First time eating here, party of 4 adults and 2 small children. We arrived around 4 pm. When you walk in, it has a very nice looking bar and tables and chairs beyond the bar. The bartender told us there was also seating upstairs and live music starts at 8 pm. We opted to eat upstairs and were seated immediately as it was not crowded. The upstairs was decorated nicely and was appealing.
This restaurant is very expensive. I ordered artichoke hearts and they were seasoned too strongly for me. It was a tiny plate for $15.95. I ordered filet mignon and it was pretty good, but was $45.95. The drink menu had no prices, but drinks came in at $10 each.
The servers were pleasant, but mistakes were made. The servers were extremely fast about removing items from the table. They jumped in like Ninjas and grabbed items and disappeared before you even knew what they took. I had a small plate of lemon slices for my iced tea. The server tried to remove it from the table with unused lemon still on it WITHOUT ASKING if I was done. I told her I was still using them, so she left it. About 10 minutes later, I turn to my left to get a lemon and the plate was gone! That's how stealth they were. Then, when I was eating my dessert, I put my fork down for a moment and the server tried to take it, AGAIN WITHOUT ASKING! I told her, I'm not done. That kept happening. I did not compare notes to see if anyone else had their food removed too early, but I'm sure they did. They were jumping in and out all over us. It was pretty crazy and not relaxed. Servers typically ask if you are done with your food before removing it from the table.
The entire eating experience felt like a team of servers trying to hurry us out of the restaurant. We were there from 4 to 6 and spent more than $500 and there were many empty tables. It was moderately occupied, not packed.
We had two separate bills. Our bill had a $27.67 service fee added. I asked our party what that was. I did not receive a clear, justifiable reason, so I asked the server. He said it was a service fee that they charge for parties of 6 or more. I asked, Are you saying it is a gratuity? He says, Yes, 18%. I said, So, it's not necessary to add a gratuity because you already included it? He says, No, not unless you want to.
You can see the potential for misleading people by exchanging the word "gratuity" for "service fee." Covid allowed this vagueness to ensue as restaurants started adding Covid fees. When a restaurant adds the gratuity into the bill for large parties, it needs to be clearly stated what it is and how much was added. We typically see a note that says 18% gratuity added for parties of 6 or more. All their receipt said was Service Charge $27.67. The note at the bottom says Suggested Tips with the %s and amounts.
You have to ask yourself why they are calling it a Service Charge on your itemized bill, but then when they suggest tip amounts, they call it a Tip. A logical person would assume that a Service Charge and a Tip are two different things looking at their receipt. I feel that's intentional so they can collect double tips. Tip: Notify your customers about your mandatory built-in gratuity for parties of 6 or more.
According to the taxing authorities, a mandatory tip requires the restaurant to collect sales tax on the tip. If you voluntarily tip, the restaurant does not collect sales tax on it. So, the mandatory tip has extra cost to you. All the more reason for restaurants to notify customers who may know nothing about taxation laws in your industry.
This point may be debatable, but classifying 4 adults and a 3 and 4 year old as a party of 6? Eh. The kids shared a small children's meal and picked at their mom's food. Maybe it's fair. I'm not a server, so not sure. Just seemed like overkill making us a large party. I guess it could be argued that it's still more work even if it's small children.
Overall, the food was decent, but overpriced, visually appealing atmosphere, servers need better traing that focuses more on sensitivity to customer needs. The fast and efficient part is overpowering the customer service part. Awareness of customer needs and interpersonal skills need work. They made us feel highly aware that our table had a time limit on it.
Santa Claus came to the table and interacted with the kids. They enjoyed that.
I might give 2.5 stars if they had that. I considered it a moderate experience for a big price. I cannot rate the music because we left too early for that.
I've included a screenshot of the bill for 2 of us. read more