Ebenezer Ale House

4348 Seneca Street, West Seneca


Ohh! A new place to check out!

After being recommended by two co-workers, the gf and I took a journey (around the block from her house) to the newly reopened Ebenezer Ale House. I had high hopes for this place as I was told the food was really good and it was a block away from where she lives which would make a perfect spot to visit frequently.

For a night that had a sabre's game, the parking lot had many cars but the inside had less people than expected. Inside a few people were seated at the bar, a few small groups at tables. There were two, maybe three, members of the waitstaff floating around the room.

We sat ourselves (at direction of the sign at the entrance) and were greeted by the server. She left us to look over the menu and tap list...and disappeared. A second server then came over to take drink orders about 10 minutes later. (Where'd the first one go?!) She took our selections and came back a few minutes later, with drinks, to take our dinner orders. No appetizers today, just dinner. The GF ordered the crab cake po-boy added a side of macaroni (no substitutions for the chips, $1.49 extra- so be it), while I ordered the "Flying Bison Aviator Red Battered Fish Fry." Off she goes, and like a boomerang...right back. They're out of fish fry. All good- it's still a new restaurant (only open 2 months or so?) so I'll let it slide...all places run out of everything at one point or another. Looking over the menu again, now hurried...the first waitress appears. Now there are two at the table, which creates some confusion. I reverted to my second choice (which I debated about for a few minutes initially) and selected the Ale House burger medium rare, add a side of broccoli (for $1.49..) since they wouldn't substitute.

And we wait...

and wait....

and wait...

and wait...

Eventually 40 minutes pass and food arrives. What happened between orders and food? I don't know, but it certainly wasn't busy in the restaurant to warrant that length of time. I'm not a chef, but getting a burger and a po-boy sandwich out of the kitchen is a 20 minute ordeal, especially on a "slow" night. Burger comes with the broccoli, as expected. No fries. Her first bite yields a "Is that shrimp!?!" Luckily, the waitress happened to stop back (which was good because they were otherwise not very attentive) and she apologized and took the plate back. I was a few bites into my burger (described on the menu as a 10oz burger, with stout caramelized onions, mushrooms, bacon, and cheddar), expecting copious amounts of stout-sauteed onions. With none noted, I pop the top, poke around a bit and see mushrooms with cheddar. Mushrooms? I don't have anything against mushrooms, in fact I like them on a burger. I was expecting more emphasis on the onions. If you're going to call something the "Ale House Burger" with emphasis on the stout caramelized onions, shouldn't they be there? And as another note....where's the bacon? It wasn't until I reviewed the menu online while writing this that I saw any mention of bacon. (Recall I made the decision rather quickly with two servers waiting for my selection)

In summary, what I did get: A medium well burger (not medium rare), with cheddar (as expected), mushroom (not expected, but correctly there), no onions? (they're supposed to be there, but I didn't taste any caramelized onions, no bacon (wasn't expecting it though). hmm...I feel a philosophical question arising: If bacon is missing, but wasn't expected, is it really missing then?
Yes, I argue. Bacon is important.
No chips (where'd they go!?), broccoli (as expected). Now...if you won't let me substitute, why would you take away the chips? If I could substitute, why would you charge me for the broccoli? I'm confused. Another note on the broccoli.... using frozen broccoli and then microwaving the crap out of it and throwing salt on it doesn't count as a side dish. Sorry. Either bury the freezer broccoli in cheese to mask the limpness or use fresh broccoli, steamed, with a dash of salt.

Now, I'll give the waitress credit for coming back and saying that it was her fault (not pushing blame on the kitchen, which is easy to do) and that she entered in the shrimp po-boy accidentally. The corrected sandwich came out in about 10 minutes, just as I was finishing (how was it that much faster than before?) and she had finished her mac & cheese side.

As for the food: Most everything I was served was pretty good, except for the broccoli....and if you change the "Ale House Burger" to "Mushroom Cheddar Burger." The mac and cheese was flavorful and cheesy, pasta wasn't soggy. The po-boy was nice and crispy on the outside, bread fresh, remoulade was nicely spicy. The chips with the po-boy were home made and nice and crispy- the way chipped fries should be. The burger was large and tasty, with fresh lettuce, tomato, and onion.

Besides the misstep with the food, the entire ordeal could have been redeemed quickly by the waitress. Comping the side dishes or a pint would have probably salvaged the evening. Being a newly opened place, I'm trying to cut them some room to get their feet under them. Now, as a general rule I don't ask for things to be removed (except when there in obvious error) or for free handouts. Let the chips fall where they may. She flopped- nothing removed. The mac & cheese side, initially described as $1.49, became $2.49. The [awful excuse for] broccoli was tagged at $1.49, but the chips were gone. Paying was another exercise involving more waiting...and waiting. We didn't approach 30 minutes, but they could speed things up greatly.

Overall, I tried to like this place. The restaurant business is very competitive and it's easy to see why some places fail. The service was a mess. The missteps that occurred could have been somewhat cleared up with a $4 pint. Getting orders in and out correctly is essential to the success of the restaurant. I was tempted to leave a list of everything on the back of the tab, in hopes that maybe some of it would be put to use. The potential is there but will have numerous hurtles for Ebenezer's Ale House to overcome to succeed.

Score: nom nom (get it together! and some new broccoli!)

PS: In the mass chaos of the food mistakes coming/going, I didn't get to take a picture. Just picture crappy broccoli and a decent burger. Sorry fans of the pictures...