Sweet Maple — Restaurant in Cupertino

My wife and I were excited to try this restaurant based on the reviews and photos online. We arrived, checked in, and were seated promptly. They were busy but not outrageously so. After a few minutes, our server came to take our drink orders, and the drinks were excellent (regular coffee and matcha latte). We ordered food (the Pacifica crab salad and the crab benedict). At this point we enjoyed sipping our beverages and chatting, but as time went on things started to get disappointing. Tables near us were being seated, ordering, and receiving food while we still waited for ours. I didn't keep exact track of time but if I had to guess, at least 25 minutes passed without us speaking with our server. I was hoping for a coffee refill and couldn't even find the server to waive him over. After a quick trip to the restroom our food still wasn't there. I then saw our server helping other tables but he never checked in. At some point, someone else came out of the kitchen with our food and placed it down. The presentation was nice but it was clear that the food had been sitting for a while as the crab was completely dried out and the temp. of the benedict was pretty cold/low. We tried to be good sports about it and started eating, but the next disappointment came when we tasted the food. The benedict was surprisingly bland. I understand the idea of not over-salting food, but this was supposed to have some kind of cucumber wasabi hollandaise and I tasted neither wasabi, cucumber, nor hollandaise. The crab was completely unflavored - and not in the "this is fresh so it tastes clean" kind of way. It was just not good. I was actually kind of amazed at how fancy the food could look while simultaneously tasting so uninspired. It was 'fine' .. it wasn't BAD ... but it was just ... not that good. My wife's salad was also bland, the crab was extremely dry and flavorless. When our server finally checked in (more than half way through us slowly eating the food), I told him as politely as I could "you know, it's ok, but the crab is very dry, and I'm afraid it might have been sitting out for a long time or something." I mentioned to him that we'd seen other larger parties show up, order, and receive plates by the time we got ours, and that he was nowhere to be found for coffee refills, etc. He said "ok, so you feel like it took too long for the food?" I said "well, yes, and I understand it's busy and you seem like a nice person, but yes it's just kind of not that good, y'know?" He said "Ok, I'll be right back." A few minutes later he returned to apologize and tell us that the kitchen told him it takes a while to crack the crab and cook the shrimp, and that he would happily get us a drink for free if we'd like one. At this point we were pretty much finished and I said "thank you, but we have enough drinks. I think we're ready for the check any time." He said "ok, sorry about that," and brought us our check.

So, why would I write this long review? I guess it's just to let the business know that, as a customer who was excited to try the place and who ordered two of the more expensive items on the menu (I think the plates were $33 each), I feel like they could have made a better effort to make the experience more positive and have us leave with a better first impression. We were polite, patient, and honest. We didn't cause a scene, didn't act in disgust, or anything like that, and we were offered a somewhat comical excuse about how cracking the crab takes time and a free drink when we were already finished with our meal. For reference, we rarely/never complain at restaurants as both my wife and I have worked in food service and totally 'get it.' That said, the 1 or 2 times we've ever 'complained' in the last 14 years of dining out we've received a much more gracious response. Maybe our mistake was ordering crab at a place known for its bacon, but my suggestion would be to remove those items from the menu if they aren't going to be up to par with the other dishes. Crab season ended 6 days ago so I'm hard pressed to think it's a...

We stopped by for brunch today around noon. Not surprisingly, it was very busy, and there was a 1 hr wait in the scorching sun. We got the omurice and avocado croffle, which were both very good. I also got a mimosa to decompress from the crazy encounter we had while waiting in line (see below for details). Our waitress was very sweet and attentive. However, I'm not sure that we'll be back given the long wait times and crazy parking situation.

Now for the story...

As this was our first time there, we didn't realize how tiny the parking lot was. We were lucky to find a space, but there was a girl standing in the way. We motioned for her to move, and she motioned back and said something while continuing to talk on her phone, mainly ignoring us. My husband then got out of the car and asked her to move. She said she was holding the space. My husband told her that she can't do that, and she should move before the car hits her (probably could've chosen better words). She finally moved after that and we parked. However, a while later, they got in line behind us, and her husband started accusing mine of threatening his wife. While my husband probably could've been more diplomatic, calling that a threat is a wild exaggeration. Things got a bit heated, but ultimately we decided to say sorry and let it go. The husband was relatively reasonable, but the girl refused to say sorry and insisted that she did nothing wrong and that she found the parking spot first. Another stranger chimed in, and he and I both told my husband to ignore her, given how unreasonable she is. Lo and behold, she started getting into an argument with that stranger ("who are you? what's your problem?"), and the stranger's wife had to hold him back too. It's honestly a little comical recapping the situation, but it wasn't funny at the time. Luckily, we were able to separate from her and cool down. Even after we separated, I could faintly hear her telling her husband in Chinese, "why should I apologize?"

I'm writing this because I hope that Chinese couple or their friends will read this post.

To the aggressive, entitled, and shameless girl who continued to deny that she did anything wrong: I only wish I googled this earlier so that I could've told you this in person - it's not only rude but in fact illegal to stand in a parking spot: "San Francisco Police spokesman Officer Samson Chan affirms that standing in a parking spot and waving off rightful parkers because you've "saved" it is a violation of California Vehicle Code 21954(a)."

To the well-intentioned but misguided husband: Kudos to you for trying to stand up for your wife, but just know that it isn't always the right thing to do if your wife is an unreasonable person. I hope you understood the look that I gave you at the end of the encounter, which meant "now you can see who the real problem is in this situation." And if you stand there and do nothing to call out the problem, even if that problem is your wife, then you're just enabling it.

To Sweet Maple: thanks for providing a good dining experience. In particular, kudos to the hostesses who accommodated our request to be seated as far from this problem couple as possible. However, given the challenging parking situation, it might be helpful to put up some signs reminding patrons that they are not allowed to stand and hold parking spots. This could help to prevent future conflicts. Thanks for your...

We've been trying to visit Sweet Maple for almost 2 years now and as luck would have it, something or the other would always happen and we'd just not end up there. A couple of weeks ago, we decided that this needs to happen and we were resolute.

No fights, no plans, no distractions and a toddler that was well fed and did the deed at home. We were on a mission to dine at Sweet Maple on account of all the great reviews and myself being a connosieur of Chicken & Waffles.

The day had come, we were ready! We planned to have a late (I mean very late) brunch at 1:30 PM thinking the place wouldn't be busy but we were wrong. Luckily people move in and out fast so we could find parking in the lot itself. Yelp On-site Wait List is open there, you cannot reserve a table or add yourself to the list online (trust me, we tried).

After about 25 min wait, it was our turn and I'll start the actual review with the Service & Ambiance, Food comes last else this review will never end!

Service: It wasn't fast but its understandable because of the jam packed nature of their business. The staff was great mostly but the Front Desk lady can have a better attitude. Providing good service v/s good hospitability are two different things. She could be havin a bad day but it happened twice now.

Ambiance: It looked beautiful, the furniture, the decor and the overall presentation was lovely. It could be a nice place for a date as well but its a bit crowded so you will lack intimacy there!

Food: The juicy part of this review, I've been there twice in 2 weeks and if that doesn't tell you how good the food is, there's nothing I can say that will convince you otherwise. Both the times we ordered the exact same thing from the menu.

Chicken Croffle - No words to describe this beautiful creation. Its a flaky waffle that's also a croissant. I love them individually but this form is better than both. Its so flaky and tasty, I will never go back to regular waffles again. They have it in veggie form as well, Avocado Croffle. I forgot about the chicken, how did they make it so tender? The outer crispy layer is just spicy enough to satisfy the Indian taste buds. The maple syrup gets a special shoutout, not sure how but it does feel spicy as well.

Florentine Eggs Benedict - Its so tasty, so smooth and just a delight to enjoy on a relaxing afternoon. The hollandaise sauce is just perfect, the eggs are cooked nicely and the muffin base is so buttery and soft yet firm at the same time.

Dirty Ube Lattle - Never thought I'd drink something like this, let alone enjoy it. They've created another masterpiece with this one, I thought the croffle was a crazy combination but this thing replicates the magic on the drinks side. Smooth coffee and the taste of that Ube jam just hits the right notes.

All in all, I might go again in the next...