The Friendly Toast — Restaurant in Burlington

**EDIT TO ADD: Matt was once again great and provided the most authentic and heartfelt apology we could have asked for. He assured me that he spoke at length with both women who were involved in the situation that caused the original review. I am 100 % satisfied with Matt's resolution, and we will give Friendly Toast another shot. THANKS MATT!

I placed an order online for delivery for our luncheon to be delivered to our office. There was an entire situation that occurred after that, but what it boils down to is DoorDash being assigned to deliver the order, and the dasher stealing the food and then cancelling the order. I called the establishment and was advised that they couldn't refund me, and to contact DoorDash. So, I contact DoorDash and finally was told that because the order was cancelled through DoorDash, the funds were returned to the merchant and that the refund would need to be through the establishment. So, by the time all of this got figured out, the company was closed. I called the following day and spoke with the manager, Matt. Matt was GREAT. He was extremely apologetic and advised that he would imitate the refund. I assumed that had been done, so I thought nothing of it - until today. My financial controller advised that only $18.69 of the total $83.63 was refunded. So, I called up the merchant again. The first time I called, I spoke with a woman who I believe said her name was Angelica (or something similar) I asked to speak to a manager immediately to try and avoid explaining the entire thing to someone who wasn't a manager, who I would need to explain everything to again. She asked why I wanted to speak to a manager, so I explained everything. After explaining the entire situation again, she advised that I was wrong, and DoorDash would need to initiate the refund on their end. I told her that no, that's not the case. I called and spoke to the manager, Matt, and he was in agreement with me on who the refund needed to come from, and said he initiated it, and again asked to speak to a manager. She set the phone down (did not place me on hold, I could hear bits and pieces of her explaining the situation to someone else) and then came back on the phone and again insisted that I would need to contact DoorDash. At this point, I am irritated. I asked for a 2nd time to speak to the manager - she advised that she was a manager, and the other manager was going to tell me the same exact thing, I said that's okay - thank you and waited to be transferred, or to have the other manger come on the line but head a click and the call ended - so I was hung up on. I called right back, and spoke to a different woman - I asked for the manager and was transferred to a woman by the name of Alyssa. I re-explained everything for a 3rd time, and was told the same thing. I told Alyssa that no - I spoke to Matt and was persistent that I needed THEM to do the refund. Alyssa then asked me if I ordered online or through DoorDash - I advised that I ordered from their website - I never went on DoorDash' s website - I was on THEIR site and chose delivery. At that point, she advised me that in those instances, YES, the merchant is responsible for the refunds but that she (as a manager herself) was unable to initiate any refunds, and I would need to wait for Matt to return. She then told me that employees don't always know the difference between ordering on their website for delivery (where the merchant would be responsible for refunding) and ordering THROUGH DoorDash for their food. I then told her that maybe employees should ASK before assuming and being so, so rude when she was wrong the entire time. I tried asking her the name of the previous lady who hung up on me and Alyssa refused. Alyssa advised that she would take care of speaking with the previous employee. There was just an extremely condescending tone between both women, but especially the first one, and I have never been treated so poorly by a restaurant in my life. Now I have to wait until Saturday for a simple refund that should have happened over...

If I could give less than one star - I would. Worst service I’ve ever had in a restaurant. Upon arrival and news of a 45 minute wait (to be expected at 10am on a holiday) we ordered waters from the bar while waiting to be seated and apparently asking the bartender for water is a capital crime! We received a nasty glare and a “the hostess can help you with that.” When we proceeded to ask the hostess for water as instructed, she looked as if we’d asked for free food. Seats opened at the bar and we took them in hope of food and water. God - were we mistaken. Out of respect for restaurant etiquette, we politely told the hostess that we would like to eat at the bar and to remove us from the waiting list. Meanwhile, The bartender was completely ignoring us while serving the people on either side of us. 30 minutes go by and we’ve yet to be addressed or acknowledged. The hostess goes behind the bar to the bartender who states that we can’t be served at the bar because “she’s too stressed out and that we need to be removed from her bar” (we’ve still not been acknowledged). The hostess then turns to us and explains that we can’t order food at the bar despite the fact that our bar neighbors had gotten coffee, menus and food. We’re now supposedly put back on the waiting list for a table. Another 25 minutes go by and the bartender begrudgingly asks us if we’d like to order anything. Afraid of ordering something too complex such as a mimosa for New Years, we order coffee and explain that we’re back to waiting for a table since we were unable to be served food at the bar. Another 35 minutes go by and several patrons are getting seated at tables. We ask the hostess when we’ll be seated and she tells us we’ve been removed from the list because we said we were eating at the bar. Near red in the face with anger, we rehash the events of the last hour and a half and insist that we get a table. We waited nearly 2 hours for subpar pancakes. Absolutely the WORST service I’ve ever received in a restaurant. In summary, We were seated at a table 90 minutes after being treated rudely, ignored and splashed on with drinks by a horrendous bartender. If you’re still reading, we waited nearly 2 hours for food, were told we were unable to served food at the bar because the bartender refused to serve us all because we asked for waters upon arrival. Unfriendly No Toast would be a more fitting name choice for...

I so wanted to love this place. But sadly, I've been here 5 times and can not, as a native Vermonter, recommend this restaurant. I've noticed the higher-star reviews are from visitors. It has it's pros and cons. Pro: Unique decor and ambiance Massive unique menu Fresh homemade bread The bloody Mary is very good!

Cons: They make you pay extra for real maple syrup! Dear Friendly Toast, In 2018 "Vermont led the nation in making maple syrup, producing nearly 2 million gallons of the sweet product. It means about half of the maple syrup produced in the United States is made in the Green Mountains." - according to Agriculture.vermont.gov Therefore, I am ashamed for you that you even put the fake maple flavored corn syrup on the table and make us, your own maple sugarers, PAY for the real stuff. Sorry, but I'd rather go to @sneakers or @pennyclusecafe if that's the case. Last visit I brought my own maple syrup to your establishment, but unfortunately, it didn't make your pancakes taste any better. Tasteless pancakes. They don't have to-go cups The service is just ok. Last time I went, the server asked me 4 times if I was done while I clearly still had food on my plate. #annoying It's expensive. Again, for real maple syrup and to make my dollar go further, I'll stick with our home grown breakfast and lunch establishments. Parking downtown stinks. I work at a neighboring establishment that gets a lot of foot traffic. We get quite a few customers asking how this restaurant is....I give my honest opinion. And I would say that ignoring your neighboring businesses in a close-knit community is bad business. #notfriendly

I've had a few different salads that tasted good, but totally not worth the price portion-wise (I.e. $11 for a handful of mesclun greens and four 1 inch falafal balls, and they forgot the olives). I've had a few different breakfast sandwiches (the monte Cristo and donut egg sandwich) which are super unhealthy, so of course they taste good. The eggs and bacon are over priced and watch out for adding those extras. $$$$

I really wanted to like this place and I gave it a decent shot, but man, they missed the mark....