The Garden Brunch Cafe

Reviews 3

CH

chelsea musgrove

I am so disappointed with what my fiancé and I experienced at the Garden Brunch Cafe yesterday morning. We drive over a half hour to get there and we know there will be a wait because its just that good. We do not mind that, we know what to expect. This is a place weve been frequenting for the past few years and it has always been a classy, top notch experience. Unfortunately,over the past year we have noticed it has went completely down hill. They open at 9 so we arrived at 830 to be one of the first in line. While we wait outside on the porch for 9am we notice there is trash where we are supposed to stand, that wasnt like them. 9am came and still no one opened the door to let us in from the cold. Once someone opened the door we were sat pretty quickly and we were looking forward to the great food we had been saving our appetite for. As soon as we sat down a lady came around to let us know that they couldnt accept any cards because their internet was down. Therefore if we didnt have cash we needed to get up because they had no intention on getting it fixed. Most people that had been waiting like we had got up to leave. Many people that clearly had money picked their things up and left. We had cash so we stayed. Our waiter was a kind young man and he took our order. We ordered steak and eggs and a bunch of other stuff. My fiancé ordered their special which was pumpkin pancakes. Yummy right? Well he came back shortly after we placed our order to inform us they messed that batch up and they wouldnt have any more any time soon, so she was forced to get something else. She just got regular pancakes instead. Our food came out pretty fast and it all looked good. The pancakes came out with no butter, just dry. The syrup they gave her was clearly straight out of the refrigerator because it was cold, not room temp, it was COLD. I knew our waiter was busy and I knew my fiancé wanted her pancakes so I got up to ask if they could just warm it up for me. The waiter to me NO because they do not have a microwave. I was puzzled for a few reasons. Ive never been told no to something that should be a simple task. But when the owner over heard our conversation he stepped in and said he would handle it. He took the cold syrup to the kitchen to heat it up however he needed to. It wasnt long before he brought it back to the table. As he came up to our table I thanked him graciously because I know he went out of his way to fix our problem. Which again to me didnt seem like a problem. He proceeds to sit it down and tells me in these words "to NEVER ask for us to do that again". I was floored. Ive never been talked to that way as if i was a child. It was the most rude experience Ive ever had. This man is in the customer service business and in what world Is it ok to say something like that? Ive been many places and have had that same request and never has it been an issue. Even if it wasnt easy for him I would think he would say to himself, wow if our customers want warm syrup at least I know how to do that now without a microwave. Or maybe if the way he did it was such an inconvenience then why would he not, as a business owner, want to figure out an easier way incase that problem comes up again. Id like to point out that the syrup was in a glass container. All he had to do was run it under hot water and it wouldve warmed up instantly. Needless to say we both lost our appetite, our food was ruined. Something so simple was such an inconvenience to him and it cost him big. Not only will we never be back but Im in a position to where I see many many people on a daily basis and Im able to tell them about hidden gems in my city. I used to brag and tell all of my clients about this place but I will make sure I will never do that again. As a matter of fact, I will go out of my way to tell these people to NEVER go to the Garden Brunch Cafe. Shame on you sir for thinking this kind of behavior will get you ahead in running a successful business.

MO

Montie Skaggs

Not happy whatsoever. I brought my girlfriend here to impress her and show her a good breakfast at a local family owned spot before heading home to Chicago. I can deal with the cramped waiting area and busy atmosphere, because thats what breakfast is. We were quoted a 45 minute wait time, which almost lost us. But I looked at the list and only saw 6-7 names on there. I asked if it would be more like 20 minutes and she said no about 45. The wait ended up being 20 minutes like I expected. The party behind us (a 4 top with Louis Vuitton bags and MONEY also almost walked out due to the incorrect wait time)... After being sat we were greeted by a very nice young woman who almost saved your restaurant 1 star but I just couldnt do it. She took two food orders at once after getting our drink order and then it took about 6-8 minutes to get my coffee. The chocolate milk was forgotten and not brought until halfway through the meal, and it was warm. Might suggest refrigerating your glasses. No syrup was given or offered. No ketchup given or offered. No jelly given or offered for the extra toast I ordered. Which was $2 for one slice??????? Whats with the one slice???? After the food was dropped we were not checked on for ten minutes so I didnt even get syrup until the food was cold. The reason is because the server was way too busy and had no help. Maybe ask a teammate to do a checkback for you next time.. The thing that gives me a bad taste is that this place has prices of a luxurious 5 star breakfast, but is nothing near the sight of a two star breakfast. Me and my girlfriend shared one plate and added a couple sides and spent $30. The server needed help from her team in the room we sat in. She got 3 tables sat at once. I do not blame her for being overwhelmed. Once someone finally came over to ask if I needed more coffee and water about 15 minutes into the meal, they forgot it. I could literally keep going on about how awful our experience was. I have no clue why people settle for bad service simply because the food tastes good. Amongst all of this, there wasnt a single point in time where I felt comfortable discussing this feedback with any employee or manager.

A

A Private User

The Garden Brunch Cafe is a beautiful restaurant, with a nice atmosphere (quaint house/original artwork) and great food. Unfortunately, that is where my positive comments end. I went on a Sunday afternoon with a group of my friends. Although we had a 1:30 pm reservation, we were not seated until 40 minutes later (even though there were plenty of empty seats in the restaurant). When did we get our drinks? 30 minutes later. How about our food? An hour after that. This was the slowest service I have ever received, and to top it all off, our waiter was unapologetic and the owner was rude to us. Instead of coming by and apologizing for HORRIBLE service, she makes a smart comment and then goes off to greet a group of more "affluent"-looking clients. They didnt even give us a discount on our food. I guess if you are a college-age looking student, you are better off avoiding the Garden Brunch Cafe. Id say 3 strikes and youre out--my friends and I will not be returning to this restaurant in the near future.