. Our dinner on Sunday night at the Tilghman Island Inn was the worst dining experience we have ever had! And we eat out a lot!

The service was horrible! The bus girl felt compelled to launch into a long story of how tired she was due to high school starting and her staying out too late. The waitress completely ignored us - water glasses were long empty and we were pouring our own wine.

The "house specialty" appetizer of black eyed pea balls were aweful - dry and tasteless. But.. we didn't bother to say anything. Our salads were fine. My husbands dinner was luke warm. The shrimp bisque I ordered was covered with a film indicating it was sitting a little too long and it was complete inedible - WAY too salty. We waited and waited for the waitress to come by so we could tell her about the soup but she never did. So... we told the tired bus girl. She asked the name of our waitress so she could tell her about the soup. We said we didn't know her name. She asked if she was the "thin waitress". We said no. Not the most professional way to identify people but whatever. Fifteen minutes later the waitress appeared and was extremely rude about the soup. So, I decided to tell her how disappointed we were with the service - we were ignored, pouring our own wine, out of water, etc. She made an excuse about being busy with another table and then said "I heard you made a comment about my weight." We were shocked! Then she yelled "if you're not happy with the service, you don't have to tip me" and marched away. She went into the kitchen area where we could hear her telling the kitchen/wait staff about us. Needless to say... we didn't tip her.

On the way out, we mentioned the situation to the owner. He was too drunk and self absorbed to care.

This is a restaurant where the average entree price is $25-$30. Word of warning - if you want good food and a pleasant dining experience, do not eat at the Tilghman Island Inn!!!

Where is that supposed to be? What state? which city? In the U.S. or in Canada? Details, details.

sorry you had such a disappointing experience. i would have expected better too.

did you enjoy the rest of your time in the area? the weather was beautiful.

easywalker--tilghman island is on the eastern shore of maryland.

I think this experience calls for another attempt to speak with the owner, preferably when he's sober. If you do that and still get no satisfaction, I will join your boycott during my upcoming travels through that area.

p.s. to Chamounix: This is from the Inn's web page. I thought it might amuse you.

<<Dining
Dining. Ah, dining. Where do we begin? The usual descriptors just seem to ring hollow when applied to the dining experience here at the Tilghman Island Inn. >>

Tilghman Island is on the Eastern shore of MD - I guess I should have mentioned that - thanks lolfn!

To Hop along - That description from the website was too funny! Thanks for passing it along.

The morning after our dinner, we were telling our story to the people at our B&B. The owner said she always advises people not to eat at the Tilghman Island Inn - unfortunately we didn't talk to her prior to going. And then she added, "I hope you didn't order their house specialty - that horrible, dry, black eyed pea appetizer that they should have taken off the menu years ago." I just laughed because we did!

I would have become greatly concerned about the quality of the establishment AND the food when I saw typos on the menu (gargonzola?!? "steak butter"?? capponnat??):

"Angus with Gargonzola steak butter, potatoes Anna & caponnat"

Equally repulsive is this (what the heck is "carbernet"? And if it was cabernet, to mix it with mint???? Ick!):

"Roasted rack of lamb with new potatoes, garden vegetables & carbernet-mint demi"

oops... my apologies for mis-spelling the mis-spelling (caponnat)!