Rise and Dine — Restaurant in Chula Vista

I was SO UPSET that I almost had an episode when we went to this restaurants today. The girl at the front saw I had a dog. She didn’t seat us, instead she walked to the back kitchen and a lady came out with her. The lady asked if it was a service dog and I replied yes. My service dog even had his leash (vest) that stated “Service Animal / Do Not Separate From Handler” which in fact we don’t even have to have on him. The lady then asked for “papers” . I told her that there were no papers for service dogs and that with someone who has a disability, we are protected under the ADA guidelines for having a service animal. Yet, she still refused us because she said a customer gave them a 1 star review because she allowed another service dog in the restaurant before. My husband and I told her that she should not be refusing customers who have service animals because another customer had given them a 1 star review, rather respond to that review with the ADA law. She said she knew the law for allowing service animals, but clearly she did not. This is the FIRST time I had to deal with such ignorance and being lied to about knowing the ADA law. As a CA restaurant, PLEASE know your ADA laws for people with disabilities.

Update / Reply to owner’s response: Sir / Madam, I know you are trying to protect your business and reputation. Thank you for your response and apology to my review, but what you were told by your manager is not what happened. She did NOT ask me what my service dog’s task were AT ALL! She asked me if it was a service dog and I replied “yes” THEN she asked me for “papers”. When I told her we do not have papers and that we are protected by the ADA regulations and guidelines, is when she said SORRY I can’t let you in. When I asked her for what reason, she then proceeded to tell us the story of another disabled person giving your restaurant a 1 star review. By this time we walked outside and I was trying to explain to her that she should not be treating us like that for having a service animal and she said sorry. She ONLY changed her mind when my husband went back in and spoke with her again. You are correct, she did change her mind and said to come in, by this time I was already upset and told my husband that I wouldn’t want to support a business that treated me this way, although my disability is unseen, I felt discriminated against and there are many other restaurants that are more welcoming. In regard to my dog having his “service animal” vest, he sure was wearing one, as mentioned it was a vest leash (a sleeve that goes on his leash) due to his size. We travel all around the country and frequently eat at restaurants with my service dog, I always have his vest leash when entering a restaurant to distinguish him as a service animal; we follow all of the rules and regulations from restaurants, to Disneyland, Nascar, airplanes, etc. IF your manager would have asked me the 2nd question of what my service animal’s task were, I would have answered her like I always do when asked by establishments and everything would...

Came here today little after 9am. They were not very busy. We had our 19 month year old with us so we needed a highchair. We were sat promptly at a table with only 1 chair. I had to go get a second chair. When we got the highchair we had to ask for a child's menu. The server took our order then I told her we needed drinks. We get coffee, no creamer offered. We get our food, no napkins, 1 set of silverware. I ordered my son's eggs over medium hard, they were over easy, I ordered crispy hashbrowns they were not fully cooked. My husband's waffles served with no butter. We were never checked on or asked how everything was. I needed napkins, refills on coffee and pop, butter, silverware, water, creamer. I had to look creepy by going and picking up creamer and silverware from another table. Did I mention we had a kid? Well, the highchair strap was broken, while eating we took turns holding him in his chair. I finally flagged someone down for coffee and the woman poured a hot coffee OVER my 19 month-old son's head, I pulled him away. Our table was completely overrun with clutter and needed to have our pre- bussed so either of us could have room to eat after feeding or son. Really wanted to have a nice breakfast out of our house so Mama could enjoy her own breakfast. This was a great...

Update:

Went back and gave them another try. Staff was courteous and service was pretty quick.

Food was ok. Had the country fried steak and eggs. Eggs were cooked fine (over medium), potatoes were ok. Steak was a little gamey, almost like liver, quality was what you could expect from a typical greasy spoon. My kid had pancakes and bacon. Nice sized portions. You get what you pay for. This is definitely a place for those who are fans of times past: old school diner food, quick griddle and short order style with few items made from scratch and mostly preprepared/canned/processed.

Anywhere with people slinging syrup around needs extra attention to detail when it comes to cleaning and the tablecloths and booths are very dated and sticky/nasty looking.

Overall not bad. Upgrading to 3 stars for food, 2 for atmosphere and 4 stars for service. Didn’t get a chance to actually try anything. Got seated, then waited for 20 minutes with no further acknowledgement. No greeting, menu, water, cup of coffee, nothing. I love diners and small businesses and wanted to support. I’ll check them out another time and...