Mr. G’s Food & Spirits

Mr. G’s is named Jeff Gural, the owner of the Vernon Downs «complex.»
The layout of the restaurant leaves much to be desired. Simply put, it’s a hotel banquet room; a large room seating approximately 70 persons at maybe 30 tables, a reception area, patio seating, and a bar located along one wall of the room. If you are looking for a romantic atmosphere, go somewhere else. What this space does have that most eating establishments don’t is a casino only a few steps away and live harness racing taking place just outside its windows during the live racing season. Check the Vernon Downs website for live racing calendar.
The bar in Mr. G’s appears to be well stocked. Each time I’ve visited there were always a few folks seated at the bar. At least one video monitor above the bar displays in real time the live harness racing taking place just outside on live racing days. There is also a machine which allows handicappers to make wagers on races from the convenience of the restaurant.
On at least 3 occasions, always Fridays, we ordered steamed little neck clams and never regretted the choice. Cooked in lager beer with fresh garlic, chopped cherry tomatoes, herbs and butter I’m guilty of slurping up the broth after eating all the clams. I’ve had the «Fish and Chips» on two occasions, once beer battered and once broiled. On both occasions, the haddock was fresh and tasty. Fish was accompanied by English style chips (large sliced potatoes) and cole slaw. I’m not a huge potato fan, but easily knock off a few of these 5″ x ¾″ golden brown potato slices each sitting. The slaw is a bit too mayonnaise-​y for my taste but I’m admittedly a vinegar based slaw dude. I may substitute another side on my next visit and possibly ask for vinegar to drench my «chips» in as well, rather than ketchup. On a recent visit (August, 2015) I ordered the Black and Bleu steak and was surprised at the quality and quantity of the sirloin steak which was cooked perfectly to medium rare and rested atop fresh mixed greens, tomatoes, and red onions alongside bleu cheese and was topped with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. This was had for a mere $ 9.99.
If I were to summarize my experiences at Mr. G’s based on my 3 or 4 visits to this establishment, I would say that the restaurant overachieves. It has always exceeded my expectations. While not exactly fine dining, the food has always been of good quality and priced very reasonably. We’ve always been seated quickly (always a party of 2) and service has always been attentive.
When Friday night rolls around and I feel like a spontaneous casual dinner and maybe some fun after (I love handicapping horse races), Mr. G’s is always a safe bet.

This was our 3^rd visit to eat at this restaurant all previous experiences were fine. This last experience was not and we will never go back. Service was extremely slow our waitress never came back while we were waiting for our food for an hour so we were all out of drinks for quite some time. When our food finally arrived 2 people in our party were splitting a burger which they asked for well done. They brought the burger out on two separate plates cut in half for them and it was clearly not well done in the end they were not charged for the burger. I still can’t get over how you even walk out with a pink burger and a second drink while we were waiting would have been nice.

Really nice bistro in the hotel at Vernon Downs casino & racetrack. Full bar… Full menu.