Gritz Brunch Bar — Restaurant in Douglasville

Long story short do NOT come to this place if you want to be able to enjoy your food.

I decided to come in here for Mother's Day. I've seen it all over TikTok and I wanted to try it. I live in Atlanta My mom lives in Carrollton so this was a great meeting spot in the middle and I heard good things about it but it seems like everyone who has said good things was lying because this is the epitome of bad service, incompetent servers, and dare I say overly urban attitudes.

I made a reservation on open table but came in an hour early at 4:30 (my reservation was 5:30) when I came in I went to the hostess stand and gave them my name my number and she said she would call me when my table was ready. Bear in mind it is raining outside so we decided to go sit in our cars to wait for the table to be ready. At 5:15 I went back in to ask them what was going on because it was getting close to my original reservation time. When I came back the hostess looked me dead in my eye and told me that she had taken me off of the waiting list because she had thought I'd left. So essentially we started off on a very bad note, but I'd heard great things and I was hoping the food would be enough to overshadow that since we had already waited 45 minutes. We sit down and it is very loud environment not terrible but not good. After approximately 10 minutes at 5:25 our server comes and she asked what we would like to drink; we ordered some sweet teas as well as me and my mom ordered alcoholic beverages. She came back at 5: 49 without our drinks to take our order. We got our drinks at 6:12.

Keep in mind I'm constantly looking at my watch so I'm keeping track of how long it takes because I had places to be. We placed our order when she came back with our drinks and I assumed that she put the order in. It wasn't until 6: 45 when I finally had enough and got up to speak to her and the manager that they told us that she never put the order in and that we were the last order to go in. They close at 6:00!!!!! We had already been there for over an hour and our food was never put in. Not only was it not done it was never even put in!!

Not only did it take forever for us to get our food when it did come out it was horribly wrong or cold or bad. It would have been one thing if the food had been amazing and made it kind of worth it. The food wasn't even good. I liked my pancakes but they came with one small thing of syrup which annoyed me. My brother's food came incorrectly as he asked for sauce on the side. My mom's food came with spinach instead of collard greens because they ran out and instead of telling her that they ran out they just brought spinach.

As people are leaving we are of course hearing the conversations that they're having and the last four tables all had major complaints whether that is how long it took to get the food, the correctness of the food, or the rudeness of the server.

I like brunch spots but this brunch spot is the worst type. It is the type where everybody is loud. It is the type where the servers don't know how to do their job. It is the type where everyone is rude. It is the type where they think that because the food is good that bad service is fine. It is not. We got there at 4:30 we did not leave until 7:15.

I said this to the manager before I left: the hostess is incompetent and does not know how to do her job, the server is incompetent and does not have know how to do her job, and because those two people are incompetent, the manager is incompetent and does not know how to do her job.

Start over!! Get new management, get new servers, and get a new hostess because none of those people our professional enough to work at a place where 2 meals is over $100.

I've had better service at Waffle House. I have had better service at Waffle House. One more time just so you can read it again I have had better service at a WAFFLE HOUSE then at this brunch spot in the middle of Douglasville downtown where salmon croquettes are $10. Do better.

Also everyone who goes into the kitchen needs their hair...

BACK OF HOUSE: Value --The value proposition at Gritz Brunch Bar is nonexistent. $20-50 entrées demand a level of quality in at least one (but hopefully more than one) of the portions, food, or service. All of our food had issues that made it nearly inedible (more on this below), the portions were comically small, and the service could only barely be considered mediocre (more on this below as well). Please review the prices on the menu before reading the rest of this for full context as to why my expectations were what they were. Food --The croissant bun on the salmon croissantwich was soggy and fell apart very quickly, making the entrée difficult to consume --The salmon was bland --The breakfast potato side was cold, soggy, and unsalted --The mac and cheese was cold but otherwise edible. --The yams were sickeningly, inedibly sweet. I specifically asked how sweet they were and was told they were sweet and savory, with the typical sweetness of sweet potatoes. I have no idea how much sugar they added but it was more than I could stomach. --The 1/8th of a breakfast sausage that I paid $5 was cold after obviously sitting out while the rest of the food cooked. I've personally never seen a smaller portion of sausage at any price point, at any restaurant, anywhere, ever. --This restaurant, that primarily sells fish and chicken, does not carry ranch or tartar sauce. --The french fries and FRIED fish/chicken was hot and tasty. It is the only food any of us received that was actually enjoyed.

FRONT OF HOUSE: Atmosphere --There were flies everywhere. I found myself swatting them off of my body and away from my food about a dozen times during our 1-1.5 hour stay. --The room was hectic; walking lanes and tables were mishmashed together haphazardly such that people were always in my party's personal space. Sanitation --I personally witnessed, by peering into the wide-open soft drink area/closet situated next to our table, staff accidentally knock a stack of clean plastic cups over onto the dirty floor, laugh about something, and set them back up with the clean ones without washing or rinsing them first. Service --I'm going to put a caveat here and say that our server let us know going in that he was brand-new and didn't know how everything worked yet. I get that - it happens - but there is a point where someone is so new that they are not ready to start serving tables yet. We waited an inordinately long time (between 40 minutes and an hour) for our food, and what I surmise happened is that our server was supposed to ask a member of our party, who had ordered the salmon, whether he would like it grilled or fried. Because the order went to the kitchen without instructions for how he would like it cooked, his order was held up while the kitchen got started on the rest of our food. Our server returned 10 or so minutes later to ask how it should be cooked, but the kitchen was only just starting on his food while the rest of the party's was well on its way. Instead of bringing out the rest of our meals when they were ready, our food sat and waited for the salmon to finish, resulting in the rest of our food coming out cold and soggy. All in all, most of the food was nearly inedible, and after such a long wait (and at those prices!), we were frankly expecting much, much more. --Silverware was not brought out prior to or at the time of receiving our meals. We had to flag the server down after the fact to get silverware so we could eat. --The server was inattentive and absent until he could see we were clearly not enjoying ourselves, at which point he became smothering and anxious, which put us all on edge.

CONCLUSION: You may be asking yourself whether I complained or offered a chance to make it right. The truth is there is a point at which no amount of comps can turn an experience around, and you take your lumps and leave the review the joint deserves.

Avoid...

To say this was an amazing experience would be an absolute understatement. My experience at Gritz was astounding. From the service, to the ambiance, to the staff. It was all impeccable.

Let me take you on my journey!

After attending 9:30 AM Worship Service, the family and I decided to go out for brunch. After seeing the Yelp reviews for Gritz, we had to give it a try.

We had a reservation for 7 so when we arrived we were able to be seated immediately as the entire party was present. The staff at the hostess stand were extremely welcoming. They greeted me with all smiles and truly radiated southern charm and genuine hospitality.

Upon being seated, Britt (waitress) came over to the table to introduce herself. She was very pleasant and engaging and immediately made the experience an even better one. I’m talking about a TRUE representation of service that you don’t see too often.

As this was our first time at Gritz, Britt took the time to go over the menu with us. Share some of her favorites, and make a few recommendations for us based on what type of mood we were in. After the dialogue she took our drink order and allowed us some time to make up our minds.

When all the drinks arrived, we were ready to order… You know I’m the weirdo so I ordered 3 Wings, Bacon, and Breakfast Potatoes.

Babeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! When I say they did their thanggggggg in the kitchen. I mean they did their ones and their twos. LoL!!!

The wings were crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. The seasoning was a blend that was superb to bring out the natural chicken flavoring but enhance the authenticity of the blend itself at the same time.

The bacon was spot on. Thick. Juicy. Filled with the natural pork flavor, and enhanced through the perfect grilling that took it to its peak temperature for the natural juices to saturate the slice. This is how bacon should be done ALL THE TIME!!!! I want some more now just thinking about it.

The Breakfast Potatoes were a gift from God. Ha! I’m talking, well seasoned, slight crisp on the outside, slight crunch on the edges, soft in the middle, and the perfectly grilled onions to take it over the top. Oh. My. Goshhhhhhhhhh!!!! These were ordered based off the recommendation of Britt and she did not fail me at all. Them Potatoes were Tato-ing. LoL!!!

To add to my food pleasures, The Sweet Tea was soul pleasing to the 9th power. I’m talking Gallon Me Please!!!

Last but not least, as if my Gritz experience wasn’t amazingly astonishing mind blowing as it was. They had the nerveeeeeeeeeee to bring out a DJ who raised the ambiance by 1000% with all the jamzzzzzzzzzzz. My. My. My. Gritz truly outdid themselves.

Though I live nowhere near Douglasville, this will be one of my recurring must go spots! It’s...