Frustrating from the start. Parking meters ate my coins. Not the fault of La Veranda but when I told the lady at the front desk she told me, "Yeas, they do that." Nearly empty dining room just seemed barren. The waitress has this bizarre oral piercing that sort of put us off. There was also way too much playing with the long black hair. The wrong salad was delivered. Entrees were very nice. The Imperial Seafood Galette was amazing. The grilled halibut was in a pleasant sauce that did not overpower the fish.
Gayle Kane
Gorgeous Victorian building, incredible food and love that it's BYOB
Jen K.
Ok this place could be as great as the Ebbitt Room. It's in a great historic hotel near the beach. The food is pretty great. Menu is expected, but solid. The space is circa 1980's banquet hotel dining. Please add a giant velvet curtain between the side dining room and the giant space in the back. It would go a long way to reduce the outdated wedding hall vibe. Also, switch out the lighting, dump the white table cloths and weird outfits for your lovely servers and you could come a long way! Modern wood tables would be swell. Introduce a few twists in the menu away from the classics. You need to do something a little different to draw people to your end of town! Also consider getting an alcohol license and a few nights a week with live music. We are rooting for you La Verandah!
Valessa Rocke
Hidden gem- food was wonderful, as was presentation!
agata dowd
Would have given a 5 star rating because food presentation and taste was best I've had all week in Cape May but the only drawback was they need more staff. After appetizers they didn't bring our entrees out for quite some time until we asked where our food was. This was our first time at La Verandah and would love to come back because our meals were incredible. But guys please get more staff!! Also expresso was really so weak it didn't seem like expresso at all. All in all our meals were superb.
carriemichael1020
We stumbled across this restaurant and are so glad we did. The restaurant seats about 40 covers. Its attached to a lovely old hotel recently re done. We called in the morning on a Saturday and got a reservation for 630 that evening. Walk Ins are welcome. There is a veranda to sit outside and we opted to sit inside where it was cooler. This is a BYOB. The room is quite simple but elegant. The chef has some real talent. The rack of lamb was tremendous and for $31, a large quantity of lamb. The meat fell from the bones and it was perfectly seasoned. The only complaint on the dish was that the "straw pieces" were essestionally fried spaghetti and added nothing to the dish ( we strongly feel like every garnish should be edible and add to the dish) The duck was wonderful. Perfect preparation on the breast. A large serving size. A real delight. Only slights on this dish were that the vegetable form in the middle of the dish was under seasoned and there was a random garish of a sprig of rosemary that was unnecessary and inedible in its form. The deserts were divine. The flour-less chocolate cake was actually too large and would have benefited from some creme freche to lighten it a bit. More random garnishes (this time of mint) but truly delicious. This meal was fantastic and a relief from fried and battered shore food. The only thing keeping this from being a 5 star rating was that the servers seemed inexperienced with how to handle themselves in such an environment. Issues opening wine bottles, delays on attentiveness, and a lack of knowledge of the specifics of the dishes were serving all distracted from the overall experience HOWEVER this is a place where we will return and hope that others find their way to this gem
Jessica C.
My boyfriend and I came across this adorable hotel and restaurant while taking a bike ride along the streets of Cape May. However, upon arriving for dinner, I honestly thought I was on hidden camera. There were several red flags from the start, but I tried to give things a try. The atmosphere was lacking - to say the least. We were seated in a large room to the left of the main hallway and the room was partitioned off with a screen. The hotel and dining room were rather bare and while there were parties at other tables, I saw no one in the hotel lobby and the dining room was far from full. There are a few odd paintings on the wall, no flowers or music playing. Our tea light was not lit and when I looked around the room, I believe I only spotted one table with a flickering light. The two top next to us was set on a table cloth covered in red wine dribbles. When I mentioned this, the busgirl returned and took off the tablecloth exposing a piece of plywood and re-made the table. The waitstaff seemed to be running around unsure of what to do almost as though it were their first day on the job. We were greeted by the "manager" who started off stating they were very busy so she wanted to drop by and tell us the specials. These began with "the soup special is out" - mind you, we had a 7:00 pm reservation on a Saturday night. The next hour continues with one flub after another. Guests around us: requested a new/clean, wine glass, requested a clean spoon, were served a bottle of flat water, when they had ordered bubbly water, received an incorrect order, were missing parts of their order, were told about the soup special, which we were told was out. Did I say, there was absolutely no ambiance so the only thing we could do was talk quietly and watch around the room? The waitstaff had little to no experience, looked quite unkempt, and all in all were unable to manage the 1/2 full restaurant on a Saturday night in the summer. Based on the prices, this was not at all what I expected. After waiting over an hour, we received our Caesar salad, which we had requested split (it wasn't). Our appetizer never arrived and was never mentioned. The presentation of the salad was laughable. The dressing was pouring over the side of the plate and had soaked the manager's hand (who delivered the salad), and promptly placed it down and marched off. At that point, I have done something I have never before done, I got up, spoke briefly with the kind hostess and left.
Jayme P.
We were a party of 30+ people which they gave us a private room food. They placed ya in the back of a huge banquet room which was a little strange but we were able to all talk and move around and had a great waitstaff. They food game out timely and every order was correct. All the food was delicious and it's a BYOB which is nice as the dishes are a bit on the pricey side. They have many seafood options as well as pastas and meat options.
Tara Chiaravalloti
The food and service was incredible! An adorable byob with an interesting menu. I can't believe we hadn't tried this restaurant before this summer. We ordered the scallops and the ahi tuna appetizer specials and they were divine. I had the pasta special as a main course and my mm had the seafood gallette, delicious. I'm still dreaming about the flourless chocolate cake that we shared for dessert. Definitely one of the best dining experiences I've had in Cape May.
Jen Cleary
Was wonderful. Had the rack of lamb. Best I have had. Place was packed, and had one waitress, as others called off. She was spectacular. Did not miss a beat. Such a sweet spot to see a truly old Victorian style hotel.
Excellent service and great food! Highly recommend this place. The rack of lamb was delicious and perfectly prepared. The scollop app was generously portioned and very tasty, as were the steamed clams.
Maureen P.
When spending $30-$40 an entree, I expect a great atmosphere and very good if not excellent service. Not the case here. We were seated in a large room clearly used for big events where part of it was sectioned off by screens and was very barren and vacant looking. Our service was terrible. The waitress could barely read the specials - she even showed us the write up because she couldn't decipher it - put our opened red wine in the ice bucket and was all-around bad. So incredibly disappointed.
Gonders
We had a birthday dinner for 6 lifelong friends and their husbands. We worked with Dori to customize our experience. She was excellent to work with. She accomodated everything we needed, was very organized, professional, friendly, and worked very hard to make this a memorable experience. The food was excellent in taste and presentation. Service was attentive and subtle, allowing us to enjoy the food, conversation, and the experience of good friends together. Thank you Dori and the Alcott Hotel. We would recommend it as a restaurant or as a place for a wedding or more intimate gatheting of friends for a special occasion.
Ana M.
The only reason why I gave two stars is because the hostess and the waiting staff was very pleasant, other than that this place deserves no stars. Came here on a Saturday night, they weren't that busy. As soon as we set down, there were a bunch of red flags - enough to get up and leave. First, the couple next to us were served expired milk for their coffee. Second, I don't know what her title is - a lady with a bandana- came to us and try to clear table by offering us to bring us our check. Mind you, we were still waiting for our food - 40 mins in- and she clearly saw that there were nothing but bread and butter on our table. Extremely rude. Third, and a very last strike is when - after an hour of waiting - they brought out our food ... I ordered French cut chicken, which was still clucking when it was served to me. I thought it was some kind of a joke! Gladly, I didn't take a bite of it, since I wasn't able to cut it with a knife. I politely returned the dish and told them I don't want to wait another hour for them to make a new one. Not once did a manager come up to me to try to rectify the situation. This left such a bad taste in my mouth - pun intended! I'm never coming back here for sure. This place makes the hotel look bad.
Michelle Caruso-Klacik
My husband and I had a wonderful anniversary dinner at La Verandah tonight. Our server, Alex, was wonderful. She was very attentive and knowledgeable and made us feel so at home. We truly enjoyed talking to her. She is a compliment to the restaurant. Thank you for a fabulous night. We will be back
Frustrating from the start. Parking meters ate my coins. Not the fault of La Veranda but when I told the lady at the front desk she told me, "Yeas, they do that." Nearly empty dining room just seemed barren. The waitress has this bizarre oral piercing that sort of put us off. There was also way too much playing with the long black hair. The wrong salad was delivered. Entrees were very nice. The Imperial Seafood Galette was amazing. The grilled halibut was in a pleasant sauce that did not overpower the fish.
Gorgeous Victorian building, incredible food and love that it's BYOB
Ok this place could be as great as the Ebbitt Room. It's in a great historic hotel near the beach. The food is pretty great. Menu is expected, but solid. The space is circa 1980's banquet hotel dining. Please add a giant velvet curtain between the side dining room and the giant space in the back. It would go a long way to reduce the outdated wedding hall vibe. Also, switch out the lighting, dump the white table cloths and weird outfits for your lovely servers and you could come a long way! Modern wood tables would be swell. Introduce a few twists in the menu away from the classics. You need to do something a little different to draw people to your end of town! Also consider getting an alcohol license and a few nights a week with live music. We are rooting for you La Verandah!
Hidden gem- food was wonderful, as was presentation!
Would have given a 5 star rating because food presentation and taste was best I've had all week in Cape May but the only drawback was they need more staff. After appetizers they didn't bring our entrees out for quite some time until we asked where our food was. This was our first time at La Verandah and would love to come back because our meals were incredible. But guys please get more staff!! Also expresso was really so weak it didn't seem like expresso at all. All in all our meals were superb.
We stumbled across this restaurant and are so glad we did. The restaurant seats about 40 covers. Its attached to a lovely old hotel recently re done. We called in the morning on a Saturday and got a reservation for 630 that evening. Walk Ins are welcome. There is a veranda to sit outside and we opted to sit inside where it was cooler. This is a BYOB. The room is quite simple but elegant. The chef has some real talent. The rack of lamb was tremendous and for $31, a large quantity of lamb. The meat fell from the bones and it was perfectly seasoned. The only complaint on the dish was that the "straw pieces" were essestionally fried spaghetti and added nothing to the dish ( we strongly feel like every garnish should be edible and add to the dish) The duck was wonderful. Perfect preparation on the breast. A large serving size. A real delight. Only slights on this dish were that the vegetable form in the middle of the dish was under seasoned and there was a random garish of a sprig of rosemary that was unnecessary and inedible in its form. The deserts were divine. The flour-less chocolate cake was actually too large and would have benefited from some creme freche to lighten it a bit. More random garnishes (this time of mint) but truly delicious. This meal was fantastic and a relief from fried and battered shore food. The only thing keeping this from being a 5 star rating was that the servers seemed inexperienced with how to handle themselves in such an environment. Issues opening wine bottles, delays on attentiveness, and a lack of knowledge of the specifics of the dishes were serving all distracted from the overall experience HOWEVER this is a place where we will return and hope that others find their way to this gem
My boyfriend and I came across this adorable hotel and restaurant while taking a bike ride along the streets of Cape May. However, upon arriving for dinner, I honestly thought I was on hidden camera. There were several red flags from the start, but I tried to give things a try. The atmosphere was lacking - to say the least. We were seated in a large room to the left of the main hallway and the room was partitioned off with a screen. The hotel and dining room were rather bare and while there were parties at other tables, I saw no one in the hotel lobby and the dining room was far from full. There are a few odd paintings on the wall, no flowers or music playing. Our tea light was not lit and when I looked around the room, I believe I only spotted one table with a flickering light. The two top next to us was set on a table cloth covered in red wine dribbles. When I mentioned this, the busgirl returned and took off the tablecloth exposing a piece of plywood and re-made the table. The waitstaff seemed to be running around unsure of what to do almost as though it were their first day on the job. We were greeted by the "manager" who started off stating they were very busy so she wanted to drop by and tell us the specials. These began with "the soup special is out" - mind you, we had a 7:00 pm reservation on a Saturday night. The next hour continues with one flub after another. Guests around us: requested a new/clean, wine glass, requested a clean spoon, were served a bottle of flat water, when they had ordered bubbly water, received an incorrect order, were missing parts of their order, were told about the soup special, which we were told was out. Did I say, there was absolutely no ambiance so the only thing we could do was talk quietly and watch around the room? The waitstaff had little to no experience, looked quite unkempt, and all in all were unable to manage the 1/2 full restaurant on a Saturday night in the summer. Based on the prices, this was not at all what I expected. After waiting over an hour, we received our Caesar salad, which we had requested split (it wasn't). Our appetizer never arrived and was never mentioned. The presentation of the salad was laughable. The dressing was pouring over the side of the plate and had soaked the manager's hand (who delivered the salad), and promptly placed it down and marched off. At that point, I have done something I have never before done, I got up, spoke briefly with the kind hostess and left.
We were a party of 30+ people which they gave us a private room food. They placed ya in the back of a huge banquet room which was a little strange but we were able to all talk and move around and had a great waitstaff. They food game out timely and every order was correct. All the food was delicious and it's a BYOB which is nice as the dishes are a bit on the pricey side. They have many seafood options as well as pastas and meat options.
The food and service was incredible! An adorable byob with an interesting menu. I can't believe we hadn't tried this restaurant before this summer. We ordered the scallops and the ahi tuna appetizer specials and they were divine. I had the pasta special as a main course and my mm had the seafood gallette, delicious. I'm still dreaming about the flourless chocolate cake that we shared for dessert. Definitely one of the best dining experiences I've had in Cape May.
Was wonderful. Had the rack of lamb. Best I have had. Place was packed, and had one waitress, as others called off. She was spectacular. Did not miss a beat. Such a sweet spot to see a truly old Victorian style hotel.
Restaurantji Recommends
Excellent service and great food! Highly recommend this place. The rack of lamb was delicious and perfectly prepared. The scollop app was generously portioned and very tasty, as were the steamed clams.
When spending $30-$40 an entree, I expect a great atmosphere and very good if not excellent service. Not the case here. We were seated in a large room clearly used for big events where part of it was sectioned off by screens and was very barren and vacant looking. Our service was terrible. The waitress could barely read the specials - she even showed us the write up because she couldn't decipher it - put our opened red wine in the ice bucket and was all-around bad. So incredibly disappointed.
We had a birthday dinner for 6 lifelong friends and their husbands. We worked with Dori to customize our experience. She was excellent to work with. She accomodated everything we needed, was very organized, professional, friendly, and worked very hard to make this a memorable experience. The food was excellent in taste and presentation. Service was attentive and subtle, allowing us to enjoy the food, conversation, and the experience of good friends together. Thank you Dori and the Alcott Hotel. We would recommend it as a restaurant or as a place for a wedding or more intimate gatheting of friends for a special occasion.
The only reason why I gave two stars is because the hostess and the waiting staff was very pleasant, other than that this place deserves no stars. Came here on a Saturday night, they weren't that busy. As soon as we set down, there were a bunch of red flags - enough to get up and leave. First, the couple next to us were served expired milk for their coffee. Second, I don't know what her title is - a lady with a bandana- came to us and try to clear table by offering us to bring us our check. Mind you, we were still waiting for our food - 40 mins in- and she clearly saw that there were nothing but bread and butter on our table. Extremely rude. Third, and a very last strike is when - after an hour of waiting - they brought out our food ... I ordered French cut chicken, which was still clucking when it was served to me. I thought it was some kind of a joke! Gladly, I didn't take a bite of it, since I wasn't able to cut it with a knife. I politely returned the dish and told them I don't want to wait another hour for them to make a new one. Not once did a manager come up to me to try to rectify the situation. This left such a bad taste in my mouth - pun intended! I'm never coming back here for sure. This place makes the hotel look bad.
My husband and I had a wonderful anniversary dinner at La Verandah tonight. Our server, Alex, was wonderful. She was very attentive and knowledgeable and made us feel so at home. We truly enjoyed talking to her. She is a compliment to the restaurant. Thank you for a fabulous night. We will be back