Idle Isle Café — Restaurant in Brigham City

We decided to meet at Idle Isle Cafe with some of our party driving from SLC and the others from Logan. The ratings are high and I hear lots of great things on social media.

First...the Cafe is darling. It has the old timey feel without being stuffy or dusty. It was very cute.

The staff was so great. So friendly and inviting.

We were brought a basket of rolls that were delicious. A bit dense to be called "fluffy" but they were soft and delicious. The jam on the table was yummy with the rolls. My toddler spied a cupcake in a little fridge when we walked in so he HAD to have it and he scarfed it. The sweet employee gave it to him on the house and we were very grateful.

Now some criticism. I say these things in hopes they will get read and brought back to the chefs, not to deter others from eating here. They have a great menu but need to TASTE the food they are putting out. I would never have let the mashed potatoes or pot roast leave the kitchen. I was craving rolls and mashed potatoes, that is a big reason we went here. My potatoes were cold, had 2 big, hard lumps...like really big that were too hard for me to even mash them up to mix in with the rest. The gravy had miniscule flavor. It was so bland. They never should have left the kitchen. I was sad:(

The beef stuffed rolls looked awesome. Jam packed with pot roast. But that doesn't matter when the pot roast had zero seasoning. No flavor at all. And totally dry. No juices anywhere to be found. Even after salting and peppering there still was no flavor. Ha! So I ate one and packed the rest to try and save at home with some condiments. But I still haven't had the desire to try them again.

My husband ordered the French dip. Same pot roast just on a hoagie. He was disappointed. He ended up covering the meat in ketchup after discarding half the hoagie because even with the au jus, it was so dry.

Pot roast should come out in juices and flavorful! It was just a big miss. I know a lot of people order the beef stuffed rolls so I want the cooks to be aware that something was wrong tonight and be aware :)

I also ordered a salad and I loved it and love their ranch. It is a spring, leafy mix ...so not a traditional iceberg or romaine lettuce. So my mom did not like it. She calls it "weeds" so just a note for those particular about their lettuce. But again...good ranch and I loved the pickled beets on the salad!

My mom ordered the schnitzel and she really liked it. I had a bite and it was good! She ordered mashed potatoes as her side but they never brought them and after tasting mine she didn't even ask for hers.

My son got the club sandwich. It was good. Smaller than what you expect a club to be. Most people order a club thinking it will be a double decker cut in quarters. But this was just a thin sandwich cut in half. It tasted good but priced too high for what it was. Fries are battered and ok.

It was a nice dinner in and cute environment with great service...but some big misses on the food. I hope the chefs will start tasting their food and start using seasoning. Mashed potatoes are not hard at all to get right...it was just a big bummer.

With all that said...I always give a place a 2nd chance and will try something totally...

This was hands down the worst dining experience we've ever had. We were part of a large group of 15 guests. Upon arrival, we had to ask to be seated. They assigned one server for our large group; I'm unsure if we were her only table. Drinks for 15 came out 1 at a time and even one by one, the drink person couldn't get the drinks right. They had to be sent back multiple times to get the right thing. When it came time to order, they were out of everything. Which I understand happens. However, a notice or announcement was not made to the table. Instead, we all decided what we wanted only to be told, one by one, that they were out of salmon, someone forgot to put the baked potatoes in to cook, etc. This was the situation for at least 4 dishes/sides. While ordering, someone who worked there came in the back door and announced, "If you're having a hard time finding something to eat, we recommend the ribeye. They were just cut and will melt in your mouth." Due to his announcement, a number of people at the table did indeed order the ribeye. Each plate came one by one, about 10 to 15 minutes per plate, so by the time everyone had food, half the table was done. One of the last people to get their food had ordered a medium ribeye that came out well and mentioned it to the server. The employee that had told us how amazing the ribeyes were came out to the table and told the person in our party they were wrong, the steak was cooked perfectly. They used a meat thermometer, and it was medium. They went back and forth for a minute; all she wanted was what she ordered, and he kept saying she was wrong and that he would bring her a pic to show her what medium looked like. He eventually said he would offer a discount "because they stand behind their product." The guy was heated, argumentative, and beyond unprofessional. Some of the men at the table dismissed him from the table because all he wanted to do was argue and he was making a spectacle. We all stood up to take pictures, and he returned with his picture to argue more. Many plates were incorrect (chicken cordon blue with no cheese, no eggs on salads, substitutes for sauerkraut, etc. We go to pay the bill, and they remove just over $4 for the steak that he argued about, and no one ate at all. We couldn't get out of there fast enough and will never return. If I could give zero stars, I would. This place looks like a health code violation; it is dirty, the staff (aside from our one server) was awful, and the woman who checked us out was beyond disrespectful and upset she had to give us the $4 discount for one of the many...

I went here with group for a special birthday. We had been planning this with great anticipation and were planning to drop some serious cash. We wanted to try all the amazing appetizers, and planned on ordering full meals. We arrived and were not acknowledged for several minutes. No problem, things get busy and we knew we had a reservation. When we were acknowledged, we were told to wait. Our table wasn't ready. Weirdly, there was a group of six that came in after us with no reservation and were promptly seated. When we said something, we were told they would get a table ready for us. Finally we were seated. A girl came and dropped off four rolls, for five of us. There were no plates. Then, the same girl came back and put two glasses of water on the table. While we waited, the owner came up and told us all about their fantastic quality food. Did not ask if we needed anything and didn't notice that we only had two waters. Finally, I walked to the front and asked for more water. At this point, we still had not been greeted by a server or had a drink order taken. The table that was seated before us had a waitress, drinks, and salads on their table and still we sat. Finally the same girl brought us three more glasses of water. We sat there some more..... We have all worked in the food service industry. We are incredibly patient and understanding and give the benefit of the doubt, but by this time it certainly felt personal to us. We sat there discussing what could have happened and what we should do. We all agreed and went elsewhere. We had planned to tip very well as always, so when we finished eating later that night elsewhere, we had spent less than what we would have at the Idle Isle, so we gave our server the difference on top of the 50% tip. I know that amazing server at Maddox was happy Idle Isle screwed our night. I've read the other reviews and I have seen how the owner responds defensively and condescendingly, and I would expect nothing less after my experience tonight. So I want to assure him, it worked out awesome for us because we had a great time relating this at the second restaurant and to all the people at the party that night. It's never a loss when you have a great story! I am writing this as a service to anyone else considering...