Not Much of a Thrill: Dinner at The Daily Grill

A night where the Cheesecake Factory had an hour wait, California Pizza Kitchen had a 30 minute wait and even Cold Stone had a line out the door, my friend and I wandered around the Prudential Center trying to determine whether to wait for a familiar taste or to try something new.

Easy to miss, The Daily Grill is located on the Huntington Avenue side of the Prudential Center. Its outside looks like one of your typical restaurants, something similar to a Bennigan’s. When we walked in we were waiting in line behind a family who seemingly had been waiting for too long. The host did not show up for another five minutes upon our arrival.

The restaurant is decorated with framed black and white pictures and also looks as if they are somewhat attempting to have the style of a New York City steakhouse. Given the name of the restaurant, I did not expect it to be as “high end” as they were seemingly attempting to be. The restaurant’s menu, Found Here, is definitely over priced given the style of food. It’s definitely not a Hispanic restaurant and definitely not an Italian restaurant, but still they are charging a whopping $16.95 for Chicken Parmigiana and $13.95 for a Chicken Quesadilla.

In comparison to other restaurants such as California Pizza Kitchen, it took a little longer than usual for the server to greet us and take our order. There were only about eight other tables being served at the time, yet there was a lot of staff walking around not looking busy. Quick to bring out the first round of Diet Cokes, she did not return to refill our beverages until our entrees had already been served. As an appetizer we ordered the Spinach Artichoke Dip, which is served with Crostini. The Crostini had a soggy taste in the center of it and tasted as if it were stale. The dip itself was good, thus it was disappointing the Crostini was not.

In good timing the entrees were served. Each of us ordered the Daily Grill Cheeseburger Classic, $13.95, found on the “DG Favorites” portion of their menu. The burger itself came with one very thin slice of cheese and a side of fries. I replaced my fries with mashed potatoes, which were served cold. The burger did not come with ketchup, thus we needed to wait an extra six minutes for our waitress (or any other server) to check on us. The burger itself was fine.

The manager came over to inquire about our meals. I responded honestly, discussing the poor service and the cool food. He thus took care of our burgers and returned with appetizer coupons, a very nice gesture. The coupons, however, were for calamari, which I’m not much of a fan of, and my friend does not eat seafood. If a restaurant is giving out coupons in order to compensate for a bad experience, it better be something more general than calamari.

Overall, the restaurant is overpriced, has poor service and a strange atmosphere. The Daily Grill is definitely a trap for wandering tourists in the area. As a local, I can definitely say, I won’t be going back.

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Gabby Gabriel is a contributing video blogger and writer for DirectoryofBoston.com.

Check out her website at: GabbyGabriel.com