Goodale Station — Restaurant in Columbus

We went to dinner tonight, and had easily one of the worst experiences I've had in a downtown dining experience in a while. And this is post Covid.

Let's start with Jordan, our server who smiled at us not once, and who snapped at both me and my friends all night long. She spoke over us when we were trying to give our orders; she presumed things that she couldn't possibly know about our tastes, and when we did ask for corrections, she rolled her eyes at us (we should be able to ask the temperature of the burger and what the accoutrements are, right?).

We tried not to let her obviously bad attitude disturb our night. I asked for the cheese selection, and she had no idea what cheeses were on it. They came with three cheeses that were very different from the three cheeses she described. That was okay because I liked the cheeses. And for the most part we liked the food. The duck fat fingerling potatoes were delicious. And although the garlic bread was way too oozy cheesey for any of us to enjoy, it was all good.

Everyone who ordered the burger enjoyed the burger. I thought my pork belly was completely overcooked, but I would not dare say anything to Jordan because I really didn't want to deal with her anymore at that point. The bill came, and there was an automatic 20% gratuity added to our check.

Apparently, when you come to Goodale Station, every person's check is automatically credited 20% gratuity to the server. It explains why Jordan, and probably every other server, doesn't really care what kind of service they give you. They know they're going to get tipped anyway. We called over the manager, Evan, to address this issue. And we understood within 30 seconds why it is Jordan flourishes at Goodale Station.

Evan was rude, dismissive, and snooty, for lack of a better word. He talked over us and then told us to be quiet while he spoke. I actually had to ask him then to be quiet while I addressed our issues with him. Our issues were: it's not a matter of cost; it's a matter of principle. Jordan was a bad server and she did nothing to deserve 20% tip. Evan then graciously reduced that automatic 20% to 18%. That was the equivalent of $1.55 for me, $1.36 for two of my other friends, and 86 cents for my other friend who didn't really drink. He did not seem to care about the fact that his server was absolutely terrible, rude, and just all around unlikable to us. He was dismissive and unexplainably pompous.

Maybe it's because the restaurant is on the 12th floor that somehow they think they are above the way that every other restaurant manages themselves successfully? I asked him that. I told him that no other restaurant automatically assigns 20% to EVERY INDIVIDUAL TABLE who comes in. He said Goodale Station does. I mentioned that should probably be on the website, and that blindsiding folks with an unassumed gratuity was unfair and short-sighted. He didn't care. If I had come in by myself and have been automatically charged 20% gratuity, I would kick a fit and never, ever return.

And then let the folks at the Convention Centre know about it so they can inform their guests about a possible robbery.

Because the food is only okay.

And the service leaves so very much to be desired.

We didn't let Evan or Jordan ruin our night, but we will definitely never be going back to Goodale Station. Great views? We looked at a building all night. We were trying to go to Lincoln Social but decided to give a new place a try, so we could support local, so we can be adventurous. We will not make that mistake again.

Go where you know quality exists. It does not exist at Goodale Station. We were disrespected, insulted, and at the end of the night, four beautiful women who represent four different races were treated absolutely deplorably by Goodale Station.

I guess they don't really need our money. And I guess they won't need my support. I eat out a lot. And I will be letting people know where they should NOT be eating...

The overall experience and atmosphere is very modern and beautiful. Amazing view of the city. The staff were extremely polite and made sure the evening was wonderful! Let’s talk food! My dinner here was on Valentine’s Day so the menu was slightly different as they were doing a special menu and event for the special day so if some of the food discussed is not normally there, don’t blame me.

I started with the Freefall which was a non alcoholic lemonade and I don’t remember what other flavors were supposed to be in the drink but it was absent. They could have just called this lemonade with a decorative flower because I could only taste lemonade. Though it is a knock on the description and mix this was one of the best tasting lemonade I’ve had. Not overly sweet and very clean and crisp lemon flavor but as far as other flavors, I’m sure there should have been some but all you taste is lemon.

The highlight of the food was the starter, the spinach crab dip was brilliant. It was warm and creaming, perfectly seasoned. The chips could have been any carb, there was nothing special to them and definitely not enough for the amount of dip you get, I ended up just eating it with a fork and was delighted. I love spinach artichoke dip and this dip with the crab took my favorite starter to a whole new level. This is a MUST order!

My main was the lamb shank. This was good but not worth the price. It was bland and flavorless. However, it was the tenderest meat I’ve ever had, it literally fell off the bone and fell apart. Clearly the chef knew how to cook it, unfortunately there was no flavor. There was sauce but again flavones. The most flavor was the few pomegranate seeds scattered about. Furthermore I feel like there is a disconnect between wait staff and kitchen as it came out at room temperature as if it had sat at the window for far too long.

My partner on the hand was very happy with the crab ravioli. Home made, flavorful, seasoned, and just brought joy to him and his tummy. He is a huge ravioli critic and said this was one of the best ravioli dishes he has ever had. I definitely feel I just chose wrong.

For dessert, I had the peanut butter cheesecake and let me start by saying, I’m a cheesecake enthusiast and I’m disappointed to say this was NOT cheesecake. The brownie crust was burnt, I had to scrape the filling out to avoid burn taste ruining it. The brownie parts which were not burnt were delicious but the cheese cake part was a peanut butter brownie or blondie, not a cheese cake. The texture was wrong, it was not creamy, it was the same texture and consistency as the brownie which is so far from cheesecake it just isn’t cheese cake. If this had been called a peanut butter layered brownie, I’d rate this a 5/5 but I can’t when you call it cheesecake and there was nothing cheese cake about it.

I enjoyed my evening here and my partner was very happy with the evening, service was stellar and loved the atmosphere, however for a $200 meal, I’d say the only thing I’d pay for again is the crab dip and my partner’s ravioli, the rest was something I would be disappointed to get from a chain like Applebees or lower quality, not a location labeled...

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE! Lets start with I work in the food industry and I must say i have NEVER BEEN TALKED DOWN TO BY A MANAGER IN A RESTAURANT like this. Unfortunately i did not get the guys name however; lets get to the story. My Birthday was not to long ago and i was taken here by a friend to celibrate! Prior to Covid i fine dined 3 to 4 times a week for over a decade places such as Refectory, Smith and wollensky, The Top, Pearl, Guild House, & Maranova just to name a few. I came here, sat in a seat near the window, spoke to a manager insantly because i was cold, inquired about moving near the fire place later. Realized 15 mins into seating that i was directly under a vent blowing very cold air. We had no drinks and no menus and no silverware as of yet... I decided to move to the table in the middle to get away... (side note their were 6to 8 tables in the area and maybe 1 table had someone seated but nothing in my area and very spaced out. 10 to 15 mins after the move. A MANAGER CAME OVER WITHOUT INTRODUCTION OF ANY SORT AND SAID THESE EXACT WORDS! QUOTE "IF YOU MOVE AGAIN I WILL HAVE TO ESCORT YESSSS (ESCORT) YOU OUT OF THE BUILDING!" Please Note :I am a beautiful black woman that had on a red amazing gown and wearing my Afro and my partner was also dressed to the nines and there to treat me for my birthday. Manager immediately rolled his eyes as if i annoyed him and quickly walked away I could not even respond. Literally said nothing other than those words. I did everything i could in my power NOT TO CRY IN PUBLIC, i stayed because my friend was so wanting to eat here and he drove. If i could have snapped my fingers and just went home i would have! I found my inner peace ate my food which was very good btw. I spoke to a manager when i was leaving, he offered us a drink on the house lol but that was certainly unable to make up for the way i was mishandled. I just want to say We did not need ANYTHING FOR FREE! AND IN THIS CLIMATE HOW DARE YOUR STAFF SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY! THERE WERE SO MANY WAYS TO GET YOUR POINT ACROSS IN A POLITE MANNER, yet he chose not to, we were going to buy drinks all night we are not broke and looking for handouts, simple good customer service would have been enough. I know in my heart i should have got up and left but i felt like this was some kind of a test or i was getting punked. For God sakes dont blame this behavior on COVID!!! There was absolutely NO ONE IN OUR VACINITY and i already spoke up and said i was extremely cold with a sweater on. This was wrong and everyone should know especially the people who worked so hard on this beautiful establishment with such amazing chefs. You can NEVER justify speaking to someone in this manner for the 1st time, rolling your eyes and walking away! I know you all probably dont care but this hurt my heart and i stomached it and said nothing because i was in shock and knew no matter how i felt no one would care or i would have been made to feel i was out of line and "escorted out" smfh....... DO BETTER TO GOOD PAYING, FOOD LOVING, LAW ABIDING...