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| - This was our first time at Alton's. We live in South Carolina and were in the area looking at boats and found Alton's by accident. First, I will say that the location is appealing--the plaza feels upscale and trendy. Second, they need better signage so you know where the front door is located. Either we parked in the back (but the GPS brought us to what should be the front) or it's just weird. It took us a while to find a door and we ended up in the bar. Once we finally were seated, Maureen took great care of us and made excellent suggestions. It was early, and we learned their apps were six dollars until 6:30, so we decided to make a meal of those rather than order entrees. We sat on the patio--it was beautiful and relaxing. The lobster bisque was incredible--the small scoop of mashed potato they put in the center sounded strange at first, but the texture was amazing and the combination a winner. We also had the stuffed mushrooms. Oh. My. God. Okay, they were beyond amazing--the first time we've had mushrooms that weren't filled with breadcrumbs or mushy or dripping in oil. They were large, tender, and the filling absolutely delicious. The only drawback was the shrimp cocktail--it took forever (Maureen brought them last), which would have been okay since it was an early evening and we had nowhere else to be, but they were kind of mediocre and tough. The dipping sauce (mayo with maybe something added in? I don't know, but it was delicious) made up for it. The only other drawback was another table adjacent to us was left uncleared the entire time we were there. It obviously wasn't Maureen's table (we saw another server taking care of it when we arrived), but you'd think a manager would have come out and cleaned it up if that server's shift had ended. There were napkins and children's cups blowing on the patio. We will definitely be back. Service was excellent, and we are looking forward to trying other items on the menu! Be sure to order the mushrooms and the bisque!
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