I've been to this place several times over the years, and I really want to write a better review for it. The mood and vibe of the place is really pretty good, especially on their back patio if you catch it on a cool night in the summer. I tried calling to make reservations several times during the day but the phone rang and rang and rang. It finally picked up saying that the user had not set up their voicemail: So much for a reservation.
So we decided to show about 15 minutes before 6 o'clock, hoping to beat a little bit of the dinner rush. We were told the only available tables were out on their back patio, and it was a cool night, so we agreed to eat there. It really is a lovely space. We waited about 20 minutes before we were seated and during that time I heard several customers come in and complain about the phone number. Folks who wanted to make reservations could not and were frustrated that they had to wait. Many walked out.
After we were seated other groups with reservations were seated after us, and yet they were being waited on before us. It took 20 minutes before anybody showed to our table to ask about drinks or appetizers or even greeting us. Now I understand that they were very busy, but if you can't treat all your customers equally, then you shouldn't seat them. Nonetheless, our waiter finally came over and apologized saying they were very busy and we were more than understanding. Certainly wasn't his fault.
We ordered the fried pickle appetizer which we've had before and it is absolutely awesome with the wasabi ranch dressing. We also ordered the spinach artichoke dip with pita, which is also very delicious. For entrées my son got the burger with fries, my wife and I each ordered salads and a bowl of the crab bisque, and my daughter ordered the special a green curry chicken served over rice with deep fried green beans. It took a while, but our food arrived after our appetizers and we began to eat.
My daughters took longer for some reason. It was the special after all but I'm not sure why it took longer. My daughter mentioned that her food was not hot so I asked if I could try it. It wasn't even warm it was on the verge of being cold. Also, it was chicken. I told her not to eat it and we were going to send it back. It took at least five minutes before anybody came to check on our table or that we could even see a wait staff member to ask them to send it back. In the meantime my daughter was hungry so I shared my salad with her. Our waiter finally showed up grabbed the dish and took it back to the kitchen but after five more minutes we were all mostly done eating. I went to try and find our server to tell him we no longer wanted the entrée. I ended up at the bar and talked to the manager and told him that we didn't want the entré at this point: we weren't jerks about it, it's just that we were done eating and it wouldn't be fair to my daughter to try and eat her dish after everyone was finished eating. That's not how a family dines together. The manager understood and said he would let the waiter know.
After five more minutes, the waiter showed up with the hot plate and I had to awkwardly explain to him that I had already spoken to the manager and that we were no longer interested in the dish. He seemed a little upset saying it only took him two minutes to get the dish cooked, and while I'm sure that's correct, nearly 20 minutes had elapsed since we received the dish and he brought it back hot. When he brought the check back he was more apologetic, not that he needed to be because I understood his frustration. He was certainly more than accommodating at that point and even took the drinks off our tab. I really felt bad for him. We left him a very healthy tip because I know none of this was his fault necessarily. It seems like a lot of restaurants down here are struggling right now, and I understand that, but again, if you can't seat and serve your customers then you probably should not. I've had plenty of great meals at this place and hope they get their act together in a future visit, but this one was certainly disappointing.
Update after reading Pangea's response:
Despite what the response below says, on the day I posted this review, the outgoing message clearly said the voicemail was not set up, and LEFT NO OPTION TO LEAVE A MESSAGE, so what should a customer think when the phone rings over and over with no option to hear an outgoing message or leave a voicemail??? I don't understand the logic of calling a customer back when they cannot leave a voicemail. The logic is faulty. In addition, the presumption that a customer shows saying they tried to make a reservation when they really just didn't bother or were somehow irresponsible is absolutely insulting.
And "have a nice life"??? Really? That's not quite a mature response from the business owner. I've adjusted my rating accordingly. read more