Spring Lake Cafe — Restaurant in Fircrest

I was told by a lady employee owner there to put “THIS” on FB. I thought to do one better.. so here I am..!

This lady and her husband (owners) called me a thief..! They said that I “stole food” from them.

Last week this place was out of what I ordered AND also what my son ordered (two entrees).

Prior to learning this - my husband ordered a “sandwich” plus a drink he never touched and a Sprite that tasted like strong medicine or chemicals.

I returned the Sprite after ONE sip. This enraged our waitress which was evident by her snatching the drink from me and cutting me off as I tried to kindly explain.

My son sat sipping on his root beer which I offered to pay for.

I digress - upon learning they didn’t have foods listed on their menu at only 1:00 p.m…. this caused a dilemma for our lunch outing.

The owner again became outraged and argumentative as I kindly mentioned that we might change our minds about dining there for the above mentioned reasons. Afterall - we came there to eat.

Autistic children eat very very few foods and they had run out… apparently.

Note: We had every intention of continuing to patronize this cute place that usually has delicious food.

However, she suggested that we sit there with no food and watch my husband eat his sandwich that never arrived.

She NEVER offered us different items or suggested anything to keep our business. Instead she began to argue with me over food that still had not arrived.

We decided to leave so that I wouldn’t say something I might later regret. Thus forgetting to pay for the only item that was partially at least consumed - a root beer.

I returned the next day to pay for it and was again angrily told that I MUST also pay for the sandwich that NEVER arrived yesterday. Seriously?!

This time she went to get her husband out of the back “to deal with me”. He too accused me of stealing food.

How can we steal food that NEVER arrived. This is America where we have a right to “change our minds”.

However… don’t patronize this place if you too believe that you have a right to spend your money as you see fit and not because you ordered something that never arrived.

The mindset of these people is outrageous. If ya can’t afford to discard or donate two slices of bread with a few pieces of meat inside… ya shouldn’t be in business.

It was a “sandwich”… not a 5 course meal..! That once again…. never ever showed up. When we left… our table was VOID of any food.! This after being there at least 40 minutes.

This lady has a very nasty attitude and demeanor not to mention being a “liar”. We didn’t steal anything..!

After all this - this husband & wife duo refused my offer to pay and angrily told me they don’t want “my” money.

I’m glad I could oblige them by putting this review online as she...

Wow. I cannot believe the difference in the reviews here! What did we do wrong? Or were we just there on the wrong day? Are there two different staff sections for different days? We just happened to be the first people in our little line. There was one man in front of us that was waiting to pay his bill. Then a few people behind us wanting to pick up their to-go food. Incredibly, every single one of us was completely ignored. The very small room was full except for two tables, which were dirty. Some were eating, some had just finished, and some were still looking at the menu. So we stood there a while. We could see they were quite busy. We're pretty patient people. But after a while, we started really watching. Did not have either one of the waitresses/ hostess look us in the eye, or smile at us, or hold up a finger, or acknowledge that human beings were even standing there. They also ignored the couple of dirty tables sitting there. What was really a bear was the poor guy STILL trying to pay his bill! Remember him? Still there. By then, we had been talking for a while. So, there we were. What to do? By now my husband has to grab on and not get angry. I mean, we still wanted to eat there, right? So we wait looooonnnnngger. Then, after the guy got to pay and leave (whew), STILL no one acknowledged us, or anyone else. So that was as far as my husband could go. I can usually wait a while longer, but... So that was my experience here. I'm wondering if maybe there was an exchange of ownership? You know, maybe new people not quite ready for that "huge clientele, tiny cafe" thing. I mean, not even a smile!! Everyone learns that first thing!

Oh, and by the way, several of the patrons that had finished eating and even had their plates removed, were sitting there sipping their coffee. They could see us. They really didn't care, though. They were full, they were sitting, they were in no rush. And I'm not talking about senior citizens, whose bad manners you can excuse because of age. Apparently "the locals" aren't big on helping out by getting up 10 minutes early either. That's not good...

This place is my new favorite place. I have been there 8 or 10 times the past few weeks and tried almost everything on the lunch menu and have only been delighted with the food every time. Its hard to pick a favorite but the Reuben is hands down the best Reuben sandwich I have ever had and others who have eaten here with me agree. I have not figured out exactly how the dynamic works here but Ivy who does most of the serving seems to have things in control im not sure if she is an owner or the chef or if the chef is the owner or what is happening on that level so I don't want to step on anyones toes but she is doing a fantastic job as the face of Spring Lake Cafe. The service is impeccable, the ambience is inviting and the food is delicious with a consistency hard to find in the new normal of society. Its refreshing to go to a place and know that it really does not matter what you order because you will enjoy it fir sure. I hope that people treat these guys well because the prices are out of a roll back time machine or something. I feel like I am getting several Michelin stars of hospitality here but I'm paying McDonald's prices. I cant say enough how good this place is. Go to the Spring Lake Cafe for lunch or you...