Abundance Culinary — Restaurant in Cleveland Heights

I want to start by saying that I am a Cleveland Heights resident and a huge supporter of local small and women own businesses. I was super excited when I read about Abundance in Cleveland Magazine, and I wanted to find the perfect occasion to try it. It happened that an out of town friend also read the article and asked if we would go with him the next time he was in the Heights. I made reservations for three people a week ahead for Thursday dinner. Yesterday, I received an email reminding me of my reservation, and today, Thursday, I received a text asking me to confirm I would be there to which I responded yes. We arrived on time to be greeted by a couple of confused staff telling us that they needed to see if there was a table available. From where we were standing, we could see two empty tables for four and 3 seats at the bar. Eventually, another staff member came and said that we needed to sit at the bar because they wanted to maximize space, and they did not want to put us in a table for four people. I said that I had reservations for three and that there was nowhere on the reservation process a clause that indicated that tables are only available for parties of four. She said that it was their "policy" and that she would need to let their "social media manager" know to include this policy in the reservations system. I said that we were really looking forward to catching up with our friend and sitting at the bar was not conducive to a conversation of more than two people, especially in such small and loud environment. I reminded her that we had confirmed reservations for a table, and we were expecting to be seated at the table. The staff member said that other people had reservations too, so we were welcome to sit at the bar. At that point, the owner came to the host station, heard what was going on, and heard my husband say that perhaps we should go somewhere else and she did nothing! One would think that an owner of a newly established restaurant would try to solve the issue to ensure that her customers have a good experience since bad service can destroy the reputation of nascent business. I understand that new restaurants sometimes experience growing pains. But the lack of concern and the level of apathy that greeted us was beyond the realm of normal. I sincerely hope that Abundance reads this review, takes the time to assess what went wrong, and takes corrective measures. I do not want other customers to go through what we did. The good news is that Cleveland Heights does have an amazing dinning scene and choices...

I was in from out of town last night and my local Chinese friend suggested this place as I love Sichuan and she had been here previously and had a good experience. I thought the diner vibe was unique and fun. The green beans were tempura green beans sprinkled with Sichuan spice. I probably would not have ordered these if I realized they were fried - the description on the menu wasn’t clear. That said they were very tasty but incredibly over priced for what they were. I also got the pork dumplings which were fine but so heavily spiced with Sichuan peppercorns that there really was no other flavor at all - very one note. My friend had the tomato noodle which I had a bite of and thought was delicious. However, once my friend got deep into it, she said it was probably at least 10% too salty which she shared with the server after we completed our meals, not to complain or get a discount but to pass on feedback to the chef because she wants this place to be successful given her past positive experiences. My other friend got a beef and noodle dish that reminded me of pot roast. It was very flavorful and my friend seemed to enjoy it. It was not busy at all as we were in late. The server was fine initially (nothing great or terrible) but then was very rude when we asked the check to be split. It was surprising to us how put out he acted and the way he spoke to us about it. Given the amount of money we spent and the lack of customers when we were there, this should not have been a big deal. I would not return due to this interaction alone as I would never anticipate rude service at these...

I've never Noped so hard in my life. My sister became curious about this place when she saw it on one of the instagram food pages. It's also near where we live. The coffee shop seems cool. You have to walk through it to get to the dining area. I'm still unsure if they're the same business or separate.

It is no real indication of the service process. If you will be served or if you should go to the counter. Server seems reluctant to bring the food to your table once it's done. The menu is extremely priced. My sister and I assumed that the price indicated shareable portions. That was not the case. Everything was pretty nasty. Well the wings were edible. My poor sister hadn't eaten all day so she ate some of those. But for reference we got the dumpling sampler(small portion, weird taste...like literally disgusting), 2 plain rice sides(which is what we ended up eating, please note it's not sticky rice), Blueberry Pointless Can drink(taste like Ginger, pointless to get), moon cakes(underwhelming, although I've never had one before, so, I cant speak on that) and of course the 4 wings which are stretched out for some reason and doesn't come with a side. Oh and some hot mustard(taste like hot sauce and mustard but also somehow tasted odd).

All of this was over $70. Like, most things on the menu cost $18 and above. I really suggest going somewhere else. Instead of ruining your day.

Also, even though we only ate some of the food our stomach started hurting afterwards.

Honestly, after the first dumpling we wanted our money back. This was a travesty. I hope they reevaluate...