American Grocery Restaurant

Reviews 3

JA

Jason Sams

Have had a chance to dine at American Grocery twice now, once a year or so back and then again last week. My first time there was fine.... food was good but not great. Basically, I felt that for the amount of money that I spent, there are much better options in downtown Greenville. This last time, I actually had a kind of bad experience. Our waiter wasnt rude per say, but he wasnt friendly at all. Im all for a waiter that is seen and not heard, Im there to enjoy a meal with friends, not make friends with my waiter, but this guy just seemed to hate his job. At least smile and pretend to be friendly when youre in the service industry! At the beginning of the meal, we were discussing ordering some pre dinner drinks and appetizers, note that this was restaurant week in Greenville and we knew they were busy with reservations, so we just mentioned that were were going to do this and work our way through dinner and kind of out of habit finished the statement with "if thats okay". His response was, "we have lots of reservations tonight, so you really cant take your time". WHAT?!? Are you kidding me? What kind of response was this? That right there, lost one star from me. The proper response, in my opinion, is "You can take all the time you need to enjoy your dinner. This is restaurant week and we are fully packed with reservations, but I want to make sure you have a wonderful experience". So, we got past that and then one of the bus boys accidentally spilled my wifes drink in her lap. Not a big deal, mistakes happen, and we werent upset at all. My wife and I both waited tables when we were in college and we completely understand things happen. He rushed back to get some club soda and a napkin. During this time, our waiter looked at our table and made no attempt to approach and apologize or try to help. The person who I believe is the owner/sommelier approached the table and began to take the glass that had been spilled away. She did not really acknowledge what had happened or seem like she was going to make an effort to replace the drink, so I said that I assumed the drink was going to be replaced. Ill be the first to admit that the tone of my voice was probably not the friendliest at this point because I was annoyed with how our waiter had been acting and handling everything up to that point, but her response shocked me. She was rude and condescending in her response to basically tell me that of course they were going to replace it and I was a classless idiot for even being so presumptuous and thinking that they might not. These were not her exact words, but this was definitely her tone and attitude. Truthfully, I got this arrogant attitude from her and the staff the entire evening. Their staff takes on the attitude of the owners and it shows that they think they are better than you and everyone else and that it is a privilege to eat there. Ive eaten at some of the most highly ranked and awarded restaurants in NYC, Napa, etc., spent more and less on a dinner, and have never experienced a more arrogant attitude from a set of people who exist because we as customers choose to eat there. So because of the attitude of the owner and staff and the fact that the food was just average for the price, thats why Im only giving it 2 stars. Id definitely say to give it a try and hopefully youll have a better experience than me, but I will not be going back again.

RY

Ryan Guite

One of the worst service experiences in the past 12 months. Having heard some good comments on this place since moving to Greenville, I was excited to try it out. I have been to and sampled over 25 restaurants in just the past 2 months since moving to Greenville and I was amazingly shocked at how bad the service was here. We sat at the bar (because we did not have a reservation). We sat down and it took over 10 mins for our bartender (Kurt) to even acknowledge us (and there was only 1 other person at the bar). Let me help paint the scene: We arrived at 7:15pm. The place was empty except for 2 tables and one other patron at end of the bar. We had to ask for food menus, drink menus, and his attention. He never greeted us, welcomed us, or as it turns out, spoke to us the entire 90 mins we were there. He never checked in on us, offered us another drink when our glasses where empty for 15 mins, offered us water, or asked how we were doing - once...not even once. We had to stand up and get dressed after asking for our check several times. We ordered a drink each and then when I asked a question "tell me about the fried deviled eggs" his response was, "its exactly as it reads". I followed it up with, "can you tell me what the reviews are? Do people enjoy them? Do you like them? What do they come with? etc. .etc.." No response. In short, let me say in fairness, that the two items we ordered were above average. The fried deviled eggs were excellent and worth ordering. The grilled shrimp too was great. Unfortunately, we stopped there, as we were so turned off by the service we canceled our dinner order and went to another spot - Sobys...which was both fantastic service and food. Id suggest if you go, do yourself a favor and try sitting a table and leave quickly at the slightest hint of bad service. The food is very pricey here and if you are willing to pay for pricey food, we should expect excellent - or at least average service. On the bill I left a note expressing my dissatisfaction, my name and phone number should anybody inquire as to why I felt so. If I hear from anyone, Ill reply here with how the conversation and outcome turned out. Good luck.

A

A Private User

Four of us dined at Am. Grocery Rest. this evening. It made me think I was back in England -- the portion served for a Bombay Sapphire Martine was not more than a 1 oz pour. For those of you whove been to the UK know that they dispense spirits in 1/6 of a Gill for spirits or approx. 2/3 of an ounce. Thats about what I got in the cockail for $9. Ive never seen a martini billed the way Am. Grocery does: $8 for Bombay and $1 for Martini or $9 in total. The standard dinner meal was well prepared with a soup of rabbit and dumpling served in a huge bowl that was about the size I feed my 100 lb. dog. If I had used a soup spoon for consumption I would have dispensed with the presentaton with two dips. The entree was a petite boneless short rib with collard greens as a side vegetable. This also was presented on an oversize plate which was almost obscene as the portions were more apropos for a three year old child. In compliment to the chef, both plates were delicious, but it is rare that I walk away from a restaurant table with a feeling that one more course should have been served. With a bottle of Chardonnay and some ice tea for one, the total bill came to $234.95, not including gratuity. Suffice to say I was ripped off for one extra martini cocktail (not noted till I reviewed the bill later this evening) and the portions of all items were minuscule. I give the restaurant a 2 star rating. Walter of Seneca, SC