Bourbons — Restaurant in Brighton

to be honest this place isnt worth the money or experience anymore… i’m a server at a high end restaurant and ive never had a bad experience at any restaurants in brighton until tonight. we came here for my finances and i’s anniversary, we came at 6:20 wanting to be a little early for our 6:30 reservation to see if we could get in as soon as they could get us sat, if it wasn’t too much of a hassle (we know how busy restaurants typically get, especially on a saturday night.) we didn’t mind waiting the extra 25 minutes after our reservation time but considering they over schedule their reservations and allow walk ins when they clearly have 15 reservations at 6:30 and only 3 of the parties can get sat after waiting well over their reservation time, is extremely annoying and the only waiting area is literally right next to the front door of the building where all the walk ins they had on a wait were all sitting at. our server was wonderful and i wish i remembered the gentleman’s name. he was accommodating and got us in and out quick especially not knowing how our night was going! unfortunately the ambiance is truly what ruined the entire night for us. we requested a booth and understand that sometimes you might have to either wait a while for it or not be able to get one at all, but then we noticed that the people that came in 5 minutes after us got sat into a booth the second they walked up and spoke with the host after we had been waiting 15 minutes already, you would think the first reservation that came in would get sat first but whatever we didn’t mind and moved on from it slightly irritable and to make it worse we were then placed 5 ft from the restrooms…. absolutely disgusting and 2 ft from a side door and we knew if we had asked for a different table we would have waited an extra 30 minutes. but mind you it’s 19 degrees and snowing so the door opening was extremely uncomfortable!!….. i had a cozy outfit and a coat on and was still freezing my butt off especially while trying to eat. not to mention each table is almost a forearm length on the back wall and not to mention but there was a large group of maybe 8/9 people at the table next to us and the little kids at the table were bumping into my fiancé as he’s literally mid bite of his food and shouting happy birthday, (no apology from the little girl, kind of rude but whatever….) we didn’t mind but it was very rude and obnoxious when they just continued to bump into him as he was trying to enjoy his dinner. it was beyond inconsiderate and there’s just not enough room in the dining area to try and squeeze that many people in small areas knowing there really is no room, AND on a saturday night especially during the dinner rush. the menu rarely ever really changed, unless they have the same specials they do every year and cocktails that aren’t even worth the 17$. realistically it is a very very limited menu and it’s slightly overpriced for unseasoned food but we settled because we enjoyed certain appetizers the last time we came but we know it’s only an appetizer and potentially a drink (my fiancé will drink anything) place for us. you could also tell our server felt sorry for us as he couldn’t have spoke with us more because of how little room there was to wiggle by us to be able to speak and look at us both but the party again on a saturday evening was making it extremely difficult. anyway lastly, i also don’t expect any restaurant to do anything for birthdays or anniversaries but it definitely would have been nice if they did do something small especially with how crappy the experience itself was and knowing when we made a reservation we put a note in that it was an anniversary date and the host said they’d make it as special as possible so we expected a better ambiance and experience overall. but everyone has their own experiences, that...

So this morning we attempted to have a family brunch at this establishment. Never again will any of us attend or recommend this place due the absolutely horrible experience. Around 10am my brother in law and his partner arrived and informed the hostess that we would like to sit 8 people are he was promptly informed that if all 8 members were not there they couldn’t seat him. He calls us to inform us and we relay that we are a few minutes away and that’s fine. At this point my brother in law and his partner proceed to sit at the bar and order drinks while waiting for our arrival. We arrived shortly after they received their drink so it wasn’t very long. We are informed at this point that now they can’t seat us together. Then we are approached and say we can seat you in 2 separate tables “near” each other. I understand that the concept of “near” can vary by context but we were hoping to be more along the line of a table away not on opposite ends of the restaurant. At this point I approach the hostess stand and proceed to ask why are we sitting so far apart and they say because it’s all that’s available. I state that there is 2 tables that are empty why can’t we use one or both since they are side by side. I am informed that they are for reservations that were made 2 weeks ago and so on. The issue at hand is that, as stated above, we had a party member arrive at a timely manner and inform you that we had a total of 8 people coming. You then proceed to seat your restaurant in a way that would not accommodate our party when we arrived. Knowing that 8 members were coming you could’ve planned and sat people in ways so that you would still have the same 4 tables worth of spots available but able to accommodate 2 parties of 8 instead of just 1. By the time we got to the car and drove off they started seating people outside which was also never presented to us as an option. Honestly the ignorance from the management or whoever I spoke with was inexcusable. Don’t apologize when you don’t actually mean it because it comes off as disingenuous and just disrespectful. We happily drove over to Stouts Irish Pub and waited till they opened at 11 to have an absolutely pleasant experience and completely underrated brunch. Stouts had unlimited Mimosas which one of our party members enjoyed with a variety of fun mixes like the apple cider mimosas or blueberry mimosa. Stouts chicken and waffles was one of the best brunch meals I’ve eaten in years. The chicken was perfectly seasoned and juicy I honestly can’t recommend it enough to anyone in the Brighton area. Everyone was more than satisfied even my little niece that can be quite the picky one at times! We ended up spending close to $250 as a group and left the staff if I recall upwards of $54 for their services to us so please make sure to apologize to the waitress that attended us in that brief time and got us started because it was no fault of hers that she was not able to partake in our generosity. This could’ve and should’ve been avoided but instead here we stand, one extremely unhappy family who frequents the area to visit theirs friends brewery right across the street. I’ll leave it on that and I hope you all have a wonderful rest...

I had the pleasure of having a girls night out with a good friend at Bourbons. From start to finish it was excellent. I am a Chef so unfortunately when i eat out. I tend to be picky. Bourbons definitely stood up to the challenge. We had cocktails, appetizers, dinner and dessert. I had a blueberry martini. It was fantastic!!! I unfortunately cannot remember her drink. But I will post a pic. We shared the pork belly burnt ends. And the Vidalia onion dip with sweet potato chips. The ONLY menu item we had that wasn't exactly perfect was the pork belly burnt ends. They were moist, delicious and full of flavor. The only thing I would have done a little different was I wanted a little bit more crisp on the outside. However. They were still very very good. The Vidalia onion dip with sweet potato chips was the front runner with the appetizers. It was creamy cheesy bubbly excellence. Once we tasted our appetizers. We knew we were in for a great night. I had the shrimp and crafish ettouffe. Remember me saying I was a Chef? I specialize in Italian, Creole and Seafood. So I definitely make ettouffe. So it was of course going to have to meet my standards. I was not disappointed in any way. It was flavorful. Not overly fishy. And essentially everything I wanted it to be. My friend had the filet with asparagus and a creamy mushroom risotto. I gotta tell you. This risotto was the belle of the ball. It went above and beyond. The first bite took my breath away. The second bite got the party started. It reached all of my culinary pleasure points. I could have eaten just a bowl of that and been perfectly happy. Finally. For dessert I had the Bourbon pecan pie. It was delicious. Another homerun. But let me tell what stole the dessert show. The flour less chocolate cake!!!!!!!!! My friend has Celiac so obviously she is gluten free. So this dessert option was great for her. I'm not much of a chocolate person. But Bourbons made me a chocolate lover that night. This cake is rich creamy and just plain out delicious. It is a must try. Finally. We also loved they way their menu was set up. It let's you know which items are gluten free. And also shows options for meals that have gluten to become gluten free. Bourbons gets 5 stars from me. From the impeccable service to the lively atmosphere and finally the amazing food. I recommend giving it a try. You will not be disappointed. A special shout out to the manager who popped by our table to make sure we had a good night. She was appreciated. I hope everyone who reads this...