I visited on March 13 2021. As a local it was not the first time eating at Willowtree and I can say with certainty that I will never, ever eat there again. First off I am not the person to ever leave a negative review but the experience I had is absolutely horrendous! So my husband, daughter, and I walked in and seated ourselves as usual. The waiter walked over gave us a menu. I asked for a kids menu and I guess they were out because he pointed to our menu and said the kids menu is right there. Well the reason I asked was not to see what was on it... she always orders the same thing, but the reason I asked was to let her color and give her something to do. My daughter is 6 years old and autistic with OCD and ADHD. I am sure if you have autistic children or children with ADD then you know the struggles of keeping them entertained while trying to enjoy your meal. Well, we came up with a game years ago to keep her busy. She opens 3 sugar packs and draws letters (as if drawing letters in the sand). It works great and keeps her busy and I would like to add that I ALWAYS clean up after her when she's done. At this point we had only been seated a few minutes and the waiter comes over to bring our drinks he says to us "can you not let her open up those sugar packets". I was in total shock and thought I heard him wrong. I said "oh, I'm sorry, but I always clean up after her. He said "I'm sorry but the owner told me to tell you not to let her open up the sugar packets". At this point I am in absolute disbelief at what I am hearing. I tell him "I don't think we will be eating here". We got up and went to the register to pay her (the owner) for our sugar packets and tea. When my husband told her we want to pay for the sugar packs our daughter opened she says "I don't need you to pay for the sugar packs". Well I am not very happy with myself because at this point I lost it and had to voice my opinion. We told her what the waiter had said to us and she admitted that he came to her and told her there is a kid over there opening up sugar packs. So she admits that she told him to tell us to not let her do that. Me, trying to stay calm but can feel my blood boiling says "well you should have told him not to say anything. We was going to be eating here but not now and we will never eat here again. It's crazy that your that worried about sugar packs and you lost our business". Then I proceeded to tell her how my daughter is autistic and she draws in the sugar as a game to keep her quit and entertained and I always clean up after her. No lie, she looks me dead in the face and says "how would you feel if someone came to your house and poured sugar on the table...those cost money". Now I'm even more in disbelief that this is how an owner of a restaurant processes this! I mean a child! As much messes that children make. Well first off there is a difference in my house and a restaurant! You are in the customer service field! You open a restaurant to serve customers and make sure they have a great experience. Well our bill would have been high (large order of cheese sticks, drinks, and 2 steak dinners) and she was worried about a few cents and sugar on the table (which again would have been cleaned up anyway). As customers we work hard for our money and was looking forward to a date night with the hubby and trying to keep our daughter quiet so that we can have a nice meal. The owner obviously needs a course on customer service and I would warn anyone that this is definitely not a kid friendly restaurant. The owner definitely does not put her customers first which is the most important part of running any business (business 101). I would also love to add that you never know (adult or child) what they may face or the special needs they may have so please do not ever judge. Tonight I felt judged as a parent. A date night gone wrong, so wrong. The worst experience I have endured in a restaurant. I want to make sure that no one has to feel how I felt tonight and I will make sure that all my friends with children know this owners outlook. read more

I visited on March 13 2021. As a local it was not the first time eating at Willowtree and I can say with certainty that I will never, ever eat there again. First off I am not the person to ever leave a negative review but the experience I had is absolutely horrendous! So my husband, daughter, and I walked in and seated ourselves as usual. The waiter walked over gave us a menu. I asked for a kids menu and I guess they were out because he pointed to our menu and said the kids menu is right there. Well the reason I asked was not to see what was on it... she always orders the same thing, but the reason I asked was to let her color and give her something to do. My daughter is 6 years old and autistic with OCD and ADHD. I am sure if you have autistic children or children with ADD then you know the struggles of keeping them entertained while trying to enjoy your meal. Well, we came up with a game years ago to keep her busy. She opens 3 sugar packs and draws letters (as if drawing letters in the sand). It works great and keeps her busy and I would like to add that I ALWAYS clean up after her when she's done. At this point we had only been seated a few minutes and the waiter comes over to bring our drinks he says to us "can you not let her open up those sugar packets". I was in total shock and thought I heard him wrong. I said "oh, I'm sorry, but I always clean up after her. He said "I'm sorry but the owner told me to tell you not to let her open up the sugar packets". At this point I am in absolute disbelief at what I am hearing. I tell him "I don't think we will be eating here". We got up and went to the register to pay her (the owner) for our sugar packets and tea. When my husband told her we want to pay for the sugar packs our daughter opened she says "I don't need you to pay for the sugar packs". Well I am not very happy with myself because at this point I lost it and had to voice my opinion. We told her what the waiter had said to us and she admitted that he came to her and told her there is a kid over there opening up sugar packs. So she admits that she told him to tell us to not let her do that. Me, trying to stay calm but can feel my blood boiling says "well you should have told him not to say anything. We was going to be eating here but not now and we will never eat here again. It's crazy that your that worried about sugar packs and you lost our business". Then I proceeded to tell her how my daughter is autistic and she draws in the sugar as a game to keep her quit and entertained and I always clean up after her. No lie, she looks me dead in the face and says "how would you feel if someone came to your house and poured sugar on the table...those cost money". Now I'm even more in disbelief that this is how an owner of a restaurant processes this! I mean a child! As much messes that children make. Well first off there is a difference in my house and a restaurant! You are in the customer service field! You open a restaurant to serve customers and make sure they have a great experience. Well our bill would have been high (large order of cheese sticks, drinks, and 2 steak dinners) and she was worried about a few cents and sugar on the table (which again would have been cleaned up anyway). As customers we work hard for our money and was looking forward to a date night with the hubby and trying to keep our daughter quiet so that we can have a nice meal. The owner obviously needs a course on customer service and I would warn anyone that this is definitely not a kid friendly restaurant. The owner definitely does not put her customers first which is the most important part of running any business (business 101). I would also love to add that you never know (adult or child) what they may face or the special needs they may have so please do not ever judge. Tonight I felt judged as a parent. A date night gone wrong, so wrong. The worst experience I have endured in a restaurant. I want to make sure that no one has to feel how I felt tonight and I will make sure that all my friends with children know this owners outlook. read more

The willow tree grill is a great place to eat. They do get busy sometimes but that is because they have great food. The staff is always nice and if you have to wait a while, let me tell you it is worth it. To me, if I have to wait to get served that tells me that everyone wants it and they pile in. I couldn't ask for a better place to eat. When me and my wife visit Summerville, we will usually go to the Willow Tree Grill. read more