friendly - but not fast - friday night. i am one of those suckers who saw "kitchen nightmares" and thought, since the restaurant is nearby, to go try it out on a friday night with my love. we arrived around 630pm on a friday night and were immediately greeted by the owner. she went and checked on a table for us in the back of the restaurant, and while we were waiting (which was a short time) another staff member came by and asked if we had been greeted yet. this was a good first impression.
there were two ice waters already on our table waiting for us, another good sign in my opinion. if there's one thing i don't like, is having to chase a server (or bus person) down for a glass of water. we also never had to ask for refills; there seemed to be a steady circulation of staff to ensure we always had what we needed. unlike other reviews (off yelp), we did not find the staff "hovering" too much or constantly asking if things were okay. however,servicedid seem a little bit scattered and considering it wasn't that busy for a friday night (it was busy, but not the 'run off your feet' kind) it seemed odd. we were greeted by our server, candace, relatively soon after we were seated and asked for our drink order. drinks (beer & iced tea) took over 5 minutes to arrive at the table which seemed too long, but hey, whatever. it's just a drink.
we then immediately placed our food orders upon delivery of our beverages (meanwhile, our server had two other tables seated before us who were still waiting forservice-- the owner took & delivered drink orders, as well as taking their food orders), and ordered a caesar salad to start. a small annoyance -- with any restaurant -- is that what is described in the menu isn't exactly what you get. the caesar salad -- described on the menu as "romaine lettuce, parmesan, garlic croutons, caesar dressing" for $7 -- was devoid of both the parmesan and garlic croutons. the salad was okay, the dressing didn't have that quintessential garlicky goodness, but for two hungry diners we ate it quick without complaints (note: while friendly, our server was often not in her section and we were well finished our salad before she even came by to quality check, therefore requesting the cheese and croutons would have been a waste of time).
while eating our salad, and even while waiting for our entrees (which did seem to take a longer-than-average time), i noticed other tables receive their food not without some problems. naturally, our eyebrows crooked a little bit hoping this wouldn't be our fate, too. a nearby diner ordered a burger and it sounded like it came with cheese when they didn't want it (?). on top of that, the fourth entree (there were four people at that particular table) came about two minutes after the first three. as somebody who works in the food & beverage industry, at least in my establishment, entrees are never served until all can be served together. this happened to another table, an older couple where their entrees yet again came minutes apart. the server's explanation was she "didn't want the first entree to just sit there". another nearby table received their meal, the lady eating the dinner special which was a flat iron steak which she asked to be served with mashed potatoes. it came with french fries, so the owner immediately went to rectify the problem with the kitchen. unfortunately, they must have had a major run on mashed potatoes (?) because "there was a 10 minute wait on mashed potatoes". i think that is absolutely ludicrous, when mashed potatoes are served with other menu items -- they should always be hot and ready at a moment's noticed. but, since this was not my meal this was not my problem, but something i noticed. as you could imagine, the diner stayed with the fries rather than wait 10 minutes for mashed potatoes.
our server, candace, came by and said our entrees would be a few more minutes. to candace's credit, it is not her fault if the kitchen does not manage its time properly. food took way too long to arrive but that's life. luckily for us, our entrees did arrive at the same time, and hot i might add. my love had the cod & chips and i the bacon-wrapped meatloaf. i opted out of mashed potatoes before they ran out due to diet restrictions and instead opted for extra green beans. i loved the meatloaf - a mix of ground beef and sausage, and topped with a sriracha-spiced ketchup. i absolutely loved the meat loaf and the portion was quite filling. the beans were beans - nothing special, though they were lightly spiced. unfortunately i do think they were previously frozen as they had that "frozen vegetable" texture, if you know what i mean. a little chewy/rubbery, but i ate them and didn't mind them. the 3-piece cod and chips was small for $15. the fries did not look like they were in the fryer long enough as they were barely golden. the batter on the fish, however, looked almost overcooked. weird. it was served with apple coleslaw which i ate for my love, and it was delicious. i could have had twice as much.
i would be interested in stopping by for lunch, which they also offer and with a different selection of food. i think what this place needs is better management in the kitchen and more streamlined service. this would go a long way.
with the drinks, appy, and entrees, the tab came to $45 and some change. while i did mention a lot of short comings with service, i will say the meatloaf was quite tasty, and not in the least bit bland. i found it interesting when the server said her 3 year old loves it; i would agree, though wouldn't use that as a post-meal selling point. all in all, things were okay but unfortunately nothing was outstanding enough that i would want to race back there. their website proudly states (in the first or second line) that they use "time honored french cooking techniques" which i think is a crock. this is a gastropub, not a michelin-starred restaurant being led by an iron chef so that description doesn't seem to fit.
i'll give this place a c+. not bad, not great, but middle of the road. it could be rated higher of some of the aforementioned issues were addressed.
*** note: upon reading the review, my love mentioned that not once was he asked if he would like another beer. restaurants make their money on beverages, and servers should be told to upsell (or just pick up on that on their own). he would have had another beer had he been asked. sure, he could have asked for one, but an empty glass is an open invitation to offer another beer from aservicestandpoint.