The Stone Soup Company

Reviews 5

JO

Joseph Martin

Food was ok, could have been significantly better. Terrible service. Arrived mid-afternoon on a Sunday, the place was about 1/2 full. We walked in and were told to sit anywhere we like. Someone came up a few minutes later, asked us what we were drinking, dropped off menus. No straws. Waitress walked back and forth serving a table behind us. We asked for straws twice, never got them. In walks a "food tour group", they were seated immediately, and a different server brought out these cuban sandwiches immediately for them. Meanwhile, were still waiting to order, its 30 minutes after we arrived, about 20 minutes after our menus were dropped off. No worries at this point, theyre busy, theres only 4 people in the back of the kitchen two wait staff and a third girl I never really saw do anything for the ~25 people in the restaurant. We flag down the waitress indicating wed like to order, she comes back and takes our order. We order a few simple items from the menu, chili cheese fries as an appetizer, cheesy garlic bread, soup and a sandwich. And we wait. Continue waiting. Wait some more. Meanwhile, the table behind us that arrived just before we did was offered some complimentary samples. Nothing for us. Food finally comes out an hour after our order was placed. No apology, nothing. We asked for straws once more. The sandwich and cheesy bread were luke warm, the cheese started to solidify and was not melt at all. Appears like it was left under a heat lamp for quite a while. The soup was solidly "ok". We were informed the chili cheese fries would be right out. We ate the food delivered. Another 20 minutes after our food arrived, and wed finished, still no chili cheese fries, or straws. I went to the register told them we wanted to pay, cancel the remaining food and we left. Grand total? Just shy of two hours for some mediocre food. Honestly, the food served seems like it would have been between above average and delicious if it had been served fresh. However the not so hot cheesy bread and the lukewarm flatbread were very meh. I really dont know what the screw up was with such a well staffed placed and not that many customers. All that I can say is that well never be back, and I wish we had gone somewhere else instead. Oh, and we never did get those straws.

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CH

Chris Sprenkel

Excellent experience for the $ spent. Arrived with a group of 3 at roughly 1PM on a Saturday. Restaurant was about 1/3 full so expected wait times were minimal. Pros: * "Lobsta Seafood Chowder" was amazing. * Soups are well proportioned and most have 3 different size options. * "The Real Cuban," also amazing. Even if its not the best cuban youve ever had, it should be at the top of your list. * I expected the cuban sandwich to be about half the portion size that it was. To me that was a major plus. If youre going for lunch, its a meal by itself but you really should try one of their soups while youre there. * We were greeted at the door and offered a booth table. * Waitress (sorry Im terrible with names :/ ) arrived to our table promptly. * Wait times were almost non existent on this particular visit. Soup arrived within minutes, sandwich followed shortly after. * Experience with staff was about average; nothing noteworthy but nothing sub par either. Cons: * Interior is a bit small (I believe they had a few small outdoor tables too) so they cant accommodate too many patrons at once. This was not an issue during our visit. If youre concerned about finding a table (such as it could be a busy time) then just call ahead. >> Regarding the small interior, on the flip side it had a bit of a comfortable cozy/homey feel to it. There was no notion of claustrophobia about the place but again, we were not visiting when it was busy. Obviously I highly recommend this place, especially for lunch. I plan to return at some point to try out some of their other soups. P.S. - Due to its location (middle of Ybor) you might want to figure out your parking situation first. There are a number of nearby parking garages as well as valet options (not handled by this restaurant) during certain hours.

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Chris Thompson

I work in Ybor and rarely order food to go because I dont like to eat at my desk. However, today I had a lot of work to do and a deadline, so I opted to call my order in. Normally, I LOVE Stone Soup. I called my order in at 11:30. They told me 15 minutes. When I arrived at 11:45 they made the wrong sandwich (I clearly told them what I wanted) . The server put the correction in but there was no hurry to make it ahead of other orders that were actually ordered after mine. I had to wait another 25 minutes (now 40 minutes into my lunch) before I got my food. Still they were missing something. Then the man (might have been the owner) who finally gave me my sandwich was mumbling under his breath that the reason they didnt give me part of my order was because I was "rushing" them... as it if was MY fault that they messed up - twice! I explained that I called my order in correctly over 30 minutes prior and left. You know... the main reason people call in an order instead of eating in - is because they are in a hurry that particular day. So, to make them wait on a "fix" and put them in the cue at the end (I saw another cuban going out before I got mine... and I ordered mine before that customer even sat down!) is simply poor service. I usually eat there once a week, but I dont think Ill be back for a long time until the taste of the poor service is out of my mouth. Yes... they serve GREAT food... but the service sucked this time (usually it is simply "ok".)

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AL

Alayna G

I was hoping for an excellent culinary experience when coming here. The server did well, it was the food that eas very lackluster. I ordered the "no beets" borscht which was basically a watery broth, about 5 pieces of potato and a glob on sour cream. I know this soup can be "just liquid", but generally its heartier, not this watery and no real "filler". I also ordered the roasted chicken tenders which was supposed to be a "breadless" version of chicken tenders and air baked. This was not what I expected at all - basically just a chicken breast that was cut up into 3/16" strips and brought out to me. So let me get this straight. I just paid someone to cut a chicken breast for me?!?! My husband ordered the kabob entree with linguini and was very disappointed. The chicken kabobs where shaped more what I would anticipate for the "roasted chicken tenders". Anyway, they were seasoned very poorly, had no flavor. I guess the poing was youre supposed to use the dip provided so you dont notice how bland the kabobs are. The linguini that came with it was just that -pasta. No flavoring, sauce or anything added. Just pasta. Really? We also ordered some potstickers which were ok and nice & crispy. I would suggest the chefs actually try some of the food theyre sending out and see if its something they would look forward to eating. Personally, I dont anticipate coming here again. I LOVE soup and was really hoping to love this place, but left feeling less than satisfied.

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MA

Malinda LaBar

had to change my review after my most recent experience which definitely made up for the last time. The service this time was great, our server was attentive and very helpful. She even gave us a sample of the gumbo which tasted awesome. The previous time I was there, we had the worst service possible and we were the only ones in the place. This time was a million times better-really great. The people in my party got the Cuban sandwich, Chicken Souvlaki, chili, chili cheese fries and I got the matzo ball soup. Chicken souvlaki was freaking awesome-so good. I was really jealous that I did not order it. I almost stole it from my boyfriend. The Cuban looked great and our friend seemed to really enjoy it. The chili was a little on the thick side but tasted ok. The matzo ball soup was not great. It was basically just chicken broth with a giant matzo ball in it. I thought the menu said it was supposed to come with chicken but when I asked the server, she said no. (I should have ordered something else) The gumbo was amazing, incredibly spicy! I loved how spicy it was but a couple people in our party thought it was too spicy. Overall, I had a great experience and will definitely return. Makes up for my last experience, makes me think the owners really care about what their customers think.

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