This page is for listing comments for The Brighton from the previous ownership.
2007-04-25 11:05:29 Has anyone been? This place gets frequented by people from my gym but I'm always wary of places that offer surf and turf via large banners tacked onto the side of their establishment. Anyone want to denounce my snobbery? :) —RochesterGuy
2007-04-25 12:11:03 My parents are frequenters of the the Brighton early in the afternoon. They have good food and are owned by good people. One of the owners recently passed away. They also own the Park Ave Pub on....Park Ave of course. They are right next to the expressway, why buy advertising somewhere else when 1,000s drive right by. I happily denounce your snobbery. —BadFish
2007-04-25 12:59:38 Thanks, fish. I've been to the Park Ave Pub and was pleased with the food and the service. Thanks for keeping me in check. —RochesterGuy
2007-07-02 15:10:13 I stop in almost every day about 5:00pm, It's a warm atmosphere. Jenny is the bartender and does an admirable job. Shift changes at 6:00pm, Food is very good.
Have not had the surf and turf because I always have something going on Sunday afternoon. —NormanWebb
2007-07-21 09:44:50 I have always had a good expierence there. However, I don't like how the banner has been altered from last year. I was getting gas at Hess and could see where the price was changed. It made me giggle. I am sad to hear one of the owners passed away. It is always a friendly place. —ElaineRobinson
2007-08-30 17:03:56 I have only had ok meals here. Ive tried it twice now and the steak was good, but the rest of the meal lacked. I would recommend you try it once and form your own opinion.
Just your avg restaurant. —MrRochester
2008-04-11 12:50:39 FYI...They just changed owners in the last week or so and I'm told the menu will be changing. The female bartenders are pretty hot, especially the new redhead. —BrightonGuy
2009-02-03 15:34:37 I went back to the Brighton last week and had the filet that Ive had many times int he past under previous ownership. I had the staple French Onion soup, which is still delicious. While in the past the steak was just ok, this time it was horrid. It tasted like meatloaf and was then drowned in some sort of gravy. I was served mashed potatoes and the vegetable of the day was pureed squash? So pretty much I was served a plate of soupy slop. The place was packed with Gray Hairs, so I guess I must not be in the target market anymore. The server was also overwhelmed with too many tables to give good service. Ill never go back until the next owner takes over. —MrRochester
2009-08-30 13:51:15 Mark the Saturday night bartender is no longer working here. If anyone knows where he went, please post the info. He is a great guy and I would like to catch up with him. —BigPun
2011-10-19 19:30:20 The Brighton changed ownership about three years ago. The former owners really let the place go down. I guess managing two restaurants is hard. Under the new ownership, the interior has been dramatically upgraded with an outdoor deck, a wall of windows for great light and an updated menu. Food is all made to order and any special requests will be honored. I like that too. Their fish fry is to die for. And it's a great bar to hang out in. The Cosmos are fabulous. Try it!!! —RWink
2011-11-21 16:11:59 This is a follow-up review I originally posted on Yelp, after a fairly positive initial experience with the newly remodled restaurant:
I went back to the Brighton for the first time since posting my original review, and it was a big disappointment. It seems that in the time since my last review that the owner has decided that the bar business is more important. This is a common problem in such smaller bar/restaurants in the area, and is usually the first indication of a place sliding into mediocrity.
On Saturday, we had reservations, and arrived early. We went into the bar for a drink, only to find the place packed with 2 dozen "athletic women with short hair, some wearing plaid" celebrating somebody's birthday. They were incredibly loud and obnoxious, and nobody had touched the cake yet, so they were obviously going to be there a while. One of them had a piercing cackle of a laugh that must have exceeded 100 db, and it was quite obvious that they were already on their second round of drinks.
Unfortunately, about half of the seats in this place are right over near the bar. Before we left, there was a large party of about 8 elderly people who the owner was trying to seat in the easy earshot of these increasingly intoxicated harpies, and they decided to go elsewhere. At about that moment, the first plates of food for the screaming "golf fan ladies" started showing up AT THE BAR. It was obvious that they weren't going anywhere, and were planning to eat at the bar. We were called next, and were shown to a seat right next to there as well, which we declined, and left the restaurant.
I really can't imagine just how the owner thought he could manage a party of 2 dozen loud women in that tiny bar on a Saturday! I guess the guy is either greedy or desperate. It's too bad, really, since his food was actually quite nice, but sticking diners right in the middle of a bar packed with a bunch noisy butch women is really too much. I regret to say that this place has lost my business. Thank goodness that Grinell's was able to accommodate us on short notice.
2011-11-22 19:27:50 Alex-C: Was the problem with your experience the group of "lesbians" having fun and taking up seats? Maybe they should have stayed on "their side of town." I was enjoying reading your reviews until this one. You've now lost all credibility "in my opinion." —ShawnaLusk
2011-11-22 19:48:17 Shawna, did I ever mention the word "lesbian" in my review? For the record, I'm sure that at least a few of these intoxicated loudmouths did, in fact, play for that particular team, but I had no problem with the sexual orientation of them. If you had READ y review (rather than nit-pick at it), you would notice that my concern was twofold:
1) This group was disorderly and intoxicated during prime dining hours at a place that is billed as being a 'restaurant' rather than a 'bar'.
2) The owner paid no heed to the chaos caused by his willingness to allow a large group get intoxicated AND to order full meals at the bar which was not separated from the dining area.
Had the place been named "The Brighton Bar and Grill", I would've expected such behaviour. From a place that WAS trying to create the image of an upscale restaurant, this was inexcusable. And, to do so at the single busiest time of the week showed not only a total disregard for all the non-bar patrons, it also shows that the owner valued the bar income over the restaurant sales.
Please note, I wouldn't have had any problem with a group of 5 dozen lesbians sitting down and having a calm, pleasant dinner at the same time. I also would've complained the same if it had been a bunch of drunken male football fans causing the cacaphony. This is why I don't look for relaxing dining experiences at places that cater to a sports clientele. —Alex-C
2011-11-22 19:49:01 Alex, I don't mean to pick on you, but I agree that the tone of your review is homophobic. You can backtrack all you want, but the implications are pretty clear. —EileenF
2011-11-22 21:14:27 I'm simply noting Alex has nothing more than negative judgements regarding any review he has given in RocWiki. I mean that not as an attack, as an observation. —NightlifeCher
2012-09-08 08:54:17 I am so disturbed by Alex C's review. You need to be more open to different types of people in this world. You could have noted your displeasure with the group without bringing that up. Even if you do play for that team. I just don't get that. With that said I really like The Brighton for drinks but the food isn't really that good. My Fish fry didn't seem fresh, menu is very limited and the service was really slow and seemed a bit chaotic. I love the live music the intimate bar and friendly folks and the wrap around porch is great. —NewtonNola
