mary's gourmet diner

terrible service; horrible manager. my family visited breakfast of course as part of a mothers' day celebration. after waiting for someone to take our order for 30 minutes, my husband finally had to ask who our waiter was. we were among the first group seated. we ordered and after 45 minutes when we still had not received our food, my husband asked to speak to the manager. the woman who came over, who we gathered ismary'sdaughter and who we noticed had been yelling at the servers, was belligerent, loud and obnoxious. she shouted at us that the restaurant was not a fast food joint and that everything was cooked to order. she continued saying that today was their first day serving brunch. i found that excuse interesting since the place does, after all, purport to be a breakfast restaurant and has been in business for quite a while. what is the difference between serving breakfast and brunch? after all that commotion, when other diners were staring at her and having the same kind of wait, the food we got wasn't good. we could have lived with the poor food. we could even have lived with the interminable wait. what we can't live with is a manager who is unspeakably rude. we will never go back again and will tell others about our horrible experience.

my family and i visitedmary'sto celebrate my nephew's graduation and i was completely taken back by the appalling behavior of a waitress who wasn't even serving my table. when my nephew kindly said "excuse me" so he could get by as well as to let the waitress know he was about to pass by her, she turns around and loudly yells "i'm working! there's plenty of space for you to go!" i'm working right now!". i explained to her that he was simply saying "excuse me" and that she was very rude. she replied "some people have to talk to other people like that". shocked, i repeated her statement "other people?!" so she could explain what she meant but she simply said she was working and walked away. my family owns a series of restaurants in winston-salem so i think i know what good service is and what its not. i am disgusted by this grown woman's lack of professionalism and poor choice of words. i will absolutely no be returning to this establishment. mary is a good friend of my sister who owns la botana on hanes mall boulevard, so i'm sorry that this waitress (whom i am told ismary'sdaughter) has caused such a revolting experience on what should have been a happy day.

this was literally the worst restaurant experience i have ever had. the wait staff was so rude that i left the building in tears. later i discovered that the waitress who had been so rude, was the owner's daughter, so i doubt taking it to management would have done much good.

here's my, hopefully succinct, list of complaints:

1. obviously the rude wait staff was #1. i can overlook a lot if the waiters are clearly trying to make my meal pleasant.

2. i can't attest to the quality of the food as i never actually got to eat any. i did, however, pay $15 for a meal at which i consumed nothing but water.

3. at one point in ordering i asked the waitress the price of an al a carte item. on my bill, the price was not what was quoted and when i mentioned it, i was told, "i did tell you that; that's what the price used to be." they fully expected me to pay the new price, even though it was their mistake.

4. when i got my food, it was not what i expected at all and it was not something i was going to eat. there was no fault on the part of the waitress or the kitchen, the description on the menu simply gave me a very different idea of what i was getting. however, no one tried to make my meal better. no one offered to take the food back to the kitchen or to see if there was anything they could do to help me be more pleased with the situation. i was offered a chance to look at the menu again, but with the expectation that i would be buying two meals.

5. the food took a really long time to arrive. i was with a friend on his lunch break and it took so long that he had to shovel his food and was still late getting back to work. he left before anyone else had even made a dent in their dish.

6. as a side, i ordered the cajun chips. i was expecting some homemade hot chips with a spicy seasoning or something of the sort. what i got was lays bbq potato chips. for a $14 lunch item they should be able to do better than that.

i really could have handled #2-6 and still been pleased enough with the restaurant, but i've never been treated, in any establishment, in a manner that was so rude, disrespectful and openly hostile. if this is how the owner's family treats their patrons, i want nothing to do with this establishment. i was shocked and dismayed and offended.

obviously, i will not be returning tomary'sand i highly discourage any other patrons from visiting. i can think of much better ways of spending $15 a person than being disrespected and abused by wait staff. i am disappointed because i had heard good things, but alas....

we went tomary'sfor sunday brunch as a family. the menu of breakfast items was diverse with lots of local options, traditional favorites and spins on the traditional, if you 'd like. the food was very good and plentiful; the staff friendly, helpful and responsive; the atmosphere was relaxed and just a little eclectic. i recommend it!

check outmary'sspecials!. winston-salem just wouldn't be the same without marys. she uses the best fresh, local and organic ingredients humanly possible, and you can absolutely taste it in all of her dishes. the menu is a fantastic mix of brunch staples, but don't forget to try the specials, because they are inevitably creative, tasty and inspired by cuisine from all over the world. some reviewers complain about the prices and service, to which i would respond that a) the prices reflect the quality of the ingredients. if you want a cheap breakfast sandwich, go to mcds.; and b) i've had great service on every trip here - and there have been many. don't miss mary's; there's a reason this restaurant is ranked in the top 5 brunch spots in nc!

worth a trip. really..mary'sgourmet is not your ordinary place for breakfast. the price is more but ihho worth very penny. food: mary buys local, cooks local as much as possible. if you dine frequently, you can taste the difference. simple the best (and largest) pancakes i ever had. my friend from georgia agreed. absolutely amazing. atmosphere: hippy, arty -- for my taste, fun. service: not speedy but frankly the place was packed. about what i expect at higher end establishments. i will go to winston-salem again just to eat breakfast atmary'sgourmet next time i am in north carolina. oh, i might add: parking was easy. right beside the diner.

disappointed. we don't like giving bad reviews, but our experience at boc was awful. we loved the oldmary'sand had high hopes for boc but were disappointed. our food was bland and expensive (make the $ above $$). one item each, just water to drink, and our bill was $26. we even had to have someone find our waitress so that we could tell her she forgot half our order. we won't go back.

i like it, but i miss mary's.. i'll start with the food - it's awesome.

i usually go with a build-your-own-omelet. the jalapeño pimiento cheese is to die for, and worth the extra charge, but be wary - a lot of things you'd take for granted in another establishment do come with an added price. they'll nickel and dime you well out of the "under $10" range.

the service is not so great but, to be honest, it kind of adds to the charm of the place. i don't think i'd know what to do with professional, skilled waitstaff.

the new place is nice, but i miss the feel of the old place,mary'sof course, which seemed to match with the staff. breakfast of course is larger, with high ceilings and a 'cleaner' feel to it. can't do anything about it, though - i doubt they'll move back just to please me.