I'll be very honest: we came in on a Sunday morning for brunch as a respectful, but admittedly…read morerowdy, group of ten celebrating a bachelorette party. We know that a large, excited group can be a lot for a server. Several people in our party currently work or have worked as servers, so we really do try to be understanding and tip accordingly.
First, the good: the food was wonderful! Everything was cooked perfectly, and every person in our party was happy with what they ordered. The hostess and the other staff members we interacted with were also wonderful and incredibly helpful. The food itself was definitely a highlight of our brunch!
One thing we were surprised by was that there was no drink menu at all. There weren't any drinks listed on the menu, so we had no idea what beverages were available or what we could order. Especially for Sunday brunch, having some kind of drink section or separate drink menu would have been really helpful.
Unfortunately, the biggest disappointment was our server, Debbie. From our first interaction, it felt very clear that she was unhappy about having our table.
When she first came over, we let her know that we would like separate checks. We completely understand that splitting a table of ten can mean a little extra work, but with the automated system being used, we didn't think it was an unreasonable request. Debbie's immediate response was to roll her eyes and sigh, which set an uncomfortable tone for the rest of the meal.
There were several issues after that. One person ordered a regular soda and was brought a diet (but was too nice to correct the mistake). Another asked for her soda in a to-go cup and Debbie laughed at her. Someone else ordered a coffee, and after everyone else's drinks had arrived, hers still hadn't. She asked about it again, but it ultimately wasn't brought out until our food had started arriving and the hostess stepped in and brought it to her.
After we finished eating, we immediately asked for our checks. We then waited about 10 minutes before asking for our checks again. When they still hadn't arrived, we had to ask again and the hostess went to check on them for us. When Debbie finally brought them over, she rolled her eyes at us again and said, "I was working on them!"
One of the checks appeared to be incorrect, so someone in our party politely asked for clarification. Debbie took the receipt, crumpled it up, said, "That's not yours," and walked away. We were honestly stunned. It was the check that had been brought to our table, so there was no way for us to know that it wasn't ours without asking.
What makes the experience particularly disappointing is that our group is very aware that we can be a little loud and rowdy when we're together. That's actually why we make such a point of being respectful to our servers and tipping generously. It's a fun tradition in our friend group for each person to tip a good amount (sometimes $20+) on their individual check when we go out together for good service. Several of us have worked in the service industry, so we know that a table of ten can be a lot, and we like showing our appreciation.
We absolutely don't expect special treatment because of that, but it was disappointing to feel like we were an inconvenience from the moment we sat down.
Overall, the brunch food was fantastic, and the hostess was wonderful. Unfortunately, Debbie's service was consistently unfriendly and dismissive, and it put a pretty big damper on what otherwise would have been a wonderful Sunday brunch celebrating our friend. We will definitely choose a different brunch spot next time.