Last night was one of the worst dining experiences my friends and I have ever had. The moment we walked in, the general manager was sitting at the hostess stand, being SO condescending to a young hostess in front of customers, repeatedly criticizing her performance with her standing right there. At one point, the hostess accidentally left the front door open and the GM loudly reprimanded her in front of everyone. The hostess was so calm, kind, professional, and helpful throughout the evening. We were appalled and so concerned for her.
Then, my friend who has a severe peanut allergy, asked about potential allergens in the restaurant. The GM said she was the bartender and was shockingly dismissive. Then, when my friend asked to speak with a kitchen manager to better understand the potential cross contamination, she responded that she was, in fact, the GM. Rather than helping answer the question, the interaction became increasingly snarky and rude, leaving my friend (seriously one of the loveliest, polite people I know) feeling so uncomfortable. She decided not to eat, sit with us outdoors and have a glass of wine. In hindsight, that probably should have been our cue to leave, but we were on a tight timeline and hoped the experience would improve.
We arrived at 6:10 pm. Once seated, it took too long before we even received water. Our waiter was kind but clearly overwhelmed. Our beverage order was forgotten and had to be reordered, and we didn't receive our drinks until ~25 minutes after being seated. Our appetizer came out 1.5 hours after we were seated.
Everyone around us waited 2+ hours for their food, including a family with young children and another guest who eventually asked for her meal to be boxed up. A woman who got there before us just left money on the table before getting her food. There were only 5 tables seated on the patio and a few inside. It was clear that the restaurant was struggling operationally. We did not receive our food until 8:45 pm.
The entire evening felt like an episode of Kitchen Nightmares: an arrogant atmosphere, thinking they are Michelin status, but massive operational issues affecting both employees and customers. Despite the longest wait I've ever experienced and service breakdowns, a 4% service fee was still added to the bill. We still gave the waiter a 20% tip because the whole situation was out of his control.
What makes this especially frustrating is that the restaurant's atmosphere is super charming and the menu sounded wonderful. Unfortunately, the food did not justify either the wait or the very expensive cost.
I can overlook a slow kitchen. I can overlook a forgotten drink order. What I can't overlook is watching employees be publicly humiliated and customers be treated poorly. Ive been vacationing in Brevard for years, and this is not, and should not, be the vibe of a peaceful, kind mountain community.
If the hostess is reading this review right now, you are WAY too good for that kind of treatment. Shame. On. Them. Don't blame her when you clearly have bigger problems to solve. Work on your morals, wild morel. read more