Well, I have not in the past wrote any restaurant reviews but felt it was necessary regarding our recent visit to Locavore. We had not been there before and initially wanted to go to our regular haunt, Fahrenheit 132. Since it being Good Friday and First Friday in Fredericksburg, downtown was very busy and could not get a seat at Fahrenheit 132. So, we decided to try Locavore actually as they were opening for the day.
The staff and ambiance was very pleasant and personable as we took our seat at the bar for Happy Hour. The bar seats about 10 and the total seating at this time was 8. There were no other guests seated at the tables since it was still early. When we ordered our drinks, three rail drinks and a bottle of champagne, it took about 30 minutes to get our drinks with an empty restaurant. When my wife asked the bartender if the champagne was "brut," she did not understand or know what brut was. Mind you the bartender was nice and very pleasant, but "slow as molasses." Fortunately, the drinks were fine once we got them.
We ordered off the bar menu since it was Happy Hour of course to save money and try their food out. I got a cheeseburger and fries were were descent. My wife ordered the hush puppies and Kalbi Beef Skewers. The hush puppies were dry with no taste whatsoever and the beef skewers with tough to chew on and not much to them for a list price of $18. As we finshed up, the bartender handle us our bill and fortunately it was Happy Hour prices. My wife ordered a bottle of Mawby Green Prosecco which listed a price of $60. Since it was discounted due to Happy Hour, she got it for $30. When I did some checking, the bottle retails for $7.97. I am all about capitalism and restaurant owners making money, and a typically markup of 100-200%, they were charging about 750% markup for cheap champagne. When we asked for a champagne bucket to keep it cold, they did not have one and had to placed it back in the refrigerator. We had to keep an eye on the bottle to ensure no one pour from the bottle we purchased.
Once I got the bill, I noticed there was a 3% charge for credit cards which is typical of many restaurants in Fredericksburg. I asked the bartender if I used my debit card, was there a surcharge and she informed me, "yes." I informed the bartender that it was against the law to place a surcharge on a debit card and asked to speak to the manager. The bartender left for awhile and came back and said the "owner" said as long as it is processed as a "debit card" there is no surcharge.
In the end, the staff and ambiance was nice, way over priced for what you received, extremely slow and unknowledgeable about bartending, and trying to place an unlawful surcharge on our purchase. I doubt we will be back... read more