Bodega CHS — Restaurant in Charleston

I have always loved Bodega. It has always been one of my favorite spots when I’m in Charleston, and I love the idea of it. Being able to pop in any time during the day to grab a sandwich and coffee is awesome, or being able to sit down and have a drink. I recommend it to anyone that will listen. However, I recommended it to my sister to try out before a concert she was going to. I was very confident that it’d be an awesome experience for her and her friend. I guess the hours changed because Bodega closes at 4pm most days now and I could’ve sworn they used to be open all day. Either way, no problem. I respect restaurant hours. Well, my sister got there at 3:15, 45 WHOLE minutes before Bodega closed. She was told that they were no longer doing table service… 45 minutes before closing? They guy that told her this made it clear that they were “about to close”… in 45 minutes??? I’m still so confused on how 45 min is “about to close.” They told her she could still order at the bar and sit and eat, just no table service. Okay that’s fine! No problem. There were still others inside with some coffees, etc. at tables. So she orders her sandwich and a side. But the same guy who told them they were “about to close” was hovering and kept saying how they were “about to close,” to the point where my sister and her friend felt unwelcome and awkward sitting at a Bodega table and instead sat on a park bench outside. Again, this would be different if it was 10 minutes before closing. But for paying customers to feel so unwelcome 45 MINUTES before closing of a restaurant that they can’t even eat inside comfortably is absolutely wild. I’m embarrassed that I even recommended Bodega to them. That is completely disgraceful service. I will have a hard time recommending Bodega to anyone else in the future, and I likely won’t be back anytime soon. I have served at a restaurant and worked multiple food service jobs, and those places would have never dreamed of turning customers away 45 min before closing, unless all tables were full/reservations booked/over 45 min waitlist already. However, my main problem here is that if they decided to serve them and make the food, guests should at least feel welcome. Otherwise, just don’t make the food at all, and we’ll eat somewhere else. Again, I’m embarrassed I even...

We were down from NYC visiting my sister who has lived downtown for years and so excited that we could find some breakfast sandwiches just like NYC. We went on the Sunday after St. Patrick’s Day around 10:30am. The hostess seemed overwhelmed and flustered. She took our name and said she’d text us. Then we watched her sit two other parties of 4 without ever texting us. We were standing there with our dog and finally went up to ask what was happened and she acted like she had never seen us before. Strange. Then we order our drinks and food. We were told we couldn’t order sausage because they didn’t have any prepped for sandwiches, which was very weird. Coffees and matcha were delicious. After sitting there for over an hour waiting for our food and visiting the bathroom that had no toilet paper (after telling the hostess) we asked our waitress what was going on. 4 easy breakfast sandwiches shouldn’t take that long. Bodegas in NYC do this within 10-15 minutes. What we ordered just had egg, cheese, bacon and another sandwich had sliced deli meat. Our waitress never apologized, the manager who was walking around went missing, we assumed he went to help out the kitchen? We watched the table next to us get up and leave. Our food was finally brought out after sitting there for an hour and 25 minutes. The cold deli sandwich roll was so moist from sitting being ready for so long. One of the egg sandwiches was cold. We told our waitress about the soggy sandwich roll and she brought over someone who we thought was a female manager (the woman did not introduce herself). This woman didn’t really believe or understand how this could have happened but brought out a new sandwich right away. Our waitress not once apologized for the wait. We were there from 10:30-1:30 for 4 breakfast sandwiches, 2 hot coffees and a matcha. I do not recommend this place if you’re not consuming alcohol. Highly disappointed...

2 hours of waiting…no food.

Idk where to even start. We started by waiting outside in a small, 4 person line at the host stand for 15 min. We were told there was a 25 minute wait, so we decided to try the to-go counter. We were told THAT would be a 30 minute wait. So we finally settled on a couple open seats at the bar where we were told food would take 45 min…cool, whatever, we’re already too deep to leave. We ordered two club sandwiches, chips, and coffee. Iced coffee took 20 minutes to come out…no problem, patience still in tact. 20 more minutes pass and they bring out a little plate with some chips on it…no sandwiches. I ask the bartender if our sandwich orders were put in and she says yes, the kitchen just wanted to get us started with something…bad sign. Never has a restaurant ever brought out my side before the meal make sit to the table. Now two more couples join the 8 top bar and the bartender takes their order…the final straw was their food coming out within 30 minutes of sitting. We’re now furious. We purposely ordered club sandwiches thinking it would be the quickest, easiest thing to prep…cold meat and cheese on bread… how long could that possibly take!? TWO F@&$?!% HOURS. No apology from management, no comment from bartender… After she disappeared and left the bar totally unattended for 10 minutes we decided to throw in the towel. Genuinely the most absurd food/bev experience I’ve had in Charleston; probably anywhere. Idk if it’s their management, ownership, or just a total lack of communication and organization, but no one should have to wait for 2 hours for cold sandwiches. If it’s a prep issue, don’t have those menu items available during brunch. At least communicate with the guest that that particular item may take longer. I wish I could give 0 stars but google ain’t ready for that smoke. Hit up The Daily, Bodega, or Holy City Bagels for breakfast...