My family and I drove 2.5 hours to visit this restaurant yesterday, and unfortunately our…read moreexperience was so disappointing that we left without ever ordering.
To give some context, I had been struggling with depression and having a particularly difficult day. My husband thought getting me out of the house, taking a scenic drive to Bear Lake, and treating me to one of my favorite comfort foods, cheese dip from this restaurant, might help lift my spirits. The drive was beautiful despite the rainy weather, and for the first time all day I actually started feeling a little better.
That feeling disappeared the moment we walked into the restaurant.
The restaurant was not busy, yet my family stood at the host stand for quite a while without being acknowledged. Employees were nearby, but no one greeted us or even let us know someone would be with us shortly.
While we were waiting, a server spoke with a gentleman behind the host stand. Immediately afterward, a group seated near the entrance was moved to a different table. We were then seated at the exact table they had just vacated. The silverware was still disheveled from the previous guests, and it became obvious why they had asked to move. Every time the front door opened, cold air blew directly onto the table.
Seeing that there were at least eight or nine open tables throughout the restaurant, I politely asked our server if we could also move. Her response was that her boss said we could not. Thinking there must be some misunderstanding, I looked around at all the empty tables and asked if there really was not another table available.
She explained it would be outside of her section. As someone who has worked as a server myself, I understand section assignments. However, this restaurant is very small, and the alternative tables were only a short distance away. It was not a matter of a long walk across a large dining room.
The part that really bothered me was the attitude. The request was met with annoyance rather than understanding. After refusing, the server abruptly responded, "No, so what do you want to drink?"
At that point, we decided to leave. We calmly gathered our three children and walked out. No one apologized, no one asked if there was a way to make things right, and no one seemed to care that a family was leaving.
What makes this especially disappointing is why we came in the first place. We had driven 2.5 hours specifically to visit this restaurant because my husband was trying to help pull me out of a difficult slump. We were not looking for anything special, just a warm meal, a comfortable table, and a pleasant experience. Instead, we were treated like a nuisance for making a simple request in a nearly empty restaurant.
I rarely leave negative reviews, but the combination of poor hospitality, dismissive service, and a complete lack of concern for the customer experience left a lasting impression, and unfortunately not a good one.
