Brett's Casual American — Restaurant in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

I received a fry with a hair cooked into it. I alerted the waitress. She seemed concerned and asked if I wanted a new meal, and also suggested replacing the fries. I told her the sandwich was fine, and a fresh order of fries would be sufficient. It seemed like the easiest solution, considering I didn't want to derail the other two people's lunch, I was with. So, off to the kitchen she goes. A couple minutes later she returns with an empty plate and asks me to put my sandwich on the plate and she will remove the fries. OK, kind of odd, since I already had removed the contaminated fry, which she had taken. Anyway, a couple minutes passes and she returns with what appear to be the same fries, just put back in the grease and completely overcooked. I thought it odd the way the thing was handled, so I filled out the customer feedback, on their website. Here is their response

"Thank you for your patience while we investigated this matter. We have visited with the team members that were involved with your experience and thoroughly reviewed the details. Under closer inspection in the kitchen, the "hair" was determined to be a thin piece of cheese that had been pulled off the sandwich when plating. All the team members in the back of the house(3), where the lighting is brighter than in the dining room, concurred that it was cheese. The team member in the kitchen then dropped a new set of wedge fries and plated them for service, which is our standard when replacing any side item. We make a new one. We did not "redrop" the existing wedge fries. We never put item, of any type, back in the fryer once it has been prepared. Your original fries were placed directly in the trash by the server. Wedge fries are a freshly prepared item in house, from whole potatoes, and can look very similar and have varying colors to them based on starch/sugar content. So, perhaps, your fresh second order was from a potato that had more starch in it when cooked, thus darker. I hope this clears up any misunderstanding of what occurred and how it was handled. Thank you for your support of our restaurant and team. brett's

That is some true revisionist history. There were two other people, at the table, who witnessed it. Additionally, the waitress confirmed what I saw, as she saw it. Four people were standing there looking at it, yet no one said it was cheese. But... it was the bad lighting.

How would the cheese get between the coating, of the fry, and the potato, if it just fell off the sandwich? I extracted the hair from the fried product...it didn't just fall off. Since it was fried into the coating, had it been cheese it would have cooked away.

All Brett's responses are bunk and classless, to blame me, and my companions, as not being able to see what was clearly right in front of us. The attempt to gaslight is rich. "Don't believe your lying eyes". The whole way it was handled and their obvious willingness, to absolutely lie and libel their customers, says a lot about what a garbage restaurant it is. 0/10 Would...

We love this place. It is our version of Cheers! Brett, Leslie and James do a wonderful job. The staff, although young and sometimes inexperienced in wait service are well trained and very friendly. People may not be used to the order process but it is quick and efficient. We prefer to sit and order. We tip higher for that kind of service. We love the variety in food. My wife is vegetarian, so she orders the veggie pattie instead. Some reviewers may not know this is an option. Not clearly stated enough on the menu on the board but is on the printed menu. As a previous executive chef for 12 yrs myself, I can appreciate the challenges presented to a moderately large place with no reservations. The food is well prepared and tasty. If however, not perfect they will make it right. For those not used to Southern version of meat temperatures, medium rare is closer to rare and medium us more like medium rare....so you are better telling them what color inside you want it. Pink works best for me. This is not a Brett's issue but more a comment on the region in general. If you want a great tuna steak try theirs medium along with aioli and fresh lemon. Their shrimp is one of the very best in Athens. Hard to find their large shrimp for the price. Most places version of "jumbo" shrimp is 21-25. They should be 16-20s. All the meat selections are great value for the price. And the veggies are fresh and not overcooked. My wife has to ask for double steamed in the broccoli because she likes it tender. It is her favorite veggie though. Soups, beans, sauces, etc all fresh and made from scratch. We came here when they first opened 10 yrs ago (previously we were Loco's customers at that location). We sort of came with the building...lol. Joined the Brett's Club. Get great deals for eating there regularly. Plus you get $10 off for your bday month visit and your anniversary. Spend $200 in accumulated meals (no time limit) and get another $10 credit. We eat there 3-4 times a WEEK. Closed on Sundays for religious reasons. Most of the staff we know by name. Some we have met keep in touch as they have moved out if area for school. You cannot go wrong...

Never heard of the place before, but I went there with a good few co-workers as a going-away party of sorts and got an introduction to the place. Walking in, I found the place crowded, but was later told it isn't usually so busy. Menus are posted clearly, if small for those with (particularly) less than perfect eyesight. I was told by one of my fellow attendees that "the tacos are good, the quesadillas are good, the burgers are good..." They had nothing bad to say about the place and the attendee on question was glad this is where we went. Faced with the dozens of options I've just been informed were quality, I took a while to decide, but eventually went with the Buffalo chicken taco. On a side note, a number of menu items include Buffalo chicken (I have no problem with that 😀.) We had a bit of a wait, but that was fine as it wasn't too long despite being busy and how it seems like everything is all cooked fresh from the order. We had our meals brought out with only a small time between each delivery, so no one had to wait long if they wanted to wait to be polite. We had about 10 people ordering different things and EVERYTHING looked delicious. I had a side of creamed corn based on a suggestion. It was good, but had whole corn kernels in it, which isn't ideal for certain digestive circumstances. I saw the fries and onion rings looking particularly appetizing. Everyone's meal looked great: the salmon, burgers, steak, tacos, quesadillas, the salads... And, yes, my Buffalo chicken taco (I got two, but you have an option of two or three and I couldn't finish eating two.) Everything was HUGE. None of these entrees seemed in any way skimpy, though we had a bunch of folks more than capable of polishing of their plates 😉. The staff was both friendly and willing to help and seemed to match the feeling of the eatery as a whole. Beverages, extra condiments and napkins (and the rest of that sort of thing) is self-serve, but immediately noticeable to anyone going there for the first time. I fully believe the staff would get anything you need regardless. And, yes, my taco meal was delicious. Highly...