The Earle Restaurant — Restaurant in Ann Arbor

I spend a lot of time trying different restaurants around town, and this was by far the most lackluster experience I've ever had. This was my first time trying the Earle, but I can't see why I'd ever choose to return. We had a reservation and were seated right away by a very pleasant host. I'd say about 35-40% of the tables were full, but we were seated at the smallest tables they have. Most of the other occupants numbered 2 or 3, and all of them were seated at tables for 4. They had a lone guitarist who played very well, and not too loudly. The wait staff uses a buddy system, so a gentleman began with us by taking our drink orders (coffee and wine), and that's when the slowness began. By the time our drinks arrived, we were ready to order an appetizer, at least to get started, but we had to wait about ten more minutes before our food waitress even stopped by to speak to us. Once we ordered, we were given bread and oil, and gluten free crackers. The oil had no spices or herbs added to it, and did not taste like olive oil. The flax crackers were mediocre and could have used some kind of dip or spread, instead of being served on their own. Our appetizer was the fried calamari. The breading completely lacked flavor, and the dipping sauce provided was not a good compliment. Literally anywhere else in town can serve better calamari. We both ordered pasta dishes - the shrimp and duck sausage. I ordered the pesto shrimp with gluten free spaghetti noodles, which were cut up so small I could barely use my fork to eat it. There wasn't a lot of flavor, but the few shrimps were good. I feel like I could have gotten the same thing anywhere else in town for half the price - because that was the quality level. My date's duck sausage pasta was served with spaghetti noodles, though I thought it was supposed to be linguine. He said his also didn't have any flavor, except for the sausage. It was about this time that he noticed his wine had sediment in it. For a place with an extensive wine list, I'm not sure how they thought it was a good idea to serve the bottom of the bottle to a customer. It definitely made us both feel like they were trying to cheat us because of our age and perceive financial standing. I told him to send it back, but he didn't want to make a fuss, so we continued on. He decided not to order dessert, but I chose the vanilla bean creme brulee, which is my favorite dessert. The entire sugar coating on top tasted completely burnt. I considered scraping it off to at least be able to enjoy the cream, but at this point it was just one more disappointment that it didn't seem worth the effort. Our wait staff was very professional and not outwardly rude, but we were never asked how our meal was, and for a place that wasn't very busy, the service...

Oh how the mighty have fallen... Poor service Poor food Poor ambience Lack of care for the customer

Details below...

We went here for a special experience at new years. Well we got one, an extra special horrible one.

We were placed basically six steps outside the kitchen, in an overflow room about as far away from the ambience of the dining room that the Earl is so famously known for. Were we asked if that was ok, nope!

As a matter of fact they havea place for special requests on the reservation, which I had put down "as close to the music as possible" as that was the reason for our visit. Well, there were three solid stone walls between our table and the band... We could not even hear a drum beat.

Now onto our meal, or our lack of it I should say. We started with the French onion soup which tasted o.k. but the crisp bread on top was a soggy mess from sitting in the kitchen waiting for someone to order it.

So then we ordered. What we ordered is unimportant right now... Why? Because we ordered at 9:45 and at 11:15 still not only had not received our meal but our waitress just figured out that they lost my dates order all together. Furthermore while we waited, we ordered a $75 bottle of wine which was presented to us by a lackluster, say surly, sommelier wearing a flannel shirt and jeans. I mean, come on folks, I'm not even buying the high end wine, but if I were, it's NYE and you have a flannel wearing sommelier showing up table side. Think about the experience your guests are here for.

Eventually after an hour and a half of waiting, we told them to box the one meal they actually had thought to cook and we left. We were offered, no discount, no apology, nothing. When I did look at the chicken saltimbocca I ordered, it was a pathetic representation of it. Basically a breaded chicken breast with prosciutto diced on top of it... Not anywhere close to a true saltimbocca but a bastardized version created for fast mass production.

I realized this is a busy and unique day, but if you are so greedy to take people's money and can't provide the experience people expect own up to it and don't over step your abilities. You've lost a loyal customer of several decades. I hope you see it doesn't take but one bad experience to fall from grace.

Frankly my recommendation to the public is to steer clear as well. I'm not sure you'll be treated much better on any night or lunchtime where there is a crowd. They only seem to care about the bottom line and not at all about the customers...

I'm reviewing this as someone that doesn't have a love of fine dining but rather someone who had the extra money and wanted to try some new food, so take that as you will.

My group of 3 had a 5:30 reservation, and was seated immediately upon arrival at around 5:20. We were here during winter break, so it might be busier when UMich is in school. The server was very responsive to us, and we were served in a pretty expected timespan.

We ordered the escargot, lamb chops, duck breast, and mezziogiorno pasta. One individual got one glass of pinot noir.

Escargot: we came here specifically to try escargot, so I don't have a frame of reference for if this was good escargot or not. I found it a bit cloying and fatty for my taste, but the puff pastry it's served with helped cut through it. I'm glad I tried it, but I don't think I'd get it again. 1/3 of the party would get again

Lamb chops: contrary to the other reviews, I thought they were fine, but nothing spectacular. The portion was good and the meat was tender, but I expected to be wow'd more with the flavor, especially when it's the price it is and the similarly priced duck breast was so much better. When choosing between the two, choose the duck. 1/3 of the party would get again

Duck breast: these were incredible. Super tender, the apple topping paired well with the savoriness of the duck. The portion was pretty good as well. I really don't have anything bad to say about this dish, I usually don't like sweet paired with meat but I loved this. If I had another spare $50 I'd consider coming back to get it again. 3/3 of the party would get again

Mezziogiorno: I really liked this, it was mostly salty and savory flavor-wise. I enjoyed the kick of the pepper as well; it was pretty mild to me but more than I expected from an Italian-French restaurant, another person who tried it thought it was too spicy so spiceless people be aware. The portion was big so I reccomend sharing, this is the only thing we had leftovers of. Once again, I've never had this type of pasta before so I can't compare but it kind of tasted like good chow mein. They were very generous with the toppings. 2/3 of the party would get again

Pinot noir: I did not try it, but the person who ordered it said it was smooth and quite liked it. None of us are wine drinkers or even like wine generally, so that is...