Rarely am I compelled to write reviews, especially negative ones. I really wanted to like this place. There were tons of great reviews so my husband and I decided to give this place a try while in Niles this weekend.
We should have paid closer attention to the review dates. It seems in the past year or so, they've really gone downhill and diners have had mostly negative experiences. From reading through the reviews, it seems like there has been a change in management.
We followed the instructions and scanned the menu from the QR code. This menu was quite different from the menu shown on Yelp (the photos or in the view menus section), on their current website and with even more differences from the hard copy menu they kept at the register.
The menu was very simple. Salads, a couple pizzas and a variety of sandwiches plus a few appetizers / bar bites. Nothing to write home about but all we wanted was a quick easy lunch so this should have been fine.
What was strange was nothing on the menu seemed to require cooking. I'm not even sure they have a grill or cooktop. We heard / smelled nothing coming from the kitchen and we were sitting pretty much right outside the kitchen door. I'm guessing most of their food is frozen and then warmed on a foreman type grill or in a convection oven.
I ordered a turkey pesto panini and my husband ordered a fried chicken sandwich. The only sides offered were potato salad or coleslaw. They did have fish and chips on the menu so we asked if ordering a side of fries was possible and we were told it was not. Totally understand if they don't allow substitutions or ordering off menu, but I really wondered if they even had fries at this point.
We both ordered ice teas and the server brought them out right away and then disappeared to the back. They didn't ask if we wanted any sweetener/sugar so I went and got it myself from the coffee station we passed when walking into the restaurant.
My husband had contemplated ordering a beer. There were a few that sounded interesting that he had never tried, but was turned off immediately by the signage stating they don't offer sampling. I get not letting costumers try all the different beers, but if someone wants a taste before purchasing (a super overpriced) pint, then I really don't see an issue. I'm not super knowledgeable about beers/pricing but according to my husband these were about $3-4 + higher than prices we see in SF, which seemed pretty steep.
Then came the wait. 40 minutes for 2 sandwiches and pre-packaged sides. In that 40 minutes, no one came to ask if we needed anything else, apologize for the wait or let us know that the food would be right out. We saw two pretzels with cheese sauce being brought out to a couple seated after us. We missed this on the QR menu and it wasn't listed on the print, Yelp or website menu.
While we were waiting we also noticed a sign at the register saying that no coin change would be given and if not paying in exact change, your bill would be rounded up to the next dollar. This has to be illegal, right?
When the food finally came, my husband noticed immediately that the bacon was definitely microwave bacon. He had also asked for no ranch sauce on his sandwich and it came drenched in the sauce. Still, the food was fine but also something that was reminiscent of a hospital cafeteria. Nothing seemed like it was actually fresh or made from scratch. We're nearly positive that the "chef" we saw in back was a teenage girl, which checked out with the food served. Again, it wasn't bad just not what we were expecting. It seemed like all Costco frozen items that were simply heated up.
The coleslaw was barely dressed and the potato salad was super bland. Like not even salt and pepper.
We didn't see a server again at all.
I got up myself again and went to the service counter to get a couple of salt and pepper packets since nothing was available on the tables.
Since we paid at the register when ordering, we didn't need to wait for a bill. But I only ate half my sandwich and wanted to take the rest to go. We waited and waited and no one ever came back to check on us, so I wrapped my sandwich in a few napkins and we left.
It's such a cute place with so much potential. We hope the (new?) owners read these recent reviews and take notes. I know the restaurant industry is tough but at minimum you should provide better, more attentive service and serve quality food -- not frozen Costco items -- if you want to stay afloat. We were not expecting four star dining but did expect a little bit more for the money. read more