The Statler — Restaurant in Detroit

I had been looking forward to coming to this restaurant for quite some time, and was excited that the menu is seemingly accommodating for my food allergies/sensitivities.

When we arrived, we were greeted by two hostesses that were very nice. It took our server a while to come and greet us, and when we asked questions, it seemed like she wasn’t sure of the answer on quite a few of them. I also mentioned I had food allergies, and wanted to make sure that that wouldn’t be an issue. Most nicer restaurants go above and beyond to make sure your food allergies are known and work around them. It just seemed like this was hardly something that came up before, so I felt a bit uncomfortable having to insist that she take them down and tell the chef. When I asked questions about the menu and what was in certain dishes, it didn’t seem like she knew the answers. She did come back and say that even if a dish does have something you’re allergic to she would put it on the ticket and the chefs would do something to make sure that they plate it differently and don’t put that on it. Like for example, the scallops dish had green beans with a soy glaze. I asked if I could just get the green beans that didn’t have soy on them, since that’s an option unders side dishes, but she just said she had to put the allergies on the ticket and the chefs would accommodate. So I said OK let’s just do that. I told her soy, egg, and gluten I cannot eat, as well as arugula and walnut because I noticed both on the menu. Arugula and walnut are more like severe sensitivities for me.

So when my food came, there was a piece of bread right on top of it, touching all of the food. I cannot have any gluten so this was really disappointing. There was also a sauce on the side for the bread, and I looked it up online and it did say that there was egg in it so I mentioned that I didn’t want it and she said she would make sure it wasn’t on the plate. It was… it just looked like nobody had checked my food/plate and the chefs had not even acknowledged my food allergies that she had put on the ticket. When I asked her what was in the sauce, she didn’t know, and instead of asking the chef, she said she would just bring the chef to the table for me to ask, which was pretty uncomfortable because I don’t like to have attention drawn to me, I just would think the server would get the answer to that, but I do appreciate that she brought him so that I could at least get a clear answer, but just felt like more of a situation than it needed to. The chef did tell me that there was egg in it… which the server did put on the order that I have an allergy to.

The food was good though after getting through all of that, everything we ate, we enjoyed. I especially enjoyed the West Coast oysters because I haven’t been able to find them easily on my side of town. My boyfriend got the filet and he said it was good, but it wasn’t anything to rave over. Basically, we could make a better one at home. After all of this, we didn’t even bother to stay for dessert.

Also, there is no pre-busing or any attention to detail on that. We sat with empty plates in front of us after our appetizers for quite a while, and it wasn’t very busy. The light at our table kept going out so we had to ask somebody to switch it…. Little things like that that just kind of made the whole night less of an experience.

The decor of the restaurant is beautiful, however the seating left a lot to be desired. The table we were at had small chairs and they were very uncomfortable. For me, it hurt my tailbone and for my boyfriend, he said he was uncomfortable as well. It is quite loud in the restaurant, and there isn’t any music playing. Also, in the restrooms it is creepy silent, they definitely need music. The restrooms are a little bit of a walk out of the restaurant to get to…

Valet took quite a while when we arrived, but was pretty fast when we left. This was a Saturday night around 615-8pm. The valet attendant was very nice. It’s $20 for anyone wondering. They also have self parking...

Potentially more than 3 stars but my one time experience was, I think quite objectively, more than 3.5 at best. We were seated at 5:15, orders placed before 5:25. At that point, there were very few tables occupied so we thought we’d have our food by 6:00. By 6:15 none of us had gotten our order yet and we waited patiently (While we were waiting, two different gentlemen in full suites stopped by at different times to ask if everything was fine. To be honest, we would rather have our food a little earlier than all that courtesy - but we appreciated the gesture) After an hour of wait (as a reminder, the place was nearly empty when we sat down) we rightly expected our main courses to be delivered at the same time. That was not the case, and our guest we had invited had to watch us eat our food as he waited. It’s now 6:35 and our guest STILL didn’t have his order (chicken) despite the fact that the waitress had assured us “the chicken is coming” 2-3 times since she brought the other entries. Chicken finally “came” at around 6:45 (a full hour and twenty minutes after the order was placed!!) and Voila! - it’s undercooked, with blood inside!! Now, I know that much of European and especially French cuisine is based on raw or semi cooked food and I’m very comfortable with most of it but you can’t have blood in chicken. That’s a health hazard. Or if you are going to bring it raw - warn your customer. We pointed this out, they apologized and took the chicken back to fix it. And we were back to “your chicken is coming” joke again. At 7:07 (one hour and 40 minutes after placing the order) our guest had to leave. We felt like complete idiots and very embarrassed - trying to show him the revival of Detroit and all he gets is that his chicken is coming!! He canceled the food and left to a work commitment he had. All he got was a quick apology and a good bye. This was too much. We went inside and requested at least something for him so he doesn’t faint from hunger - he hadn’t had a bite since noon. They quickly put together a salad and a soup which I personally delivered to my guest. (he had to through away most of the salad because of a raw egg in it and just make it work with a cold soup). In terms of service, this was a strange experience. I would call it the most courteous disaster I’ve myself experienced and definitely the slowest service I’ve ever had in my life: And I’ve dined in well over a dozen countries - high scale doesn’t have to be so high-Snail.. Quality of the food - well, apart from the bloody chicken, no complains, except the French Onion soup was a bit too spicy and the Fries were cold - and I do hold this last one against the venue. Presentation - very good. Quality of the produce used - fresh. Quality of the dishes - overall, four stars, but with so few items tried I don’t know how objective I can be. I do understand that you don’t dismiss a place with just one try but my impression, however subjective, is this: Statler is a place that seems to have a lot of ambition and creativity and is trying to establish a model of high scale, elite venue in a city that’s coming back to life!! It does seem, though, while they have excelled in the esthetic and, somewhat superficially in the ethical side, and definitely in pricing! ironically, they might be lacking in the most essential aspect of their business - simply serving an order in timely manner without endangering the customer’s health and if not (things happen to everyone), fixing the mistake BEFORE the customer has to tell them to do so in such an obvious case as ours. Asking - “do you have the time” if fixing the chicken is going to take another 25 minutes. Just being mindful genuinely, not in a 3-piece-suit show off. It’s like you are in a hospital and need a shot to relieve your pain and instead of morphine you get very stylish nurses with perfect maquillage and haut couture gowns stopping by one after the other to ask if all is ok hour...

Such a strange and disappointing experience at the Statler this past weekend. Arrived on time for 5:15 reso. Waitstaff asked if we were going to a show (yes) and proactively made it abundantly clear they'd send out food to accommodate our timing (I wasn't worried, we had 2 hours to eat). I mean, this server went on and ON about how they were going to spread out these dishes to accommodate the impending rush of theater goers etc. etc. I was like "OK, got it." Our dishes then proceeded to come out one on top of each other, like, apps literally still on plates in front of us and then salad and soups being wedged in between to fit on our 4 top. We finished our starters thru main course in record time, and then the server was MIA after mentioning they'd bring the dessert tray out. We waited 25 min for that (which was fine, considering the initial courses arrived rapid fire on the table and we had time to kill). The timing was so odd, considering what lengths the server went to in the beginning to assure us how well timed the courses would be. Biggest wah woh of the night however was their vegan options. Server indicated they sold out of their only vegan option the night before (ok) so we asked the chef to suggest an alternative. Server came back with "they can do noodles and olive oil." Dish arrived and though presentation was nice, the dish was entirely bland. Like, I'm not kidding, really no taste. It's not the first time we've been somewhere upscale and the "vegan option" isn't available, but it was the first time the chef couldn't come up with a somewhat imaginative and/or decent tasting alternative. And then we got charged for the ragout entree? Weird. Mac & Cheese was mid. The scallops, tomato soup, asparagus, and french onion soup were good. Holiday decor was very pretty. Giving 3 stars for the server because maybe they were just having a bad night. But that vegan dish, man, that was a solid thumbs down. All in all, I expected a better all...