True Flavors Diner — Restaurant in Durham

I arrived at 9:32am on a Sunday morning in a party of two. We were seated promptly. The table looks like it was meant to be sideways to fit 4 people which created an unusual distance between us.

Our waiter came over at 9:35pm. He didn’t introduce himself and stated that he will get us waters and asked if we wanted something else. We received the waters quickly. He returned a couple minutes later to inquire if we had questions about the menu, which we did. I also asked about Debbie Lou’s Sandwich shop. He said it used to be separate until COVID. Then, they combined and were doing two separate menus. Now, they combined the menus and switch it up every couple months.

At 9:50am, we ordered. I got the strawberry butter French toast with scrambled eggs and bacon. The other party got the cinnamon sugar waffles with bacon and side of cheese grits. At 10:02am, we received the food.

Food Quality: 3/5 -At 9:52am, waiter brought over complimentary biscuits. The butter on top was visible and it was paired with a strawberry jam. The biscuits were soft, fluffy, and down right delicious! -Cheesy Grits: You must stir it because the cheese is at the bottom melting. My date stated “it’s good grits” -Bacon: The first piece of bacon I tasted was not warm at all and was chewy. Of my 3-4 pieces of bacon, only a small piece was warm and crispy like I expected. This was disappointing. My date’s bacon was the perfect temperature and crispiness. The disparity questions consistency. -Eggs: Perfect temperature but lacked seasoning or flavor. I added salt and pepper and it was fine. -French Toast: Very thick. The cream cheese was too much, in my opinion. This was evident when I cut into it and it basically drowned my French toast with the syrup. I was expecting fresh strawberries but it wasn’t. It tasted like strawberry crumbs as it was somewhat hard and crunchy. The edges of the French toast were a little over cooked and burnt in some places. The interior of the fresh toast was soft and delicious. -Waffles: My date said the “Cinnamon sugar was perfect.” I tasted it and they indeed were flavorful and delicious!

Presentation: 5/5 -Well-presented, neat, and appetizing -Whipped cream butter on my French toast was in an excessive amount -There was a green garnish on the eggs, which was in excessive and overpowered the eggs. If there were only a couple

Service: 4/5 -Per receipt, our waiter was “Isaiah M.” He was friendly and attentive. Outside of not introducing himself (which is a personal pet peeve), the service was great. He attempted to help me decide which entree to get as I was deciding between the strawberry butter French toast and cinnamon roll pancakes. He noted they both were great options and are a consistent menu item even as they rotate out the menu.

Ambiance & Cleanliness: 5/5 -The music was great! It was mostly R&B, which is our favorite genre! -On the table, they have sugar, salt, pepper, creamer, and a container of straws. -The place was clean and tidy. Staff went around to clear plates and tables.

Value for Money: 4/5 -For the two entrees and side of grits, the total was $41, which isn’t bad. -The side of eggs was tiny. It honestly shocked us. My date is allergic to eggs, so I ate his (which they did put on a separate plate)

Overall Experience: 4/5 -My date said it was the “Best breakfast place I had in a while.” For him, his food and everything was perfect. He disliked they he was unable to substitute the eggs, which he is allergic to. This caused him to give me his eggs and pay for a different side.

Total: 25/30

5 star: 29-30 4 star: 24-28 3 star: 19-23 2 star:...

On Sunday, Feb 2, I brought my good friend to True Flavors for her birthday lunch. She was so excited to have the pancakes and I was excited to try a new dish as I had only been once before and LOVED my meal.

We were greeted outside by the hostess who said it would be a 25 minute wait. No problem. We waited outside and after 20 minutes we asked how much longer the wait would be and the hostess mentioned 3 tables had paid and they were waiting for them to finish up so they could clean off the tables for us. No problem.

As we continue to wait another 10 minutes, we watched new families arrive, ask for the wait and be told they could be sat now. We were confused. We asked the hostess why 3 people who just now walked up were being sat before us as we had been now waiting 40 minutes.

The hostess said they could only sit parties of 2 at the special counter or 2 top tables. I asked to speak with the manager as I was dumbfounded by being passed over by families who had not had to wait. As I watch the hostess walk over to the manager, I see more families approaching the restaurant. I sat at the one open table available waiting for the manager to come over.

When the manager did approach the table, she did not introduce herself or ask any questions, she immediately said if we do not get up from the table she will call the police and have us removed. I explain we have been waiting over 40 minutes and people who are just arriving are being sat. She had no desire to hear anything we had to say and when my friend asked, “just to be clear you are not a first come first serve restaurant?” she rudely snapped and said “Absolutely not” and continued to explain they have their own system for seating people. The hostess had more patience and tact than the manager on duty.

At this point I got my phone out at took the managers photo so I could follow up with her supervisor. We left so upset and my friend vowed to never return.

That afternoon I reached out to True Flavors via their website in hopes of speaking with the owner. I left an email as well explaining I would like to discuss my experience with their management. It has been 4 days and I have not been contacted.

My issue is this... if you have a policy to sit parties of 2 or fewer at special tables, then why would the hostess inform us she had 3 tables being prepared and we would be seated soon, only to have us watch as she sat two more parties before us? Also, I’m sure the manager has dealt with this seating issues before and would have the patience to hear us out and at least apologize for the misinformation.

We left so frustrated, hungry, and disappointed in our experience with the management at...

The food was so delicious the first time that we decided to come back for a second time. Drove all the way from Greensboro but man do I regret it! Not happening ever again. The second time around my husband and I didn’t even have a chance to sit down and eat. There’s no kindness & customer service is the very worst I’ve ever seen. When we got there, there were at least two tables available but they didn’t want to sit us because they save those tables for larger groups (which is understandable) - the woman gave us the option to sit on the counter or put our names down on the list and wait for a table… we decided to sit at the counter but quickly realized it was not going to work because of my back so we asked for your names to be put on the waiting list - she got my husbands phone number and said it would at least 45 minutes! As we’re waiting outside, I can see through the window that at least 3 other smaller tables (the ones they sit 2 people) became available so I went back inside to ask if there was a chance it would get a table sooner - the woman was so rude (it was literally scary) and she spoke to me like she was talking to a little kid: mam, I already told it is going to be 45 minutes and no less than that.. so I asked her: even if people don’t show up, do you think we’ll have to wait? She said: YES, I already told you 45 minutes even if people don’t show up I’ll make you wait 😳 all that with 3 open tables right in front of my face - at this point I asked her to speak to the manager and she ignored me, then she came back and told me she was scratching my name off the list and I needed to leave or else she would call the cops. I approached another server to ask if I could speak to the manager and he told me: mam, she’s the owner! No matter how delicious the food was the first time, lack of kindness and professionalism will unfortunately bring this place down. After reading many reviews, I realized this is a pattern, one that will cost their business 💔 I DO NOT RECOMMEND this place, especially if kindness is...