Jai Alai at Newport. 374 likes 21 talking about this. This page is dedicated to archiving the history of Jai Alai in Newport, R.I. Please feel free to contribute pictures, videos, news articles.

150 Admiral Kalbfus Road

(401) 849-5000

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Mom and I figured that plenty of time had past since our notorious visit to the Newport Grand Grille on July 7 (see review below). Since we were feeling lucky and wanted to play the slots, we figured that today would be a perfect day to see how improved the service had become after all the hoopla that went down last year after our dining experience. We arrived at Newport Grand at around 3:30 p.m., but stopped off to play some games first. Luckily for me, the $20 I lost almost immediately came right back to me within minutes. Not wanting to lose it again, Mom and I took off and headed for the dining room at around 3:45-4 p.m.

SIDE NOTE: A lot has changed at Newport Grand. It seems that all the machines have gone up in both price and lines. For example, I love playing this Red, White, and Blue Firecracker slot. The game used to have five lines at five cents. Now there are nine lines at ten cents. I guess with all the economic drama we're all facing, the casino was forced to up the prices.

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When we arrived at the dining room entrance, we were greeted by a very polite hostess who we had never seen before. She showed us to - believe it or not - the very table that we complained about the last time. Not wanting to make a scene, or cause anyone to remember who we were and promptly spit in our food - we shut our mouths and sat there, staring at our menus. Boy, talk about a price jump! Everything seemed to go up between $2-5. Maybe the casino isn't doing so well? I hope not. We really like it here. Soon after we decided what we wanted, a waitress named Kelsie came over to take our order. Mom chose her favorite - the fish and chips ($14.95), while I chose the Reuben with fries ($10.25). We also ordered two Diet Pepsis. Usually when we visit the Grand Grille, the food takes a while to come out. Mom and I don't mind because we know that all the food here is prepared fresh, so it's worth the wait. This time, however, the food was delivered quickly. My guess is that it really doesn't take that long to fry a piece of fish and slap a sandwich together. Kelsie brought over the two dishes, and warned us about the hot plates. Both meals looked amazing.

With the steam floating away from the plate, Mom was in heaven (she just loves a hot dish). The fish was a nice large piece - not only long, but thick. Even despite its thickness, it was perfectly done, and couldn't have been better. The batter was light and crisp, not at all greasy, and the fish fell apart with flaky tenderness. The Grand Grille really has one of the best fish and chip platters around in Mom's opinion. Her fries were crisp, light, and not greasy. She said the whole meal was delicious. Mom loves this dish so much that even though it went up in price, she would get it again.

My Reuben was fabulous. I think I scarfed it down in a matter of minutes. The corned beef was like buttah. It literally melted in my mouth and had no icky pull to it (God, I hate that). I was a bit nervous seeing all the sandwich meat stacked up in the bread like that, and I was very thankful that it was prepared so well. The Thousand Island dressing and sauerkraut were very tangy, and the Swiss cheese wasn't too gloppy. The only minor thing was that the rye bread got a little soggy, but I doubt there is a way to stop that from happening since the dressing and sauerkraut get soaked into the sandwich. My fries were amazing, although they really did give me a lot (I couldn't finish them). I would definitely recommend this sandwich to any Reuben fan. It was amazing.

Kelsie had come over during our meal to ask how everything was, and we had nothing but good things to say. When we were finished, she cleared away our plates and brought the bill:

2 sodas - $4.50

Reuben - 10.25

State tax - 2.08

TOTAL = $32.08

We left $38.50 on the table for Kelsie which included a 20% tip. She really provided excellent service, and we really did notice an improvement with the other servers/hostesses. Before leaving, I filled out the comment card that asked how our experience was. We signed it 'New England Bites,' so we hope that the people at Grand Grille know that we've been back, and definitely enjoyed our visit. We can't wait to return again, especially now that we know that the customers are being treated well, and the food is still fabulous ... even though the prices went up.

PS - Just as Mom and I were down all the money we had decided to spend (a.k.a., lose at the slots), we won it all back!! It was definitely our lucky day.
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The July 7th showdown:

***SECOND UPDATE*** -- I received a personalized e-mail from the Food and Beverage Manager, Joe Caruso, regarding the poor service that went down on July 7. He left me his phone number which I promptly called on the afternoon of July 12. He told me that he was actually in a meeting about the service situation, and that he would call me back ASAP. I was surprised to hear that they were actually discussing me, and was anxiously anticipating his return phone call. When Mr. Caruso called back, he thanked me for my great article, my honesty, and also apologized for the service. He said that there were many changes being made regarding service, and he's sure that everyone is now on the same page regarding customer satisfaction. He seemed very confident that the situation had been addressed, and I completely believed him. He told me of his background in customer service and assured me that what took place on July 7 would not happen again. He then offered us a meal on the house, which was very surprising. I have no doubt in my mind that everyone at the Grand Grille is on the right track and is going to put the customer first from now on. I can't wait to go back!

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***UPDATE***-- I sent the review below to the only E-mail address I could find for Newport Grand (info@newportgrand.com). Here is the response I received:

Laura,

Thank you.
Our Food and Beverage Manager will look into your experience with us.
If you like this the food…..we have Daily Dining Deals in July.
Go to our website and click on http://www.newportgrand.com/dining.html
We look forward to having you back again soon for great food and improved service.

*sigh* -- Oh well. So much for an apology.

Today is July 7, 2007. In other words, 7-7-07 - the luckiest day in existence. Couples are getting married, people are buying lottery tickets and today, like many others, Mom and I decided to try our luck at the slot machines inside Newport Grand. After all, we had to win something, right? It was a lucky day! Plus, we would be dining at the Grand Grille, one of our favorite restaurants of all time. What could go wrong?
We hit the casino around 4 p.m. and noticed a lot of cars in the parking lot. Saturdays are usually a busy casino day anyway, but today was special, and I was sure that there were some people in there for the same reasons that we were - the lucky day. We decided to pick up a Newport Grand Rewards card first, since we had not yet applied for one. The woman behind the desk was extraordinarily helpful and wished us good luck for the day. Mom and I then headed straight for a quick bite at the Grand Grille.
When we first got there, the middle section of tables and the bar section was quite filled. There was an older couple waiting to be seated in front of us, and a few single diners standing behind. Quite a while went by before the hostess, a petite

Jai Alai Casino Newport Ri