Edited to add the date of our experience. 5 September 2015
After taking in the good and the bad reviews for Stonegate Cafe, with quite of few of the recent ones being very negative, my wife and I decided that we would we would try it out and determine for ourselves whether there were any merit to the negative reviews.
When I visit restaurants, I do measure time intervals often, as it helps me judge quality of service.
Upon arriving, we waited at the front door by the sign for maybe 2-3 minutes before one of the waitresses came by and simply asked "Are you on the list?" To which we replied with "No." She said it would be about a 10 minute wait and that we could wait in or outside. We chose outside. As far as the welcome, I personally dont care about all that, Im there for the food and the service that comes with it. My only problem would be how long before we were greeted upon entering, not necessarily the quality of the greeting. Which some people care about, but I do not. Unless, of course, it is just outright rude, which the waitress's greeting was not.
We waited outside on the bench and noticed that they had a small wait station on the patio with half full bus tubs of dishes, cups, silverware, and next to it were pitchers of water and what appeared to be tea. We did notice there were flies around the bus tubs and the pitchers, as well as the occupied tables nearby. But that is just one of the things you have to deal with while eating outside, however with the bus tubs there, it does attract the flies since there is no one to keep them away. So we decided not to eat outside.
There was a party of 3 ahead of us and they were called for a table about 5 minutes before we were called. I will note this same party later in the review.
After about 8-9 minutes of waiting, they had us a table ready, so their estimate of wait time, I'd say, is exceptional.
We were sat at the table and it seemed a bit sticky from just being wiped down. I used the napkin from my silverware to remove the moisture and after the table dried it was good to go. The waitress came by within a minute to take our drink order. She was friendly and approachable. She came back with our drinks about 2 minutes later and took our order. I ordered the Mass Confusion with hashbrowns and my wife ordered the Greek Omlet.
A different waitress came by to top off my coffee while waiting for our food, and she came by often throughout our dining.
I noticed that this place has sugar pourers on their tables, which I wish every breakfast joint would put on their tables. I hate dealing with packets.
Our food arrived 18 minutes after we ordered. It was hot and looked very appetizing. The waitress asked if we needed anything and I asked for more napkins, since I had used mine for the table, and she returned with them immediately.
I was happy with my meal. The bottom of the biscuit was a bit burnt and a little overcooked, but the rest of the meal was very good. My hashbrowns were not too crispy or too soft and tasted fine. My wife's hasbrowns were very crispy, so there appears to be little consistency between how things are cooked. She was not able to eat much of her hashbrowns since she does not like them as crispy as they were. Id have traded with her if she had said something about it before I had eaten mine! HAHA!
Our waitress did come by and check on us and asked about our food and if we needed anything.
The party of 3 I mentioned earlier received their order several minutes after we received ours. Im not exactly sure how much longer, because I wasnt timing that but it was substantial enough for me to notice. I dont know how long it took for them to order or whatever caused them to get their order after us, so take this observation as you will.
When we were done eating, the waitress brought us our check and it was 24 bucks and some change for our two meals and two coffees which were topped off often. Not bad.
After about 5 minutes, our waitress had not returned and we were left wondering if they come to us to take our payment or if we go to the cash register to pay. When the other waitress came to top off coffee we asked and said she would take it for us. She immediately returned with our ticket and reciept.
Overall, Id say I was satisfied enough that I would return. Looking around the place and observing some of the things I did, I can definitely see how some folks may have a bad experience, however our experience was average. The service was up to par for the most part, I did not observe any staff members being rude to us or the other customers. The staff appeared friendly and approachable, nobody had grimacing faces or appeared to be in a bad mood. They appeared content in their composure. The food was good, but not something to write home about, but it was good enough for me to want to come back. read more