Michele R.

Visiting this first in Idaho installment of a chain restaurant out of Utah that was founded by a couple from Brazil and that has locations in airports and outdoor shopping center malls, like this one at The Village, resulted in a pretty miserable nearly 90 minutes for my husband and me for what should have been a pretty simple very late lunch fast-casual meal. We knew it was a chain going in and lowered our expectations but the experience dipped well below that low bar. The Carol King lyric played in my head "There's something wrong here, there can be no denying..." Maybe prompted by the too loud sound system tunes of what seemed like chanteuse covers of "John Legend Station" originals. But that is the least of the issues. MANAGEMENT FAILURES FOR SERVICE: Service for this order at the counter and they'll deliver to your table model is chaotic and as if there has been little training for the staff at any point in that continuum. Further, floor management is MIA. The schtick is this is supposed to be healthy food options, and actually there are those, and my husband's salad would probably have been good had it not been waiting for nearly 30 minutes until he walked back to the counter to check on his order. We were not the only table having that problem. For a handful of others we could see, one order came out quickly and then long waits for the other(s) until a customer went to "chase it", as my husband had to do for his. For two more specific examples, for the couple at the table next to us, the guy got his order (looked like steak and mac n cheese) and after his tablemate waited a long time, he got up to go to the counter to check on hers and came back with a salad that he he set in front of her at which point she said "This is the wrong one", got up to take it back to the kitchen and then waited for a runner to bring the right one to her. If this was just a bad day, it was a very bad day because a similar thing happened to a trio of people sitting across from us. In the meantime, when he went to the counter to ask about his salad, my husband found two employees chatting and one told him, "I put it up here with the others." The others being five more bowls "dying" (in restaurant parlance) on the counter. Later, an employee was walking about "auctioning" (in restaurant parlance) a salad asking as she walked by the tables, "Did you order the yadayada salad?" and finally calling out more loudly over the music, "Did anyone order the..." I would say they have some process work to do. And yet, no manager in sight. ORDERING SNAFUS: The lighted menu board is high overhead and hard to see from standing in line at the counter. Yet there was only one laminated menu that could be used by those standing and waiting and it was getting passed from customer to customer as we all seemed new to the place. When I ordered my dish, a side described as eggplant parmesan (it turned out to be chopped in ratatouille style covered with cheese), the employee asked if I wanted rice or sweet potatoes with it. I didn't know it came with a side but I ordered rice. Turns out, she ordered the full meal for me not the side I asked for. Live and learn. She didn't know it came as side order. I didn't know it came as entree since I only saw the side option on reader board. I paid for it. $ FOR FOOD & TIP: Re payment, they do not take cash. Their payment software requests tip before the order goes through. In fact, when my husband didn't see the tip section on the screen at the order interface, the order process was halted and the girl at the counter pointed to the tip section to complete. I should say we are 30% tip types of people for great service in independent eateries, and 20% sort of across the board for other places so we did that here. We were irked to find the kind of service we received is one that we might have omitted tip altogether knowing at the end what we did not know in the beginning. For Greek salad and eggplant entree the total after tax and before tip was about $36. QUALITY: Just okay. Mine was lukewarm and oversalted and turmeric rice that had good flavor but was cool and hard. My husband's salad was fine and could have been good served after it was made instead of wilted by delay. AMBIANCE: The festoon of fake vines and white flowers outside the door and more of that same kind of white on white interior with fake plants set about in pots is maybe the thing one thinks of for "girl groups" of the "SUPER CUTE" variety. There are some white sofas for seating and white tables and chairs. PARKING: Private lot but it is often full in this particular section of the mall given the burger joint next door. ACCESSIBILITY: ADA parking spots in this lot but they seem often occupied by cars without placards or plates. Go figure. Level in the door, clear path to order counter, counter is high, tables are tight and wheelchairs getting through might find it impossible.

Nathalie P.

Great food but subpar service. I pre- order my food bc they're notorious for long lines, the store opens @ 7:30am & the "smoothie people" did not arrive until 7:45, my smoothie wasn't done until 8am (the cashier told me they were late without notice). On a separate occasion I ordered avocado SMASHED toast, I asked if I had to smash the avocado myself & the cashier said "we're out and that's just how he made it so." Is it hard to smash an avocado? I was there literally yesterday & wednesday. Same cashier I've had, she speaks and acts as if she hates her job.

Terry K.

I've given this restaurant two chances, hoping the second visit would be better than the first, but unfortunately it was even more disappointing. For a place that markets itself as healthy and clean, the quality has consistently missed the mark. During my first visit- which was near their opening- the food was dry, fell apart easily, and lacked flavor. I regretted spending so much money at the time. I only recently decided to give them another try since I figured they worked out some kinks. This time, the mac and cheese was inedible- grainy, with overcooked noodles, and a large clump of hard cheese in the center. The pumpkin muffin was extremely dry and had to be thrown away. The milkshake I ordered was gray in color, didn't match the images on the menu or website, and had an off taste. Even the cheese bread was underwhelming. I really wanted to like this place, but after two unsuccessful visits, I won't be returning. I hope they can improve the quality of their food in the future. Also the service itself seems fine but definitely doesn't match the high price point.

Yvonne C.

First time coming here and am highly disappointed! First of all, is the meat even real? Absolutely disgusting. I ordered the steak protein plate and it was flat out gross. The meat was at gag level, dry, and the consistency of glue. Please see the pictures attached. The only thing palatable was the salad. The rest was cold and a huge disappointment. My daughter's meal also came 10-15 min after mine. The service at the counter was something I've yet to experience in my 46 years of life. Who did we hire here--was she on drugs or just dumb? Walked up to the counter and said "hello", and received no response back. The cashier just looked up at the ceiling, staring off into space. When she finally "joined" us she had pure attitude. ZERO and I mean zerooooooo customer service. Not the impression one hopes for as a first time customer. Please management let Kaya work elsewhere. There are plenty of people who need jobs out there and actually want to work. I would NEVER treat a customer like that. I've been in customer service myself for over 30 years and the service here is unacceptable! My daughter is a college student and she invited me for lunch and I feel awful that she paid for this garbage.

Laura B.

I've eaten at Aubergine Kitchen in Provo a couple of times and I was so excited to have the Meridian location open! I absolutely love their concept and their food. They've only been open 11 days, so when I saw the HUGE crowd I was a little worried that our pickup order might be so-so. But I couldn't have been more wrong. From the time I ordered online to pickup, it was less than 15 minutes. Food was ready about 2 minutes after I entered the store. We had one salad, one plated meal, and one melt. Everyone loved their meals, and I even got a 20% coupon for signing up for their loyalty program. I'm sure they're overwhelmed with such a busy store but it seems to be going better than I expected. And every single table inside and out was taken, with probably 10-15 people in line. Hopefully people can give them some grace to get used to the crowd and new co-workers. Thanks for bringing grass fed proteins and healthier options to the Treasure Valley. Not the cheapest but quality ingredients are worth it to me. I will definitely be back again and again!

Chloe C.

My husband and I come here at least 3 times a month. We absolutely love a healthy option when it comes to eating out. We've never had a bad experience with the food or the ambiance and are a huge fan of both! However, there is one employee who has such a negative and almost angry attitude, it makes us so uncomfortable. We've been ordering to go to avoid it. This girl is so unpleasant to talk to and has no manners. She will bump into you and not even acknowledge it. It's almost made us stop coming which is sad. I work in the service industry and know that bad days are had. I know the public isn't always easy to work with. But her behavior is consistent and disheartening. If you're thinking of trying it out, I urge you to! The food is great. I just hope the one employee has a change of attitude for the sake of the business.

Nicole F.

I have dined here twice and have not been impressed. The food is ok. The food runner just rudely threw our food on our table, leaving us to figure out what it was. The way the restaurant is designed was not thought out for the line to order and where the drink station is placed, definitely an after thought. The taste of the food is palatable. For the price I was just not impressed. Had really high hopes for this place but severely disappointed.

Madison B.

I got the peanut tofu bowl and it was amazing I would definitely order it again. The service was quick and staff were friendly. The dining area and bathroom were clean.