First of all, I have been there twice. The first time was in impromptu trip on the way to a concert. The atmosphere was great and the hosts were warm, friendly and dressed impeccably. My friend had the salmon and I had the pork chop, both were absolutely delicious. I opted for the mashed to substitute for the included potatoes, but received both. I pointed that out to the waitress and she corrected the error. I want to mention a couple things that I could do without though. One is that they have valet parking, that given the fact they are in a strip mall with plenty of parking it seems more for the ambient experience than for anything practical, but who knows. The other thing is that they automatically charge a gratuity (18%}, which is posted on a small, but visible sign on the table. Overall, I was impressed with the place and couldn't wait to bring some friends up from Jupiter.
So a few weeks later I made a reservation for 7 of us. When we arrived, I suggested a drink at the bar before going to our table. I offered to pay for the first round. 4 of us had wine (Belle Glos) at $20 a glass, which I am finding out is about standard in this area, but worth it in my opinion. There were 2 mixed drinks and one house white wine. I was a little shocked when the bartender asked me for $165 for a round of 7 drinks. Being fair to him I gave him a healthy tip so the quick drink at the bar ended up costing me $200 for the round and we hadn't even ordered dinner yet.
Overall, everyone was happy with the food, except that one order was not correct (he received a pork chop instead of a lamb chop). They did correct the order, but of course he had to wait while it was prepared. The waitress was apologetic and admitted her mistake.
When we were done, the manager on duty again apologized for the error. I felt that he was sincere and concerned. At that time I asked him if I was charged an automatic 18% surcharge at the bar and he said yes, that was their policy. I pointed out to him that their bartender never mentioned that to me and had just accepted the entire tip without bringing it up. For that reason, if I ever go in there and Al is bar tending I will not be stopping at the bar. To me, that seems dishonest and if he were my employee I would question his integrity. Actually, if he were my employee, he would then be my former employee.
I believe the place has promise and is worth trying. The management tells me that they took over the place in November of 2023. I have heard that prior to that the reputation of the former place was not so good. Overall, I am giving them a 4 star rating and hopefully they are successful in their fairly new adventure.
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