The Griswold Inn

An amazing spot! Food and ambiance was amazing! Unfortunately our service was most lacking! Drinks were served at nearly the end of our meal. This was after we reminded the staff we had asked for it. It was a week day and there were plenty of staff to be attentive. Disappointing for such a magical venue.

We enjoyed the fabulous Thanksgiving buffet!! All of the food was delicious and the atmosphere was was perfect!!! The one drawback was the food was not warm enough could have been hotter. We were seated in the Tap Room and next time we would request the main dining room

Website says they are open all day but they have some timetable between lunch and dinner where only the small bar area is available for seating on first come first serve basis...while the dining rooms are empty? Drive a way to get there and couldn't even find standing room. I know should have called first. Ended up having late lunch at Black Seal down the road. Good food, nice place, excellent service.

Buyer beware when booking a suite. The website says suites come with claw foot tubs, but it turns out only SOME of them do. They don't specify on the website which ones do and don't. The reason I booked the suite was specifically for that reason. So I basically paid $400 for one night for a "suite" that wasn't really a suite. I even emailed them after booking asking for more pictures of my specific room so I could put them in a birthday card (as the room was a gift) and they told me to refer to the website. This feels very scammy and as a result I will absolutely not be staying here again. Aside from that, the champagne glasses I asked to be left in the room were not clean. There was lipstick on one of them. We just washed them and used them but I was shocked because it seems like such a reputable place to stay. This didn't bother us because we don't do much TV, but FYI there are no TVs in the rooms. If someone is traveling with kids this may be a problem. The restaurant itself is wonderful. The food is excellent and the entertainment in the Tavern was absolutely amazing. The location is also very cool because Essex is a great place to walk around, popping in and out of the stores. So much history here.

Was there on December 11, 2025. The service was terrible. The drinks were made wrong 3 times for our table and once the drink was not even what we ordered. The salmon was overdone one dinner was requested to have squash it did not come on the plate and was never delivered to the table. After a wine spill we requested some club soda we were givin plain water. After a request for some extra dinner napkins they brought cocktail napkins. We have been here several times in the past but never had an experience like this. This was our last time

First and foremost, I worked in the service industry when I was a student for many years as a waiter and bartender. I understand what it is like to deal with every kind of customer and that you need to smile even if you are having a horrible day. I am always respectful to people who work in the service industry. Also, please note that the majority of my reviews are four and five stars. Take a look! I live in New York City and I dine out frequently (all over the world). I was home in Connecticut for the Christmas holiday week. Since my family hosts, I always treat them to a nice lunch. I made a reservation for Monday December 22nd at 2 p.m. The person I made arrangements with was very professional and pleasant on the phone. She told me I lucked out with a reservation because that week is so busy. I was grateful because my family loves this establishment! Unfortunately it was all downhill from there. There are several rooms in this restaurant. The bar area was half full on that day. The lovely large dining room -- complete with a cozy fireplace -- had four occupied tables (see photo). I thought that was very odd but I loved the atmosphere because it really put me in the Christmas spirit. The server came over to our table. A "mature" woman with glasses and a bad attitude. Wow, I could not believe the way she spoke to us. As if we were a bother. She took our drink order and it took forever for the wine and beer to be served. Again, the place was almost empty (see photo). Our entrees were served luke warm. Again I was in shock because there were about fifteen customers in the large dining room. When we expressed an interest in coffee and dessert, you think we were asking for her first born child! Unbelievable bad attitude. When the bill came, I decided to leave a 20 % tip. Why? Because of the following: 1. It was Christmastime; 2. Catholic guilt; 3. I really felt sorry for the woman; and 4. If I did not leave a tip I was sure that she would cause a scene making our day even worse. By the way, there were a bunch of teenagers working in the dining room with no manager present at all. I hope this woman finds peace -- and perhaps another job not working with people --in 2026. I really do. NOTE TO MANAGEMENT: Please visit Capital Grill (Hartford/Stamford), Hillstone (any location), or Hudson Malone (Westport) to see how professional servers treat their customers: friendly, polite, and smiling with no attitude. Will not be returning. Do not recommend.

We had dinner last night. The food was good. The service was awful. The waiter did not know how to serve food, clear the table, or serve the wine. In addition, when we arrived we ordered drinks. Nothing arrived. Finally the waiter brought the food. I asked him where were the drinks. He said he was so sorry. He had forgotten about them . The service was so bad, it was almost funny, but not quite. The inn charges a lot for food. They should spend something on training its staff.

$25 dollars for famous fish chips was a sad story of three fish sticks sided by ordinary fries... Tourist trap rip.. known for this dish.. sadness really... No effort .. no pickle garnish to go with the plastic cup filled slaw👍

My wife and I have been coming here for the past 10 years as a date spot. The rooms are whimsical, and Jillian who works the front desk is wonderful. The food is decent, the menu changes with the seasons. However, the service is starting to fail. The girl who is supposed to be the hostess, Sofia, turns our stomachs. She dresses like if she is supposed to be working a gentleman sports bar, she swears like a sailor, and is always on her phone. Her attitude is disrespectful that it makes us uncomfortable and unhappy to have to go through that to just get to a table. We don't know why the nice girls working the front desk just do her job and save everyone the awkward interaction. Get ready to see how much grace has fallen from this historic place if you come to visit during the week. It's so disappointing.

Thanksgiving dinner at the iconic Griswold Inn. What could be more comforting? Turns out, just about anything. The best one word answer..Mess! Spaced two -hour -seatings didn't prevent a scrum of 100 people waiting a half hour for a reserved table. Random luck of the draw determined your table in the atmospheric grill room near the buffet or the too brightly lit new addition -a 3 room walk from the food. Shown to our table, the staff walked away and left us to fend for ourselves. It took 20 minutes just to flag down staff to fill water glasses and take drink orders. They could not have been more unhelpful. Since nobody approached us to welcome us or explain the buffet, we asked a frantic service person how it all worked and she said 'just go in the other room to get your food' The food. It's what the term 'meh' was meant to define. average to below average, and I think I'm being kind. All in all, a very disappointing evening. Very. To anyone like me, who thinks Thanksgiving at 'The Gris' would evoke New England Pilgrim charm, it's a real turkey.