Doolittles Woodfire Grill — Restaurant in Eagan

I've been here a few times before and the food and the service has almost always been exceptional. However, this time was not as great or good because the food was okay but it could've been better and the service wasn't the best. The atmosphere wasn't great either because we were seated at the WORST spot ever and I had made a reservation and everything, so one would think that we would get at least SOME priority. But alas, no, we did not have any priority. We walked past probably 6 different OPEN booths, where we could've sat comfortablely, but we were instead seated at the one of the most crowded areas with our party of 7.

For food, I ordered a Cajun Chicken Pasta and as one would expect, I thought it would be a bit spicy or flavorful, literally any flavor at all would've been nice, but instead it tasted bland and plain to say the least and I'm not even exaggerating. The only good thing about it was probably the chicken and even that was dry. I also got a Molten Nirvana and that was the only good food item that I got this time. So that's why I'm rating it a 2/5.

Second of all, the service was not the best. Our server, Lindsey, had no priority whatsoever for us and she took an exceptionally long time to come to our table and take our orders and even then, the way she reacted towards us was not welcoming and made us feel uncomfortable. I understand that the place was a bit busy, but that does not mean that she should neglect our table or push us aside because we are also diners here too. She also reacted pretty badly after she found out how much we tipped her ($24), but you get tipped on whether or not you do your job properly and if you aren’t doing it properly, you probably won't get tipped that much. There isn't anything I can do about that. She also got our orders wrong a few times. For instance, my friend ordered a Pepsi but instead got a raspberry lemonade. It's things like this that made the experience kind of bad. So, I rated that a 3/5 because that kind of ruined the whole vibe and the mood.

The atmosphere wasn't too bad but it was pretty loud and kind of crowded where we were seated. So, I rated that a 3/5.

It was my birthday and my friends and I had come here for my birthday dinner and I had high hopes for this restaurant because it was so great the other times that I've come here, but to say that I was disappointed is an understatement.

FYI: I'm not the only one who felt this way because some of my friends let me know how they felt about the service and the food. They especially emphasized how mediocre the service was and how they felt like we were kind of just pushed aside. Hearing them say that made me pretty sad and really disappointed in this restaurant. I came here to eat dinner with my friends on my birthday because it's special day today for me and I chose to spend that day here and it didn't go so well because of the reasons listed above, so I'm not sure if I'd come here again and this experience also made me wish that we spent this day at a different restaurant.

Also, the fact that this is my FIRST review ever shows how much I regretted...

The first time I went to doolittles we had a great experience and food was solid. Not much to rave or complain about. We just had lunch there and had a bad experience. Overall wasn't bad but we weren't happy with the service. We had two adults and a kid. We asked for a booth by the wall and they sat us there but the server made it seem like an issue. We just wanted to have the wall to make sure the kid wouldn't escape into the resturant which we explained. We were given a chocolate milk in a cup without a lid, for a 3 year old this was an issue but we just kept an eye on it. It took a while for the servers to come by and for us to order. So I excused myself from the table and told my partner to order for me. He said he did order for me, but when the food finally came I wasn't served anything. I asked the waiter if my food was still being made and he said there wasn't anything ordered for me. We assumed that in the business of ordering for the entire table and keeping up with the kid, my partner forgot to order, so we let them know what I wanted and they said they would make it quickly. I didn't get my meal until both my partner and the babe finished their meal. By this time we needed to get going because we had already been there for over an hour and a half. So I asked for a To-go box. Each time a server came to the table, it was a different server. I think we saw 4 different people during the time we were there. We were never offered refills for our drinks, and we were never given silverware. We didn't notice the silverware until I was putting my food in the to-go box because my parter had a burger and the babe had chicken fingers. Overall I'll give it two stars because the food was okay overall. My partners burger was overcooked but everything else was fine. I have been a server before and assume that the issues with the wait staff was because we came between lunch and dinner rush (we do this when we have the kid to avoid bothering other people and the babe getting ovestimulated) and that there mush have been a shift change in progress. We understand that service industry and especially resturants is difficult field to be in, so we do understand these things happen. I dont know if we will come back to dolittles because the service and food were not worth the price of the bill. The food is overpriced for what it is. It isn't bad but too expensive. 24 dollars for pork and potatoes is a high class kind of price tag. We just had our birthday celebration at rosewild in town and the food was not much more expensive than this resturant. Overall the resturant is very clean, good atmosphere and everyone was very friendly. Pretty torn with...

I’ve been to this restaurant at least a half-dozen times now, and my experiences have ranged from great to just okay. With that said, I’ll share some of my favorite parts of dining here and a few things I’ve noticed over the course of my visits.

One thing that stands out is that the service isn’t always consistent. The only times I can say it’s been truly great were when we specifically asked for Ivan, who does an outstanding job and is a character. There’s also a female server I can’t recall her name for the life of me but she is very good as well. On the flip side, a couple of other times the service wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t quite up to par either.

The host stand, though, is almost always excellent. The ladies there are welcoming and make you feel welcome as soon as you walk in. Only once did I have a hostess who seemed off her game, moving us around to different tables because they weren’t clean or no one was covering that section. Still, most of the time, they set the right tone for the evening.

As for the restaurant itself, the decor has a nice, somewhat romantic vibe, and the food has been consistently good on every visit. It’s definitely become one of our go-to spots. Another plus is that there’s plenty of parking, which is always a relief. On my most recent visit, a manager even came over to introduce himself and check if we needed anything. That was a nice surprise and made the experience feel more personal.

Now, for the cons. Service tends to slip if we don’t happen to get one of the more seasoned servers. The wings also aren’t consistent—sometimes they come out perfect, other times they’re a little pink. Since that seems to be the usual way they serve them, I think it would be better if they asked guests if that’s okay rather than just assuming. Also, be prepared to wait if you come on a weekend or even a weekday after 5 PM, because it fills up fast.

All in all, my wife and I have enjoyed our visits and learned what times and days work best for us to get our favorite staff and avoid the long waits. Between the good food, the nice atmosphere, and a few stand out servers, it’s worth coming back even if there are a few inconsistencies...