Mesh

Reviews 3

B

B Richer

By far the worst dining experience that I have ever experienced. I would not encourage my worst enemy to visit this establishment and here’s why: To begin, the waiting staff had bad attitudes and did not want to serve our party. They were very short, rude and unpleasant. It appeared our server had a preconceived notion regarding the party that I was with, whom by the way was comprised of all persons of color. However, we continued our dining experience. Later, one member from our group overheard a conversation between two servers negatively talking about our group. Mind you, this group is comprised of doctors, lawyers, nurses, educators, entrepreneurs, and business professionals. Not that it matters but that is what happens when you believe black and brown people cannot spend money in your establishment. What Mesh reminds us that the Confederate South is not only still alive, but very much present on Mass Ave. We have heard a lot of negative things about the experiences of persons of color on Mass Avenue but we believed those to be in the past. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The Assistant Manager refused to allow more than 25 people into the restaurant, requiring that we needed to have a reservation! Now, last time I checked, Mesh was not by reservation only. It does not even say anything about it on the website. The manager informed us that they dont cater to groups more than 12 people when in fact, you can use Open Table to reserve a party of 20 people. Yes, we had a party of no more than 30 people, but were told that we could not have more than 25. There were five guests who were refused service and were not allowed to enter into the establishment. Treated like criminals when bringing business to this place. Later, we find that we were characterized as “people who don’t tip” and “people who wanted free drinks.” Are you kidding me?! The manager then decides to tell his wait staff to “Call the Po Po on them.” The bottom line here, we were a group who decided to have brunch at Mesh. Not believing that it would be such a difficult task to eat and commune in the same dining space. Furthermore, there were 5 booths and 3 tables that surrounded us. Management told us, they were reserved. We were there from 11:15 AM - 12:45 PM (not one table was used during this experience). Finally, this place is not a good place if you’re in town visiting. Their treatment of patrons is despicable. Never, ever, have I been told to leave from an establishment and had the police called on my party. Unbelievably nasty experience and the Assistant Manager could have chose to handle this matter in a different way. I can only imagine what he told the General Manager about our party. Fortunately, everyone has an experience and can share with others. Beautiful place but the people are not nice nor welcoming.

CH

Chad Naville-Cook

Impression: As a frequent Mass Ave eater, this is a safe choice when you want good food and the higher-end places are booked up. This location is higher-end but still reasonably priced. Its good for a nice dinner that you dont mind spending money on, but wont end up over-paying for. The decor inside is clean and modern, tastefully done. Lighting is the right dimness and the back has outdoor seating with a great fireplace. If you can get a table next to the fireplace, do it, especially on a night when there is a chill in the air. Pros: The drinks are made well, there typically isnt a long wait (btw this location does use OpenTable). The food is delicious, not too pricey, and is made and served at what I feel to be the right pace. One of my favorite appetizers here is the pomme frites, the sauces that come with them are really good, especially aioli (yes, fancy mayonnaise, we all know that). The salads are large too, you can make a whole meal of out of a salad. The best place to eat in this restaurant is the bar area, which does have tables, or outdoor on the back patio. Cons: The main interior seating area is noisy. Like absurdly noisy. I dont know what kind of noise dampeners are being used but they definitely do not work, either that or the majority of the patrons are hard of hearing so talk loudly to compensate. Do not bring a large group here, stick with 8 or less as there are no areas that can accommodate a party any larger unless they start pushing together tables. I attended recently with a party of 10 and we had to have people sitting on the corners and it just barely worked. So stick with 8 or less. Again, the interior noise in the main seating area, its absurd... which is why I recommend if you are dining inside, sit in the bar area, noise levels are much more reasonable. Conclusion: Its a great restaurant. I call it my Plan B because if nobody can decide where to eat or if you arent sure what you want, you will probably find it here and there is likely seating available or just a small wait. The drinks are good and the bar area is large. The decor is modern and sleek so this is actually a great place for after-work drinks with your professional friends. Great for: professional friends to eat/drink, groups less than 8, diverse menu that will accommodate all tastes (even the pickiest eaters), date night but dont want to break the budget Note: uses same loyalty card as Union 50

KR

Kristi Schultz

Had reservations and was seated promptly, however my experience goes downhill from there. My boyfriend and I (both under 21) felt dismissed immediately by our waitress when we she asked if we wanted to look at the drink menu and we had to politely decline. The menu did not reflect the "Trendy gathering place with a patio for inspired farm-to-table cuisine" purported online. While a small note was put on the bottom of the menu about their farms, I found the farm to table connection I have gotten at other restaurants severely lacking. The menu didnt feel inspired by farm to table principles whatsoever, which would be fine if it wasnt advertised as farm to table. We ordered the crostini trio for an appetizer (note you really only get three pieces of crostini) and while it was fine, I dont think I would order again. For my entree I got the scallops with parisienne gnocchi, vanilla-parsnip puree, and orange marmalade. The scallops (you get 3) were seared wonderfully and tasted great with the orange marmalade. The parisienne gnocchi however, were dry and unappealing. I realize they are suppose to be a crisp, airy version as opposed to regular gnocchi, however these just did not do it for me and felt like dry, hollow shells of what gnocchi are supposed to be. The other piece of the dish, the vanilla-parsnip puree, was sickly sweet and I could not figure out what on the plate it was supposed to complement. My boyfriend ordered the steak frites and the fries were amazing! However the steak was pretty basic and not cooked to his order (medium, and it came out on the rare side of medium-rare). He wouldve sent it back, however our waitress was not very attentive to our table, instead more involved with the larger groups. I am extremely disappointed with this visit. I was expecting to love it (Im a sucker for farm-to-table- concepts) but I felt brushed aside as we werent ordering drinks or a larger group. Maybe we just had an unlucky night or a poor server, but I wont be revisiting any time soon.