Totem Family Dining — Restaurant in Everett

Came here for a solid breakfast after a big blood draw. Place was packed and we had never been here so waited where it said wait to be seated. Nobody said a word to us or anyone else gathering in waiting area looking confused. After about 10 minutes we see the corner spot with employee and ask if there is a await list they finally informed us there is. We had been wasting time waiting for them to let us know or to greet us at all. We get seated and ask server about our order and are told no substitutions and we have to pay 4 dollars to get avocado instead of tomato on a sandwich we shrug that off. Then I try ordering steak and eggs. Its 28 dollars for 2 eggs and steak with a choice of hash browns or potatoes. I ask if I can get a biscuit instead of those. I am told no I have to buy a biscuit. I see a side of hashbrowns or potato are double the price of a biscuit but they say again no substitutions owners rule. So I just give up being exhausted from blood draw and order steak and eggs, a biscuit, a side of gravy and a side of avocado. Charged for each one individually. 40 dollars for that. They then proceed to ask how I want my steak. I say medium rare. They read it back as medium and I corrected them once again and said it's medium rare. She says okay then brings me a medium well steak. So we wait again and by this time I'm starting to get frustrated and extremely light headed from blood draw prior I had to fast for. The attitude and the inhospitality of this place sent me I to a full blown seizure from the stress and being off from blood draw. All we wanted was a simple nourishing meal and all we got was consistent attitude and issues and comments of "owners rules". Now after I've been seizing out in the booth for a good 5 minutes or so they come back with a very rare steak instead of the medium rare we requested multiple times. Long story short avoid this place. Idk how good they used to be but this was my first and last time ever trying them. I got to eat cold 2 eggs and avocado instead of an entire meal. They took the steak back. So basically I paid for cold food and bad service after a major blood draw. Even explained when I sat down how everything was going and what my goal was to simplify ordering process. They made mistake after mistake and just kept talking about "owner says" and "owners rules". I understand the owner makes the rules. That being said avoid this place unless you want to overpay to get treated like you don't matter and then told "owners rules" for any questions you have as to why a simple solution...

The plates served to neighboring tables while we pondered the huge menu were delightfully heavily laden and beautifully presented. When we were ready to order we had to call the girl over and the plates we received were a far cry from those carried out to others. I'm not sure if that was because the other people there were regulars or because they didn't want to make a first impression with us that would cause us to want to return. They didn't have easily accessible seating for my friend's wheelchair that didn't block the kitchen staff from their usual flow, & I was talked to about my service dog 3 separate times even though he remained in my lap or in his small carrier, not touching the tables or chairs at all. I expected really good food and a big plate when I ordered and was disappointed that the sandwich was so small and sloppy. Maybe if you go for the really big plates that are like 25 bucks you get a lot of extra food but if you order the regular plates at like 18 bucks it's overpriced? I'd been looking forward to trying the totem for a long time and I'd heard good things, and the food on everyone else's plates looked fantastic. The onion rings and fries were delicious. But the fries looked terrible. The corned beef on my Ruben was fatty and tough and there was a lot more sourkrout than meat. The servings were way way smaller than we had expected. We never got our coffees refilled I had to call the waitress over to ask for extra napkins since she only checked once if things were alright while she told me that my dog had to be in his carrier (which he was and covered by my big coat and sleeping) and then again to get the check. She was nice enough seeming but waitresses can say anything to you in the nicest way possible, it's their job. I try not to say anything about discrimination. I at least try to look for something else to blame for bad treatment but between his wheelchair, my dog, and our skin color, I felt like we just had three...

I just really need to shout out the phenomenal customer service at this restaurant. My dad is visiting from out of state and myself, my fiancé, my son and my dad came in for a nice family brunch. My 6 year old boy is naturally loud and boisterous, and we're working really hard on our volume control and when that's appropriate. He got excitedly loud a couple of times over our brunch, and we quietly addressed it each time, as to not disturb those around us as much as possible. These two absolutely miserable and rude women seated across from us felt entitled enough to make "quiet down" gestures to my son and literally began verbally scolding him about his volume. My fiancé calmly asked them what their problem is, as we are addressing our child's volume, and that is OUR job as his parents. Before my hormones completely took over the scene (I'm 6 months pregnant) a waitress came over to the women and explained that this is a family restaurant and children can be loud at times, and it's quite rude and out of line to make comments to him about it. We were on our way out as she began speaking to them, so I didn't catch all of it, but thank you, to that sweet waitress for handling the situation appropriately, it really went a long way for us. I cannot imagine being so brazen in my misery, to the point of making rude and nasty comments to a happy family having brunch. May those women find some true joy and happiness in their lives and spread that around, instead of what they currently give out. And we will keep dining at Totem, because their food is FANTASTIC every time, and their service is absolutely on another level. Made my day. Happy holidays all, please spread kindness and compassion to others this season. It is so...