Sugar Factory - Atlantic City — Restaurant in Atlantic City

This is the most mixed reviews I think I have ever written. We were promptly seated next to a very large party of kids (no problem with them but relivent later.) Our waiter Chris was AMAZING and seemed to know exactly what was happening at his tables at all times. We ordered food ask for recommendations said his favorites. We ordered chicken Alfredo, garlic steak stir fry and fish and chips Alfredo sauce was good but the chicken was very dry and noodles were all stuck together and I think it may have been microwaved. The garlic steak was lacking flavor the peppers were still raw and it tasted like something id throw together at home. The fish and chips fish was also very dry and the chips were nothing special. It was our wist meal by far of the whole trip. We informed our server we did not like it and 2 out of 3 plates were barely eaten. I did not expect a free meal by no means and I usually do not complain but the only thing the waiter did was give us a duck. We did stay for dessert got the s'mores brownie milkshake and and the banana Nutella shake. Brownie on the s'mores shake was the best thing but it was all good. About 1/2 way through our meal another large party with SEVERAL children came in. I'm going to assume the person reserving the table gave the wrong # of people because there were about 5 adults and 3 kids standing in the walk way for 20ish minutes. A booth across from the table Opened up and I guess there were several more children because they have 6 kids sit there with the adults still standing in the way. The first group got the big ice cream I think the $60 but it could have been the $100. There was a big show with dry ice and sparklers on the back wall and they turned the music way up. The group that just came in was climbing the booths to see and screaming the song and in general being overly loud and obnoxious. The kids from the second group started clanging their utensils demanding drinks. Adults with them were encouraging them to dance in the small narrow walk ways. staff could barely get through. I know that it's not entirely the staff's fault but several tables quickly asked for checks and it was about 30 minutes before a manager did question the guests why they were roaming around and asked if they needed to find a 4th table. The adults did not take the hint.

Get something sweet to go, and...

UPDATE/EDIT: We decided to give it another try and visited again tonight (4 months later). We had a far better experience than the first time we went. The service overall was 100x better. Our server, Cire, was awesome. He told us about the menu and was so attentive and friendly. Our food came out exactly how we ordered it and he checked back frequently. The table was also consistently bussed by our server and the food runner. I think the first time we went maybe it was an off night or different staff, but tonight was the total opposite. The place is still a little pricey, but it was a well-paced, enjoyable evening so we did not mind. We also knew to avoid the goblet drinks as (in our opinion) they were a waste of money last time and not very tasty. We will be back and recommend to others. Thanks for a great family dinner!

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Everything was just "ok" although the bill was super expensive.

The service was a miss at the hostess stand. No personality, no smile, or excitement. However our server was absolutely wonderful, attentive and kind! She checked on us often and made sure we always had what we needed!

The food was good (not great, not bad). The burgers were good, and the sampler platter was enjoyed by all. The goblet drinks, though, were horrible. Even my sugar loving, sour patch-obsessed family couldn't drink them. They were wayyy to sweet even for us. My suggestion is to just order one for the table for the experience if you must (or skip entirely).

We also got the King Kong sundae. That was a cool experience. The ice cream was your standard store-bought ice cream... but again... the experience of picking your song and such when it came out was special.

You're paying for an experience not for food... but you're paying A LOT. A goblet drink for example is $39 without alcohol. When paying that much you expect certain things to be perfect but that wasn't the case. The dishes were not bussed on the table, my order came out wrong twice (to the point where I just cancelled it), and the hostess didn't give us enough menus for our party (and some of our menus were missing pages). If your paying hundreds for your family to dine (and I mean hundreds) then you expect a certain level of perfection which...

Tonight (July 31, 2024), I had the worst dining experience of my life and it was at the Sugar Factory in Atlantic City. From start to finish, the visit was a series of unfortunate events that left a sour taste in my mouth.

Firstly, the cleanliness of the establishment was questionable. Our table was sticky with sugar granules, and I watched as the waitstaff attempted to clean it with wet wipes instead of using a proper disinfectant spray. This was far from reassuring, especially in a restaurant setting. Throughout our hour and a half wait for 2 burgers and a soda, we were constantly bothered by flies.

The service was equally abysmal. I ordered a Diet Coke/Pepsi, but it took a staggering 35 minutes for me to receive my drink. We watched in frustration as other tables that arrived after us received their drinks and food ahead of us.

When the drinks finally arrived, my goblet was another disappointment. The waitress poured it from a shaker cup into a goblet filled with ice, leaving a significant amount of empty space at the top. For a $48 drink, I expected it to be filled properly, not left a quarter empty.

The food didn't fare any better. We ordered two burgers medium rare, but both arrived well done. We had to send them back. To make matters worse, we had to ask the hostess three times to get our waitress to attend to us.

The lack of attention from the management was glaring. Despite our visible frustration, the floor manager walked past us several times without acknowledging us. It wasn’t a busy time of night, and the manager spent several minutes talking with other tables nearby. When we asked for cups of sauce to take our food to go, it took another 15 minutes and a reminder to the waitress before we received them. The manager, who saw me waiting by our table, glanced over several times but made no effort to address the issue.

Overall, this was by far the worst dining experience I've ever had. The only silver lining is that we didn't choose this place for a special event, like a birthday, as we had originally planned. 0/10; I would NOT recommend this dining establishment and urge you to reconsider where you spend your time,...