Hazelwood Food and Drink — Restaurant in Bloomington

The table service itself by JB at Hazelwood was a 5 star. The food itself was above average to exceptional and we give it an updated (approximately) 4.2 stars.

We had a party of six and arrived on a Sunday night at about 6:15 PM. Make reservations. The manager had a table open for us on a condition that a party of a similar size with a reservation would be at the restaurant an hour later. We would then have to move and hopefully find seats at the bar.

I then went ahead and remembered to use my OpenTable app and discovered there WAS a reservation open at 7:30 for a party of 6 and we figured we could switch tables. For some reason, this idea seemed to be shunned by the manager. I thought she could’ve been more kind in saying something like “Let’s hope for the best, and we will try whatever we can to get you another table by 715.”

It would’ve been nice for the manager to have given positive support for my successful booking of a 7:30 slot via OpenTable!

I found out as I was sitting at our first table that the manager? … or somebody ….went ahead and CANCELLED my 7:30 reservation without my permission. That was inappropriate and not good.

Furthermore, the manager approached our table after we were seated and rudely said, “So we are clear, you will have to finish your dinner within the hour. There will be no moving to another table.”

We collectively give the manager ZERO stars. For whatever reason, we believe the manager needs to get in touch with her customer service skills. It’s about communicating whatever you can to help further accommodate your patrons, and in our case, FIRST TIME patrons.

Unfortunately, if we had to factor in all aspects of our total experience, we would have to rate Hazelwood merely at 3 stars—-which would unfairly bring down the 5 star excellent experience and service from our server JB and helpers.

The Hazelwood Old fashioned I drank was decent and only slightly above average and hesitantly worth ordering. I am a mixologist and would rate it an 8.1 out of 10.

As a high-level Google reviewer, I am consistently grateful for the numerous managers and owners that respond immediately to my detailed and accurate reviews.

What is especially egregious about this restaurant is that we got no apology and no response thus far.

That means if it was the manager who had treated us unkindly when we attempted a follow up solution, this might mean that the manager doesn’t have the time and humility to actually contact us or is trying to shield their mistakes. How about owning up to how you treated people and earning their business back...

This Hazelwood location was a wonderful experience overall!

🚗 There’s a free inclosed parking garage next to the restaurant, that was easy to manage and very convenient on a busy afternoon.

⏰ There was a 30-40 minute wait when we arrived for lunch. The waiting process was made easy with text updates that told us in live time what our place on the waitlist was which was very helpful. There was an area for waiting that included outlines for charging phones, which was a really nice touch! The wait was quick and projected wait time frame seemed to go by quickly! The hostess was friendly and accommodated our request for a low top table.

🍽 The food was extremely satisfying and tasty! All the ingredients in our dishes were fresh and flavorful. 🥣 The chicken wild rice soup was one of the best I’ve had! Living in the Midwest chicken wild rice soup is a staple on most resturant menus ~ The soup was creamy, flavorful and consistently hot. 🥗 The Hazelwood Chop salad was fresh and delicious. This was a hearty salad that was full of toppings and very filling. 🍳 The ham & cheese omelette was made well with fluffy, well seasoned eggs, perfectly cooked ham and melted shredded cheese. The toast it was served with seemed homemade. & the hash browns were outstanding with gooey, cheese, a smoky, creamy flavor and perfect browned top with soft shredded cheesy potato center. 🍕 We ordered a cheese pizza for our little one, the pizza was very cheesy (check out that awesome cheese pull in the pictures!) with a perfectly browned crust (not burnt or charred at all) served with fresh fruit (strawberry, pineapple and grapes) our LO cleaned their plate and was satisfied with the size/ portion of the pizza. 🖍 A coloring sheet and crayons were provided which was wonderful entertainment for our LO while we waited for our meals. There was a nice variety of foods offered on the kids menu.

⭐️ Our server was worth the 5 stars alone! as she was extremely attentive, friendly, knowledgeable and kind. Each time she came to our table we were greeted with a smile. Although the restaurant was very busy on a Saturday afternoon, she was seen managing several tables with ease. Our water glasses & coffee cups never ran empty and our table was cleared swiftly after finishing our meals.

💲Our bill was extremely reasonable and we were shocked at how affordable 3 meals, 3 non-alcoholic beverages and a starter soup cost!

Overall, we had a wonderful experience & will be back in...

Here’s a revised version of your review with improved flow, clarity, and professionalism:

I recently visited Hazelwood with high expectations, but unfortunately, my experience was disappointing due to the conduct of two members of the wait staff, especially one in particular.

Upon arrival, my friend and I were seated promptly, which was a positive start. Our server, Katie, took our drink orders—a French 75 for my friend and a vodka tonic for me. I made a lighthearted comment about not being asked for my ID anymore, as I’m clearly over 30. Katie responded with an unnecessarily snarky tone, saying, “Well, in order for you to drink here, I need to see your ID.”

She proceeded to inspect both of our IDs, which is expected, but her approach was excessive and uncomfortable. She spent about 25 seconds scrutinizing mine and over a minute examining my partner’s. She even left our table with my partner’s ID to have someone else inspect it. This process took more than two minutes, during which we felt singled out and embarrassed—especially as we noticed we were the only Black patrons in the establishment.

When Katie returned, the atmosphere felt tense. I asked her politely if Hazelwood had a standard process for ID checks and whether she applied the same level of scrutiny to all her tables. Instead of answering, she rolled her eyes and walked away, handing us off to another waiter without explanation.

The new waiter apologized on behalf of the restaurant and confirmed our drink orders. However, when the drinks arrived, they were made with incorrect brands of liquor despite our specific requests. Instead of immediately offering to remake them, the waiter asked if we would accept the drinks as they were. We declined and requested the correct brands. When the drinks were remade, they tasted off, which only added to our disappointment.

The new waiter also asked us about the earlier incident with Katie, but as we began explaining, he seemed uninterested and shifted the conversation toward upselling items rather than addressing the situation or assuring us that the issue would be resolved.

Overall, what started as an exciting outing quickly turned into a frustrating experience. The service felt unprofessional and dismissive, and we left feeling unwelcome. I hope Hazelwood takes this feedback seriously and works to improve their staff training and customer...