I know we’ve all had experiences where we went to restaurants we thought would be good and left so unimpressed. I wanted to share a story with you guys about how I went brunching with a long lost friend and ended up having the worst experience…ever. We can all laugh together at the fact that I actually sat through this disaster of a brunch.

You guys know how much I looooove brunch, at this point I’ve been doing it the most this summer. Through all my exploring I’ve honestly rarely had a bad experience. I don’t really have high expectations when I go places. I’m usually pretty patient when I go to restaurants, at least I try to be.  It takes a lot for me to say an experience was HORRIBLE. But, my experience at this brunch was the least pleasant restaurant experience I’ve had. I’ve shared all the great experiences and places I’ve found in Dallas, so I thought I’d share my bad experience too. Because well, every experience can’t be a good one unfortunately.

Recently I reconnected with an old friend after yeaaaars through Instagram. We decided to meet for brunch. I saw Nickel and Rye on someone’s story and it honestly just seemed like a fun place to eat. It seemed like a day party mixed with a great brunch. Don’t get me wrong,  it’s a fun place if you don’t plan on eating…or drinking or even sitting really. What was supposed to be a fun experience, quickly went bad.

First things first, when you walk into this restaurant you seat yourself. Maybe I haven’t been to enough places — which I highly doubt. But, I’ve neeeever seen a brunch where you have to seat yourself and there’s no staff to greet you. Especially a popular brunch place. That just sounds like a recipe for disaster. I mean sure if you’re a local diner or smaller restaurant.. but for this place that just didn’t even make sense.

HIRE A HOST PLEASE. At least for the weekends.

So I was walking around looking for a seat and obviously there weren’t too many options because at a seat yourself brunch, why would there be? There was one couch that I asked a table if I could sit in because it was directly behind their table??? (Like, seriously how does that even make sense?) And they said there was water dripping on the chair, go figure. Then I found a big table and there were no chairs on it. Seat yourself brunch with a couch under dripping water and a table with no chairs, really? I asked some employees there if I could sit there, they told me yes they would get me some chairs. Still have yet to see those chairs, in case you were wondering.  There was a guy standing on the other side of the table and I asked him if he was waiting for someone because this table was directly in front of the entrance. He told me a server told him they were coming to clean the table for him. We decided at this point to just sit together because he was by himself and it was just my friend and I. No one ever came to clean the table or to bring chairs. Luckily, he noticed someone got up from another table.

We had to sit at this dirty table just to make sure we got a seat. As I’m writing this I’m wondering why I didn’t just go some place else at this point. When we finally sat down my friend had just gotten there. We were sitting at this dirty table for a while before anyone even looked in our direction. The table behind us had to give us their one menu (for the three of us.) I finally got up to ask an employee how we get a server. He told me we had to just wave someone down, uh okay? I’ve never heard of such a thing. So I asked if he could help me and he said he’d be right there. He never came, SHOCKER. Someone finally came to clean off our table and that was it…no words, no extra menus, no water, no silverware, not even eye contact…just took the garbage off the table. A new group of people had just sat behind us and were deciding if they wanted to stay by the way their experience was going — but they ended up staying and we experienced the worst brunch ever together.

FINALLY A SERVER BROUGHT US WATER. He only brought two even though there were clearly three of us sitting there, but anyways we got water so yay. We already knew what we wanted by the time he came. I ordered french toast which is always my go to and eggs and a half a gallon of pineapple mimosa, which by the way said it was $10 on the menu. (Important information for later.) My friend ordered a burger, fries, and a half a gallon of cranberry mimosa. He told us our drinks should be out quickly and asked for a card to start the tab. My friend gave her card, I tried to give mine, and our new stranger friend, whose name I never got, tried to give his. The server only wanted one card so he took my friends and said he would split the bill later.

RED FLAG NUMBER 4. If it’s seat yourself and the seating is weird, please take everyone’s card for what they order, unless we say we’re paying together.

It took so long for my french toast to get there with NO EGGS and we still had not gotten our drinks. I also still had NO SILVERWARE — I guess I was supposed to eat with my hands. The table next to us had to give me their silverware because they noticed how long I was waiting and didn’t want my food to get cold *shout out to them, the real MVPS* I also mentioned three times to three different servers that I ordered eggs and never got them. It got to the point where I was just like don’t even worry about it. Our drinks finally came after we were done eating (mine and my friend’s drink.) I noticed that my friend’s drink came with significantly less mimosa than mine even though we ordered the same thing. I asked the server (who wasn’t even our server) why it was less and he said I don’t know and looked at us like we were just crazy. My friend told him don’t even worry about it ( she’s better than me because NO, he needed to worry about it.) It seemed like it was getting better until we realized after asking four different people our stranger friend had not even gotten his drink.

I also let our actual server know that my friend’s drink was way less than mine and he said she ordered a carafe and I ordered a half gallon of mimosa. She said “I ordered a half gallon of mimosa too but okay” and he just looked confused as if he wasn’t the one who took our orders!?!?! I asked him if he could just bring her an extra glass of mimosa to try to make up for the difference and thankfully he was able to do that, I mean that was the LEAST he could do.

When I asked for the bill the server asked for my card, I told him I needed a paper check to make sure everything was right. Again, he looked at me like I was crazy for asking for a paper check? I’ve NEVER gone to a place where your server asks for your card instead of bringing a bill. He also noticed that the guy who was sitting with us had stepped away, I told him I didn’t know where he was and he said he’d bring my bill when he got back. UM, NO I NEED MY BILL NOW. When we first tried to give our cards you didn’t take it, so that’s your fault not mine.

When I got my bill they had charged us more than the menu said for the mimosas. The menu said $10 as I mentioned above and our bill said $16, regardless the mimosas were cheap but I’m going to need you to charge me the right price sir. When my friend pointed it out to him, he said the menu was wrong and that it would’ve made no sense for them to be $10. WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ME THOUGH?! He supposedly went to get our check adjusted because “he forgot to mention it.” Apparently, also forgot to mention it to two other tables around us because they had the same problem. At some point during this whole thing, a girl from another table was asking for a manager and seemed really upset too. I didn’t even know what she was mad at but it seemed like EVERYONE needed the manager. He brought back the receipt copy for me to tip and sign because he had already ran my card IT WAS FOR THE WRONG BILL. I told you to get my bill adjusted, NOT RUN MY CARD. It was for my friend’s bill. I asked him if at this point he could just get a manager because he took my card forever then charged me for the wrong meal?! I mean, how would you feel if a server takes your card for 30+ minutes and comes back with the wrong bill? Regardless of whose bill it is. He took forever to get the manager so I went to find the manager myself. I kid you not when I found the manger, there were at least six customers IN the kitchen trying to get their bills paid. I had never seen anything like this in my life. Apparently the manager had just gotten there and was fixing all types of issues.

After a bunch of research he couldn’t find my bill apparently “it would all be voided by the next day because it was Sunday.” I told him I could not leave knowing this was not fixed. I was offered some shots for the troubles by another guy there who knew what was going on *rolls eyes* AS IF ONE SHOT WAS ENOUGH FOR THIS TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE.

Oh, and the people at the table behind us, who ordered at the same time as us STILL HAD NOT GOTTEN THEIR FOOD ALLL THIS TIMEEEEE! It was literally like four hours later at this point. When I was standing outside the kitchen waiting to get my bill fixed they came as well to complain! Come to find out, it was someone’s birthday at that table. What a terrrrrible way to spend your birthday. Just to be sure that I was only charged for my ONE bill that was going to be voided supposedly, I decided to check my bank account. YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE IT, I had been charged three times for someone else’s bill! Not my old bill, not my new bill that no one could seem to find, not my friend’s bill, not even my stranger friend’s bill. I legit had NO idea whose bills they charged on my card. One had been reversed but the bill they originally gave me had not been fixed and the other one that was on my account! AT THIS POINT I WAS FED TF UP (EXCUSE MY LANGUAGE.) The manager told me he was going to find it…which he didn’t. *I applaud myself for even being this patient this long*

Also, at some point during the brunch I also asked for funnel cake and fries– I mean, we were there long enough to eat multiple times. The server walked away for a while. By the time he came back you would’ve thought my funnel cake would’ve been ready but no, he came back to tell me the kitchen was shut down so I could not order anything else. As I was waiting for my bill to get fixed (again, which it wasn’t) I saw a couple who came after us (our table and the table behind us) and got served before us with drinks and food, get funnel cake. How did they come after us and get served a full meal before the table behind us? And if the kitchen was closed WHY COULD THAT COUPLE HAVE FUNNEL CAKE THEN? The table behind us instantly got mad too because they said they heard me ask for funnel cake and they heard the server tell me no! They were ready to cause a scene for me, SERIOUSLY. The girl sitting directly behind me HAD MY BACK. I asked a server first why I wasn’t able to get funnel cake and he told me it was because they didn’t like cooking breakfast and lunch food together. I’m sorry, what?!?! Isn’t that what brunch is? And my friend had ordered a burger and I ordered french toast and there was no issue.  When all was said and done, the manager was finally able to get me the funnel cake I originally ordered.

In regards to my bill, I was told to call on Tuesday if my bill had not been reversed yet and speak to the accountant. I called three times and no one answered because online it said they opened at four. I called twice after four and I spoke to another “manager” who told me to call tomorrow before four. When I told him I called today multiple times, he told me he’s answered every single call — WHICH WAS A LIE because I called four times before he even picked up the phone. I asked if he wanted to see my call log and he said “okay, so are you gonna call tomorrow?” with an attitude. Like, you have some nerve to have an attitude when you guys charged me the wrong amount. It’s been one week and I still have one of the random bills on my account. I’ve spoken with the accountant and still nothing has been resolved.

NEEDLESS TO SAY, this was by far the worst brunch experience I’ve had ANYWHERE. I’ve eaten at many restaurants in different states and abroad and I’ve never had an experience this poor. I usually try to find the positive in any place but this experience was seriously one I had to write about because I truly couldn’t believe it.

I mean, yes it’s a “lit” spot that people can come to already lit and listen to music but this place was a MESS to say the least. I’ve worked at a few restaurants myself and I usually try to be patient but this was really the most outrageous experience. Even my friend said every single thing that they could do wrong, they did. From the menus, to the silverware, to never getting my eggs, to getting charged the wrong bill multiple times. Not to mention we shared a table with three different sets of strangers in our time there.

The only thing about this experience that wasn’t bad was the food. But, this isn’t a place you should come hungry because you will leave very disappointed at how long your food will take. We literally spent a whole day here because the service took so long. We probably stayed for this man’s whole shift. This is a place where you need to come after you’ve eaten and had drinks already. And if you still decide to eat and drink here, BRING CASH to avoid any extra charges on your account. DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YA.

Feel free to share your bad brunch experiences with me in the comments!

 

Talk to you soon brunch babes,

theknowledgeableother