The Provincial — Restaurant in Apex

My husband and I have been wanting to try this place for a while. I'm not one to write reviews, but I hope to save someone the experience we had. I called to make a reservation on a Wednesday evening around 8pm for the upcoming Friday night. To my dismay, during my attempt to make the reservation I was told by the male waiter/host that it was their "prime time" and to call back in an hour to make the reservation. Perhaps that should have been my initial clue. The next day I called again and made the reservation. Upon arrival on Friday, we were immediately seated at a table near the windows. The restaurant has an overall nice ambience and the hostess was friendly and accommodating. We were immediately asked our preference for drinks, which were returned to our table in a timely manner. The waiter then asked if we had ever been to the restaurant. When we replied that it was our first experience, he began diligently informing us that the chef plates all of the meals, was from New Jersey, trained in Florida under some other famous chef and that there were to be absolutely no exceptions, exclusions or substitutions and all plates are served as is listed on the menu. Firm. Given the fact that I have multiple food allergies and intolerances, I am obligated to pre-scan menus of restaurants ahead of time. Since the restaurant is known for its fresh, simple farm to table ingredients, I thought I would have no issue. I asked the waiter what people with gluten, lactose, or other intolerances do since most things on the menu included either one or both. His response was order a side or salad. We thought about leaving and going across the street to one of our favorite spots - Peak City Grill, but we already had wine on the table, and it just wasn't worth the hassle at that point. With that said I decided to order the trout, which was served with spinach and homestyle potato chips. When I simply asked for the chips to not be included on the plate, and if there was any way I could only have either extra spinach or another vegetable item, the waiter scoffed, and said "I know the chef won't do it but you can order an additional side of Brussel sprouts or salad if you'd like." Keep in mind the plate with fish and spinach and chips was $25, and then I would need to order an additional side for another $5-10 if I hoped to obtain satiety. After about 25-30 minutes, our waiter came out, brought my husband his meal and explained that my fish had been overcooked, and could be bring me a side salad while I waited for my entree. When he returned he brought a "salad," which was comprised of lettuce. Only lettuce. About 10 minutes later, my entree finally arrived, and surprisingly, without the chips. The fish itself was flavorful and seasoned well, but when you spend $30 on a meal, you want to be full after. Between the thin piece of trout, spinach, and lettuce I left starving and disappointed. When you are a new business (specifically restaurant) in a small city, you want to make a good initial impression for the customers so they will refer and return. Having grow up with a greek father as a chef, I I understand taking pride in your work, and being protective and detail oriented when it comes to the food you serve. At some point you have to be willing to make small exceptions with individuals who cannot consume certain food products. I just wish that the menu had cited (as most places will) that there were no exceptions or substitutions to be made in which case we would have refrained from going...

Normally, The Provincial is great. It’s probably the best restaurant in Apex. Tonight‘s food was great, but the rest of our experience was horrible. We had made a reservation to celebrate our anniversary and got put at a table adjacent to a party of 25 who were upstairs, and according to a team member, did not have to rent that space as a private room because it was the holiday week and they needed the business.

Even with the weather, they certainly did not need the reservation, as they were quite busy. Instead, they took the opportunity to cash in on a big party at the expense of others who had to suffer through their meal with them.

We asked upon our arrival and then again as we ordered, to be moved, but were told that not be accommodated, as the tables downstairs were for reservations. The group was so loud and obnoxious that the couple next to us, another “2 top,” got up and left. the group’s children were yelling and running around, the adults were being loud, and some were even giving pantomime golf lessons next to our table with no care or concern for us and the other couple who got stuck next to them.

We were in and out within a half hour. We never got our appetizer, but thankfully got our food before the party of 25 put their order in. It got so bad during our meal that we asked for a box to take the rest of our food home asked for our check, paid it and left. Didn’t even get asked if we wanted to order dessert, even to go,

Not the romantic anniversary dinner we had hoped for, but it was quite pricey. This was very atypical and unprofessional of The Provincial to crap all over couples in order to make the big bucks from a large group that should’ve been told they had to rent the room upstairs for their festivities instead of making others sit and suffer next to them. The only people who ever even spoke to us, were the hostesses and the gentleman who took our order. We repeatedly shared our frustration and dissatisfaction with all of...

We went to this restaurant last night and the food tasted fantastic! I've heard a few comments from locals saying the menu is "too small" but here is where the problems lies. If you want to go to a restaurant that serves mediocre food like a combo restaurant which offers Steak House, sushi, Thai, Italian and BBQ all on one menu- then go to one. If you want to eat high quality ingredients that are prepared to taste great- then choose this place. There is something to say about offering limited food you do very well. We shared the PEI mussels which were perfectly cooked in flavorful white wine, garlic and tarragon. (The only complaint on this was we would prefer a bowl that is smaller and deeper so you can scoop up the liquid as you eat the mussels and perhaps a little more liquid in the bowl for dipping the crusty sourdough toast-yum!). We also ordered the grass-fed beef burger and it was delicious. The fries were not my favorite but they are more of an accessory to the meal rather than main fare so not a big deal. We also had the Vietnamese pork meatball lettuce parcels and they were fantastic. The fresh Asian herbs and perfectly balanced dipped sauce was something we would definitely order again. Negatives- We felt a little bit rushed by our server who cleared my plate as I was literally picking up my last piece of food and we were also asked a couple of times if we were ready to order dessert and one of us was still eating dinner. Our server was very nice but young and did not know a lot about the food or drinks on the menu. As this new restaurant continues to iron out it's growing pains we hope to see a bit more server knowledge from the staff- perhaps the next menus printed could list country of origin by the wines or have your waitstaff taste the food and see what each dish comes with so they can better answer questions. We really liked this place and will definitely be back! We need more restaurants like this who use actual 'real food'...