Great concept, poor execution. I love the owner's story - she is an amazing and strong woman, and I fully support her and her future endeavors. We have been wanting to try to visit for some time now, and the stars aligned and we were able to make it work for a birthday brunch celebration. Although I am highly disappointed, I will preface this review by saying I do want to try the place again, and maybe sit alone at the bar, or perhaps with one other person (but no more than that number) to ensure the experience I am sure this is geared toward.
I did not realize the inside was as small and intimate as it is, so if you are a larger party, you will be seated outside. There is a cover and some plastic windows, and they have heaters that can be placed by you, but keep this in mind if it is cold. Heaters only do so much and hit so many people. Also, the wind knocked one of the art pieces down and through the attempt to put it back up, they ripped it several times!
There were two large parties to be seated for brunch that day. When we arrived at 12:30, we found out one party was scheduled to have 20 guests (35 in total showed up, so that was a mess) and our party was 12. There were two servers on duty that day plus one (amazing) bartender. Two servers for two large tables plus the usual customers seems like very poor scheduling. It took about a half hour for our drink orders to be taken. We are a very patient and forgiving group with several having been or currently in service industry. But patience only goes so far. Some of us did not get our drinks or had to put the order in a few times. There were two or three people who ordered coffee, and it took 45 minutes for that to even arrive, and about the same time for any future cup ordered.
Our server was very friendly and very apologetic for the wait. We could tell the other party was monopolizing the bar and the kitchen, so we were aware this could take a while. When I go to a restaurant, especially in a large group, I review the menu in advance and know what I plan to order. I had three items in mind from the online brunch menu.....only to find out the actual menu did not contain these items. Huge disappointment. I finally decided on the polenta and shrimp. The owner and staff checked on us now and then to see if we had our items and we would let her know, although some items were not delivered as expected. I really hope this was not taken out on the staff as they mostly seemed to be trying as hard as they could, and some extra manpower should have been on hand.
As expected, the food took a while, but again, pizzas do that, and the other table seemed to be working the staff a lot. One of our guests went to the bar and got the plates for everyone to eat off of as those never were delivered. Another round of drinks took another 20 or so minutes. The shrimp and polenta were okay, nothing spectacular. There was not much flavor - it could have used a kick. The shrimp were fairly sparse. I ate about half of it before writing off the dish. Others liked their pizzas, and some had appetizers that hit the spot for them. As I know the other table (as well as the indoor tables) were order pizzas too, it was expected they would be a little inconsistent in that some were more well done than others.
The brunch rounded out with a free glass of bubbles for the birthday and a song by the staff and owner with a candle. That was cute.
Now, the checks ---- the process started about 3pm. Our server took half the group's cards and then stopped, leaving about 5 of us not having paid yet. About 20 minutes later, he was back and made everyone check their checks for accuracy, which then had to be corrected. So that group is finally done.... about 3;30. Then the rest of us...... he asked what most of us ordered, got our cards, and came back to ask questions. Someone broke it all out for him and he came back to ask about one of the pizzas. Our checks finally come back, and the birthday girl was charged for someone else's pizza on top of hers that we know had already been paid for by someone who had left with the first round. it was now pushing 4pm and we were ready to go - 4.5 hours at brunch and we all left there with no brunch buzz (didn't even get the drinks to do that with) and we were all looking forward to getting dinner by that point. (I gave the birthday girl whatever cash I had to pay for the extra food she didn't order and that was already paid for.)
So I hope that was a unique experience. Again - staff was SUPER friendly and apologetic, Vee the bartender was on point with her skills and came out to check on us too, you can tell the owner loves the place and values the patrons, and the location itself is adorable. I really hope this is not the norm, but again, never again with a large group, and never again to look at the menu ahead of time. And while I appreciate the kindness, this was unacceptable. At least we have a story to tell from now on for our friend's birthday. read more