Poppy & Seed — Restaurant in Anaheim

SUMMARY - We wanted to like this place so much, but it has disappointed us repeatedly! Food can be a hit or a miss. But please beware; the staff has a condescending tone and customer service is terrible.

I cannot go back to a place that makes me wonder if I am getting a subpar service as a POC. We will never come here again, and if you do, please read other critical reviews before you visit. Sadly, several issues I point out seem to be part of a pattern and not isolated incidents.

FULL REVIEW

I've lived in the area for a couple of years and was excited about Poppy and Seed. My first visit was for brunch in their first opening weeks. Since then, we've tried several other times, late brunches, dinners with friends, couple-dining during the weekends, and mid-week.

We witnessed their constant struggle to get this place running through our visits. For example, one time, there was no coffee for breakfast. Another time, the restaurant opened one hour late. During a brunch, my green-sauce chilaquiles were extremely dry. The kitchen forgot to add the green sauce! After repeatedly pointing this out to our waitress, she finally brought us some sauce –albeit reluctantly. And more often than not, our dishes took a long time to arrive (30-45 minutes).

We understand that opening a new business under a pandemic can be challenging. For this reason, we kept giving P&S second chances. We always said to ourselves, "they are just opening... they will improve... things will get better".

However, being "new" and "just opening" is no excuse for disrespectful behavior and common courtesy. Today we decided to give P&S one more chance. Early in the morning, I looked for any reservations open and saw plenty of spots available. For this reason, I did not make one (open table requires a credit card).

When we arrived at 10:10 am, the hostess coldly informed us they did not take walk-ins, only reservations. Nevertheless, the place was almost empty (only two tables seated). We were amazed by the lack of hospitality (i.e., they did not point us out where to make a reservation or –as a courtesy–they did not offer to make one on the spot). This was the first red flag.

We walked out and made a reservation using OpenTable for 10:30 am and waited. We asked for a table under the shade on the notes since I suffer from intense migraines after moderate exposure to sunlight. We saw three other parties going through the same ordeal as we waited.

At 10:30 am, we came back and told them we had a reservation and kindly reminded them we preferred shade. The two front desk staff informed us, "we will see what we can do," and to please wait for another 10 to 15 minutes! We did not understand what the issue was, since around 70% of the tables were available.

Once they called us, the hostess took us to a table under direct sunlight. We asked her if we could take a table under the shade, less than 10ft away from the one she assigned to us. She told us, "the waiter for that table has not arrived yet." with a condescending smile. There was not the minimum desire or effort to accommodate our request.

I felt bad I made my girlfriend go through such an unpleasant and awkward moment, and thought to myself: "they clearly do not want us here." As I looked around, I couldn't help but notice the surrounding tables. Mostly all, with non-POC patrons enjoying their brunch happily under the shade.

Both my girlfriend and I are part of underrepresented communities. We could not help but wonder if this was a not-so-subtle micro-aggression. One can never know for sure. However, after reading some other reviews on this and other platforms, it seems we are not the first to experience it at P&S, and it might be a pattern. Luckily our diverse surrounding community has plenty of great options within walking/driving distance. We left and had a great brunch...

Terrible service and awful management!

I have been going to this place since their soft opening last spring and have been very understanding of their new and small business situation. I want to support our local restaurants, especially during COVID. However, they seem to continuously disappoint our local community (check other comments, and you will see they repeat their mistakes and bad experiences of other patrons). I do not see any improvement as a "new restaurant" over the year, quite the opposite.

In addition to their unfortunate management, the service staff has an arrogant attitude in general, not respectful to their customers. Moreover, they do not apologize for their faults.

During their early soft opening period, the restaurant opened one hour late on a couple of occasions. On both their official website and social media platforms, the opening time shows 9 am on Saturday and Sunday. However, when I arrive there at 9 am, I am told they open at 10 am instead, without apologizing for their mistake.

A couple of weeks later, I tried again for brunch at 10 am. It was open, but I was told the cooks came in late. They could only take drink orders first, and we need to wait to order food at 10:30 am.

Another weekend, they were open but had some renovation work on-site (bar area). Once we were seated, we were told no drink service of that day.

So, I decided to pause and let the restaurant grow a little bit. However, the service seems to have gone worse.

Around six months later, we assume the restaurant should be past their "new" identity and provide a more experienced professional service to the community. We took our friends for brunch. We ordered five dishes, and they did not come simultaneously. One dish arrived more than 20 minutes later. The drinks did not come together either. Two drinks were super behind ( the drinks came when we almost finished our meal). The waitress does not familiar with the dishes. Some dishes are missing key dish ingredients. Clearly, the staff are not well trained. But more importantly, they don't feel sorry at all.

After trying weekdays and weekends, brunch and dinner, small group and large group, not a single visit was satisfying. There is always something wrong.

We stopped going there in the rest of the year 2021.

In March 2022, we decided to give it another opportunity since the restaurant opened almost a year. Unfortunately, it turns out we will NEVER come back again! The reception people are NOT friendly and helpful. Their attitudes are arrogant and rude. As a person from a minority group, I don't feel welcomed.

This restaurant proves how bad management and none-customer oriented service is a detriment to an otherwise potentially vibrant local dining experience.

Does Anaheim need a restaurant like Poppy & Seed? Local people will share and tell. I wish I had written this review early, but it is never too late.

Enough is...

I visited this restaurant on September 6, 2024, around 6 PM. Today, on September 7, after reflecting on the experience, I decided to leave a review. I'm someone who seeks out delicious food, and typically, if the food is good, I don’t mind if the restaurant’s interior or service is lacking. However, I’ve never had a situation where my meal was delayed to the point that it became cold, which might explain why I previously didn’t care much about service quality.

At the beginning, I explicitly asked the server to bring out my meal as soon as it was ready. However, the server insisted that all the dishes would be served together once everything was prepared. I firmly declined this, but despite my request, all the food came out together, and I ended up eating a cold steak—for the first time in my life. I asked for an explanation, and after much insistence, all I received was a simple admission that it was the server’s mistake. No further clarification on what the mistake was. The server seemed more interested in avoiding the situation, as if I were just a complaining customer, and even asked me what I wanted from them.

When I got home, I checked reviews for this restaurant and saw that others who had left low ratings mentioned that it only carries a "high-end" price tag without delivering on the experience.

This place is expensive. My steak alone cost $50, with other sides around $20. Normally, at high-end restaurants, bread and butter are brought to the table after ordering. Here, they didn't provide that but instead served water that smelled fishy.

Three dishes arrived together: only the Brussels sprouts were hot, while the pasta and steak were cold. The portion of the pasta was very small, and it was sticky, clumped together like a block of rice cake. Although the taste wasn’t bad, the presentation—such a small portion on a large white plate—did nothing to stimulate my appetite. The steak itself tasted good, despite being cold, but again, the portion was small. For reference, I’m not a big eater. I’m 5'6" and weigh 113 pounds, so a large portion isn’t necessary for me.

I don’t mind traveling far for good food, and price is not an issue for me. However, this restaurant lacked the ambiance or service expected from a place that charges $50 for a steak. The servers seemed inexperienced, and their lack of understanding of how to handle high-end food turned what could have been a delicious meal into an unpleasant experience. I suspect the owner is focused on profits, which might explain why they haven’t invested in hiring experienced staff.

Overall, I found this restaurant uncomfortable in many ways. I’m not the most pleasant customer, but at restaurants where I’m a regular, I can be the kindest. However, at this establishment, I don’t think I could ever become a...