Bakery and Pickle — Restaurant in Bloomington

Entering the place, I very much enjoyed the password gimmick, where regulars could use the password, and those entering for the first time could offer up a good joke or funny story in its place. I got hit in the a** by the disguised exit door while mulling over some ideas for a joke, but I didn't mind. After some time, the hostess allowed me in after I could gave reasoning to my favorite ice cream flavor. Entering the restaurant proper, I was struck by the cozy, soothing atmosphere of the interior, though the music would occasionally offset the comfy vibes. In all, though, the hour or so I spent here was quite relaxing. I ordered 3 courses in total. Before my appetizer, I got a Thai Iced Coffee. It had nigh-on half a dozen ingredients, however it was very well-balanced and I was pleasantly surprised by how refreshing it was. While enjoying my drink, I took notice of how well-organized the bar was, with all liqueurs on the patrons' left, and spirits on the right, with the mixing spirits largely taking up the middle space. For my appetizer, I got the Blistered Sweet Peppers and an Uncle Joe's Aperitivo. The former was very tasty all-round, and I scarfed it down in short time. However, I feel it could benefit from the addition of friggitelli/pepperoncinis to get the saliva flowing a bit more and to further whet the appetite. The Aperitivo was tasty and fully served its purpose, though was a bit separated when I received it. For my dinner, I got the Bluegill Sandwich with B&P Garlic Fries. The fries were tasty, but slightly lacking in garlic flavor. This is amended as more fries are scarfed down without dip, but the ketchup unfortunately totally resets the palette. I personally recommend eating them plain. As for the sandwich: the bun, lettuce, slaw, and the tartar sauce pulled a lot of weight -- they were all quite tasty. Although, the pickles were rather redundant since there were already pickles and dill in the tartar sauce. As for the bluegill, I'm loath to say it left a bit to be desired. The meat itself may have benefitted from marinating, and the batter may have been better off with more spice. As for the frying, it seemed over-fried, as the fish was a bit lacking in texture, and was a bit too greasy. A lighter oil and a pan fry as opposed to basket fry might amend it. Dessert definitely pulled the whole meal together. I had an Amaro for a digestif, along with some peach and honey sorbet. The serving staff were very helpful in suggesting a good digestif, and their recommendation was right on the money. The waffle-like garnish on top of the sorbet was delicious in its own right, and could stand on its own as a snack. The sorbet was incredibly flavorful, with the peach and honey flavors standing out brightly, with the sorbet not being overly sweet as many often are. The sprinkling of cinnamon was an excellent complement as well. All told, I spent about 80 dollars tonight, tip included, and about 3/4 of it was most definitely worth it; a solid first impression in my book. I look forward to trying more of the menu when I next come in. All in all, I would rate my experience tonight as somewhere between a...

Title: A Beautiful Meal, Ruined by Horrible Service

I rarely write reviews, but after this experience, I felt compelled to warn others about the disastrous service at this bakery and pickle. The food here is genuinely good—fresh, flavorful, and clearly prepared with care. But that’s where the positives end.

Our experience was marred from the moment we were seated. My sister asked our server about the prix-fixe courses, and he responded by rudely cutting her off, saying, “There’s an order to things. No need to rush. Let her choose her drink first.” It was an unnecessarily harsh and condescending way to speak to a guest, especially one who was simply trying to understand the menu.

Throughout the meal, the service only worsened. While we saw the server checking in on the other tables with multiple questions about their meals, he barely acknowledged us. He only asked how everything was once, during the fourth course. Between courses, our water glasses sat empty for 20 minutes, and the table remained unrefilled, which felt like a basic courtesy that was sorely neglected. Then, when the steak arrived, it was cold and the side dish was completely different from what we were told it would be. We waited another 15 minutes to get his attention and let him know, only for him to dismiss our concerns. He insisted that the prix-fixe was different from what we had ordered (though this was never explained to us in the first place) and said he would get the manager—without offering an apology.

The “manager,” who came over 15 minutes later, didn’t introduce himself. He didn’t ask us what went wrong. Instead, he just picked up our plates and offered a digestive drink “on the house” without any context or consideration for my sister’s allergies. When we declined, he simply walked away. We still hadn’t been apologized to for the terrible service.

Finally, after being ignored for so long, we asked for a manager again. The same man returned, saying he didn’t realize it was a “needing a manager type of situation.” His response to our frustration? “I’m sorry you feel that way.” That was it. No genuine apology, no acknowledgment of the poor service or the mistakes made. When he mentioned they were short-staffed because a colleague had experienced a family tragedy, it still didn’t excuse the rudeness and neglect we endured.

This was the first time I’ve ever felt the need to call over a manager in my life, and as a young woman in my early 20s, I’m disappointed to say that I’ve never been treated with such disrespect. I saved up for this meal to treat my sister, and what should have been a special experience was ruined by a lack of professionalism and basic hospitality.

Cullen, the server, and Shane, the manager, have certainly left a lasting impression—unfortunately, not for the right reasons. If you’re looking for a pleasant dining experience with thoughtful service to match the good food, I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere. This place may have potential, but it’s clear that customer service isn’t a...

Let me start off by saying the food is absolutely amazing. The drinks were very good. Overall quality of the meal was outstanding, but our experience with the person waiting on us was miserable and makes me never want to come back.

We came for "the experience" which is a multi course meal. The food was great. At the time of this review, it is not mentioned anywhere that this is considered a 3 hour endeavor. Had we known that coming in, that would be fine. We unknowingly walked into a 3 hour dinner, which was actually 3 hours and 45 minutes including wait time, despite having reservation made well in advance.

Our waiter was informative about the plates, but was condescending when we were curious about our wait. We were sat, had the appetizer, waited 75 minutes, had the main course, waited 75 minutes, etc...

We were lied to several times about our food. We were routinely told its being plated right now, to just wait more. And more. One party in our group had to leave early, because they weren't expecting the wait. They were then told, very condescendingly, that if they didn't want to wait the 3 hours through "the experience" then they shouldn't have gotten "the experience." which again, at the time of this writing, is not stated anywhere on the menu, website, or anywhere that I have looked. When we left, we were told that they mixed up the checks, and the party that left got the wrong check, so we were told we had to make up the difference. We were also blamed for the time it took to serve our food. One person had a nut allergy, and one of the desert plates had pistachios on it. We were told our deserts were plated and ready, then half hour later we were told they were redoing the desert since they put pistachios on it, then a half hour later we got a desert plate that had... Wait for it.... Pistachios on it.

I really wanted to believe that the person waiting on us was horrible and ruined my impression, but I'm not willing to take the gamble on my time and money...