De Dutch — Restaurant in Edmonton

Came here with friends am visiting. They had raved about the food & service. Unfortunately we had a new server who wasn't supported well by her teammates or management. She seemed overwhelmed & about to cry. We waited over an hour for our food & kept being told our food will be out in 2 minutes. We had to get the hostess to call our server to get our drink orders, we had to call another server to ask about what's going on with our food. This 2nd server shared it's our server's "2nd weekend" working there. We found this extremely unprofessional. When we asked to speak with the manager (Vicky- I think) she took her sweet time to come out & actually never did come out. We ended up leaving without eating & only had coffee and orange juice - at least those were good. We called the restaurant after that & spoke with the manager, whom again threw her server under the bus instead of taking accountability to her customers & just trying to repair the customer relation. She shared that her server "had plenty of training & not doing well". As customers, we didn't appreciate that approach. We've worked in service industries & have all had to be trained for work. Doesn't matter how much training this person got. They clearly needed more support & mentorship which wasn't provided to them. The manager didn't even offer any gesture of good will when my friend informed her that we are willing to return tomorrow to give them another chance. I'll provide an update if and...

I had the Specialty Canadian pannekoek. Food tastes good.The service was quick. I understand that I came in on a Sunday morning, & it was relatively/understandably busy. I have dietary restrictions, so I was excited looking @ the online menu that there are gluten free options.

When I came in to eat, there was only 1 paragraph on the entire menu that says there are gluten free options. So does that mean there's gluten free option for all of the menu items presented??? I requested one dish from the server & mentioned "gluten free," to which the server said "We can't offer that with gluten free option." To which I asked, "What can I have that has gluten free option?" I was given the choice of the pancakes.

I understand that there are limitations to accommodate requests, but I think I could have enjoyed my meal/experience better had there been a gluten free symbol with each menu item available for that option. I felt rushed in selecting a food item, and I felt I could have selected a better item than the one that I received/ordered.

Given the location (possible availability/cost of parking based on the day) and recent/only experience, I probably would only come back to/order from this restaurant if there were no other option for me in the...

The food is good, not the best brunch I've had but it's higher up there. The place is cozy, warm and clean.

The issue is with the service. I went in on a rainy morning so it was not at all busy. I was basically ignored the entire time I was there. I was not in a bad mood, had a smile and was polite the entire time. I had to ask for the menu, when the server plonked some water down on my table, because she was conveniently serving the table beside mine. No greetings nothing. Then it took another 15 minutes before the server even noticed me to take my order, even though I was trying to flag them down the entire time, but I was basically ignored. Ordered and then waited 20 minutes. I had to ask the server how much longer it will take because I had an appointment I need to run to (I had budgeted over an hour for a meal, should be plenty I thought). Waited some more and the food came. Ate quickly and asked for the bill. But again waited another 15 minutes while the server was chatting with another table. Again I mentioned I was on a tight schedule because of the service delay already, it should not be so hard to TAKE MY MONEY. Just a very strange experience and left a sour note in my mind. You guys...