Sage Garden Café — Restaurant in Frankfort

tl;dr I was very unhappy with the service and the quality of my food. Ordering 2 sandwiches for $40 is outrageous.

My experience in Sage Garden Cafe is summarized as disappointing. The atmosphere of the locale is fantastic, but the issues with this place begin almost immediately upon entry. We had made our way in and was immediately confused by their setup. To start, you have a series of menus that you'd imagine would be handed to by a server. However, instead you're supposed to grab a menu to browse their selection of foods and then walk up to the register and order. Think like ordering fast food, but you've got to touch a menu that crowds of people before you have touched and put back. Gross.

Upon ordering, I had asked about what drinks they offer (something that a server would probably have already done by now) and was told that they have coffees, teas, a fridge of bottled drinks, and free waters. I had opted for a bottle drink, while my partner went with the water. We were then handed a number and told to pick a spot. Before that though, we were told they were out of utensils for the day (????) and we were handed packages of to-go utensils... Ah, but before I paid, can't forget giving them a tip for their non-existent service!

We picked a spot, then I went to grab my drink, then the water. Turns out, even the water lacked any amount of service as it was all self-serve from pitchers. I grabbed a "clean" glass to put the water into, no straws of course.

Quick aside, have you counted how many things plenty of people have already touched that you have to touch before you get your food? Menu, Door handle for drink, glass pitcher, dubiously clean glass, and the number for your table! If you were actually given silverware, that's six! I'm not really a germaphobe or anything, but I'd rather not feel up the whole restaurant before i get my food. Thank you.

Anyway, back to the review! We waited an uncomfortable amount of time before we were handed our food. I had ordered a Monte Cristo sandwich. Should be pretty safe, and my partner got a sandwich with some of the strangest excuse of potato salad ever seen. Now, I've been able to take a lot of the smaller things in stride, so long as the food is good. It wasn't.

My Monte Cristo looked like it was absolutely destroyed, my homemade kettle chips? Drowning in... Pickle Juice. Yep, the sweet and somewhat savory Monte Cristo is complemented by a large and incredibly juicy pickle spear, not featured or written anywhere! Now, I'm no stranger to ordering a sandwich with a pickle on the side, but with the size of the plate and the category of sandwich, the addition completely ruined the meal! The chips and sandwich were absolutely drenched in pickle juice. I cannot fathom why anyone would think this would be an acceptable garnishment to a food that can get soggy and who's flavor profile completely clashes with that of the pickle! Even then, even if you liked pickles, enjoy your soaking wet chips! I was only able to enjoy half my chips before i had to stop.

Moving past the pickle situation, let's talk about the sandwich! It was grilled in seemingly a panini press, then subsequently ran over with a steamroller and given a sneeze of powdered sugar on top. Then it was so politely cut at the worst possible angle and disheveled before serving it into the plate of pickle juice. When I'm eating a sandwich, I shouldn't be able to see the toppings from the top-center in the crater of the decimated remains of what was once known as bread.

As I bit into the sandwich, i made note of how the pickle flavor was delightfully paired with the thickest slices of ham on a sandwich I've ever seen. The ham was thicker than the bread! Which, under normal bread circumstances, a thick-cut of ham sounds great! But nestled between two cuts of the dissolving soggy excuse of bread cut at the most awkward angle known to man? Not great.

One may think I'm being overdramatic. But for a $20 sandwich and a $40 meal? I'm expecting a premium product, and that was...

Normally I will only leave good reviews, but my disappointment was too great this time to keep silent. I have driven past this restaurant for years, always curious, always anxious to stop there and try it. It looks so lovely. So I took a beloved friend there for her birthday last Saturday and we were very excited to finally take the time to try the restaurant. It may have been one of the most disappointing restaurant experiences I have ever had. I was surprised at the lack of selection. It took a full 30 minutes, and me asking, before someone asked if we wanted a drink as we sat in the hot sun. Took another 20-30 minutes to be able to place a food order. When our food came, we were ready for drink refills that never came. The sandwiches were totally unimpressive and way over priced. We asked for cole sale, received chips. We again asked for cole slaw and received two bowls of what tasted like pure, strong vinegar poured onto cabbage. We both gasped and choked and neither of us ate a second bite. We noted that none of the dirty tables around us were cleaned in the significant amount of time we waited there. We finally gave up waiting for our check and walked out to pay at the desk. Before we left, I went to the lady's room which was a total mess. Garbage overflowing, toilets in need of attention, spilled water (I hope) on the floor. As we left, my friend stated she had to go to the restroom too but wouldnt because she could smell urine from the hallway and we had to go somewhere else for her. I told her that I will take her out again soon for her birthday and we will just forget we even went there. The restaurant is simply beautiful. I would totally hire their decorator to do my home for me, I absolutely love the look of everything in the restaurant and in the shop. But the service, food, and cleanliness (lack thereof) was appalling. I will never go back. One more thing-- it was a slap in the consumer face to be waiting (almost begging for drink and food) in the hot sun while others who were apparently employees walked in and out of the kitchen with drink and food for themselves and sat down and enjoyed it. NOT...

I love Sage Cafe, and I know things are very difficult with the Covid-19 restrictions, but today I was more than a little disappointed in everything...First, I had placed my order online on Saturday. The service used doesn't allow me to use my gift card (which was one reason I wanted to order form there). I decided to order anyway and paid with the credit card. I'll have to save the gift card for some other time.

Then I set the pick up for 12:15 pm. I received an email stating it wouldn't be ready till 12:45 pm. Okay. Make a call to the person I was bringing lunch to and change times. Pick up the meal at the curb and dash home. Got there and the hot sandwich was cold, no dipping sauce for the Monte Cristo! AND the 2 deserts were missing completely! At $6.50 each that was NOT good. I tried to call...no answer on the phone...just an automated service that took me in loops without EVER getting me to a person to actually talk to. I know they're busy, but someone should be manning the phones for just such emergencies. Finally I had to drive all the way back to Sage, and catch one of the wait staff as they delivered to another car. I felt bad having to yell, :excuse me!" at someone but it was all I could do. I explained the situation and was promptly given the missing deserts and an apology, but it really doesn't make up for the ruined plans. By the time I returned home again, my meal was cold...soup cold, Monte Cristo cold and hard and no dipping sauce. Just very disappointed in the way this surprise turned out for my mother's day surprise.

And the lack of ability to use my gift card made it a more expensive flop than expected. Won't be back till things reopen and I can come...