Benedict's La Strata — Restaurant in Crystal Lake

I was going to send this as a private letter to Benedict's La Strata but their website doesn’t even have an email contact. So, while I am on that topic, their website is poorly designed too.

On March 14, 2018, I arrived at Benedict's La Strata at 9:45 in the morning to meet a friend for breakfast. I parked on Williams Street and, glancing through the window of the restaurant, saw that it was not very busy. When I walked in the front there was no one waiting and the bar area had 1 person sitting on a stool. I could see empty tables as the hostess walked up and greeted me. I asked for a table for two and she exclaimed that the restaurant was full and I would have to wait. I was so shocked and she could see this on my face. I even said, “What?” She then pivoted, realizing that I had caught her in a lie and said that Benedict’s doesn’t seat separate parties. So there I sat, by myself on the bench by the hostess station. I wonder what would have happened if I said it was for just 1 person.

As someone who has worked in the service industry, I am always shocked by the lack of training that staff members have and I am horrified when they are as rude and unhelpful as your hostess was. If she was working at my restaurant I would let her go. Why? There literally were dozens of ways she could have upsold the event, made a friend out of the customer and positively affected my experience.

1. The hostess should not have lied. It was apparent that we both knew she did. This is just a horrible business practice. She should have outright pointed to the sign and explained the restaurant policy.

2. She should have overwritten the policy and sat me anyway since there were so few people there. As I expressed to her, while I sat on the bench, I could have been drinking a Bloody Mary and a coffee while I waited. This override is a great business practice. It makes the customer feel special and solidifies their return. Often that customer will become a huge proponent of the restaurant, suggesting it to all their friends and coming more regularly.

3. She could have apologized for the policy, offered for me to sit at the bar and suggested that I have a Bloody Mary or coffee while I waited. But no. There I sat by myself with no sales happening at all. Then, she thought it would be a good idea to go complain to the wait staff and look at me from the kitchen area.

My friend arrived and we were seated. There were several 2- tops sitting empty as we were escorted in. This only made me more uncomfortable considering it was blatantly obvious that she had lied about the lack of seating.

After expressing to the waitress that we needed a minute to order she never came back. We decided to leave. As we walked out we finally saw her. We told her we were leaving. She did not say anything, zero, no apology, nothing. She should have said, “I am sorry you have to go.” or “Was there a problem?” But she said nothing. She was on the side of the hostess and they together thought it would be great to be rude. I understand that Benedict’s is a very popular restaurant and there may be a certain disinterest that you have about this situation. You’ll just write it off. But I have to tell you I will certainly discourage everyone I know in the McHenry county area, from Woodstock to Island Lake, not to eat at your restaurant. I will leave a bad review wherever I can. You will lose my money and my friend’s money. All because your staff were...

It was my 1st time here. I was excited for the variety of eggs Benedict options! When I first arrived there was no one inside and I was honestly a bit confused if I was in the right spot. I took a couple steps inside and saw the outdoor patio set up which I thought was cute and was going to ask to sit out there but then the host had come up and basically interrupted me very rudely and asked if I needed something. I had told him it was my first time there and that I wanted to have some breakfast. He then proceeded to mumble "well you walked right by the host station so I don't know how you missed it." Which I thought was incredibly rude but I didn't say anything. He then asked how many and I told him it was just me, and before I can ask to have an option to sit in the patio, he walked me into the dining room and put me in probably one of the smallest tables in the very corner of the restaurant. Basically feeling like I was being pushed aside. My waitress did come up to me was very friendly, so I ordered my soft drink and my breakfast, the zucchini cake benedict. I was so excited cuz that is one of my favorites. My food came out rather quickly which I thought was unusual, but that was okay. But I still hadn't gotten my drink so I had asked for that and was brought to me right away. Now cutting open that eggs benedict is always a great feeling to see the yolk drip out, however they were overcooked and barely any yolk had come out. The Hollandaise sauce and red pepper flavor was delicious. The zucchini cakes honestly were mediocre at best. They really didn't have much flavor at all which was disappointing. Which is why every bite I would add some egg and potato with the zucchini cake to at least give it some flavor. The potatoes were fabulous, but there was no need for the green onion garnish with the potatoes. They were good as is. The English muffin that was added to the side, again did not have any good flavor, nor was there any extra butter on the table for me to use. Overall not an overwhelming experience for me wanting to come back, so if you're looking for a simple breakfast place I guess give it a try, but I probably will not be going back. Which is very disappointing because they were other eggs benedict options that I really wanted to try. Once I receive my check and headed up to the front the same boy was there when I first arrived was checking out guests. He was super friendly to the people in front of me and he basically gave me a side eye and took my ticket tapped the screen of where I needed to put my card, once I was finished he asked if I wanted a receipt, again without even looking at me once. I said no thank you and ended up leaving. The guests behind me that we're paying, he said how was your meal I hope everything was great, et cetera excetera. So again made me feel that I did something wrong when I was just trying to...

Empty restaurant would not serve me. Overall I can not rate the food here as I had the oddest experience. Customer service needs to be overhauled here as this was the oddest experience I have ever encountered. I am a very quiet and reserved person, dressed professionally and only asked to be seated for breakfast.

I had just flown into Chicago as I have in the past and business brought me to the area of Benedict’s. I was very hungry as I had not eaten yet and it was almost 11am. I walked into the restaurant with my carry on luggage from the plane as I have not had the chance yet to even get to the hotel. I was greeted by the hostess and was excited to eat here as one of the people I was in Chicago for had recommend it and was in fact going to meet me there in about an hour and join me for some food. My plan was to eat breakfast now and then join her for her breakfast. The restaurant was relatively empty with only a couple diners and the hostess was about to seat me as a single diner. I told her that someone would be joining me later but I was planning on eating a full breakfast myself. I was about to ask what was good when the hostess told me that she could not seat me as their policy is not to seat incomplete parties. I did explain that I am currently a party of 1 and will be eating a full meal before the other person arrives. She told me that since I “admitted” that I was meeting someone, she would not seat me and just continued to stare at me saying that it was their policy. Normally I would just ask to speak to a manager as I am a single diner at that time and wanted to eat and not just hold up a table, but I was so put off by the way I was spoke to and the lack of applying policies to the situations they are meant for. I walked out, with my luggage…lol, and went to Starbucks around the corner where I did not have as satisfying a meal, I assume, but was greeted with amazing attitude ans service, something that was sadly missing from my experience at Bennidict’s.

I would love for a manager or owner to reach out to me so I can explain why as a customer or consumer this was not a good experience for me. They have the right to refuse service to anyone and I understand it, but I wonder if there is some training that can be done to make people feel wanted or happy to recommend them because most likely this will be the topic of conversation for me today with all of my contacts as o am in disbelief as...