Thumbs Up Diner - Austell — Restaurant in Georgia

We were very excited to try this place out. Went for brunch on Sunday, which of course, we understand is a very busy time. We expected a wait for seating and for food.

Once we were seated at the counter it took about 5 or so minutes to get acknowledged. Our server took our orders and then didn’t acknowledge us for about 25 minutes. About 10 minutes into us sitting at the counter, a 12 top walks in which our server clearly gets preoccupied with. Bigger table, bigger tip. We had to get another servers attention to refill our drinks.

After another 10-15 minutes, our server asks us “has anyone taken your order yet?” ....”Yes...You did.” She repeats our order incorrectly, so we correct her.

Another 15 minutes go by and people seated after us start to get their food. We try to get our server’s attention and she is making no eye contact with us. Then we see the 12 top has started to get their food.

At this point, we are starving and extremely frustrated. So, we ask for the manager. She apologizes profusely, retakes our order and pushes it through. My omelette comes out shortly after but my husband’s takes roughly another 10 minutes. When he finally got it, it was the wrong omelette and they forgot our spuds. He takes it anyways. Our server, at this point has completely abandoned us and won’t even make eye contact. Another server sees our frustration and takes over so we can get a refill on drinks and get our check. She apologizes profusely to us and gives us a discount for our troubles. We greatly appreciate that server and the manager who made an effort to make it right.

The most frustrating part of all of this was that there was no apology and the complete and total lack of communication from our original server to us. We were sitting at the counter where all of the server traffic was coming through. There was absolutely no reason for her to ignore us like that. My husband and I have both worked in the service industry and understand that sometimes it gets hectic and we greatly respect how tough the job can be.

I give it 3 stars because the food was very delicious and the manager and the server who got us our check were very nice and accommodating after the mess up, but the server we initially had showed no remorse for the mess up, ignored us, didn’t communicate at all, and forgot our order what appeared to be TWICE.

We often give places second chances. We will absolutely try again because of the quality of the food, and the hospitality of the manager and the second server. so I will edit this based on our...

I visited this establishment with my husband. We were seated rather quickly and met by the server. Our waitress was very kind and attentive. I ordered the shrimp and grits. My meal was pretty awful. The shrimp and grits were very soupy as it was drenched in broth and had a very runny texture. It was the only thing I ordered and had no sides with it. I took one bite and couldn’t imagine myself finishing that plate. If I wanted grit soup I would’ve asked for it. I asked the server if I could return this meal and order something else. Anything else, but that I was very hungry and could not enjoy that meal. The server told me she would consult with the manager. The manager then comes out and right away says no. That I can’t order anything else unless I wanted to pay for two meals. That even if I did not eat the shrimp in grits I’d have to pay for them. She then proceeds to tell me she doesn’t want to tussle or go back and forth with me about it but there’s nothing she can do. I then ask if she can at least ask the kitchen staff to remake the shrimp and grits with less broth. She walks away with no response and grabs my plate. I’m assuming to go ask the kitchen staff to remake my plate. 20 minutes go by with no answer. I see the manager assisting other customers during this time. My husband has already finished his meal by this point and here I am starving with no food or answers. I wave the manager over after I see her walking through the dining room and ask what’s the update. She catches an attitude and asks me well what do you wanna do? She never questioned the kitchen about remaking my order. She once again asked me if I would like to order anything else but told me I’d still have to pay for both meals. I asked her to call the owner because this is ridiculous. As I mentioned before I never ate the food aside from a single bite to taste. Which was terrible. The owner within minutes tells her it’s okay for me to remove the meal off my ticket and order something else. See how easy that was? The aggressive manager offers me a to go plate, though I had never eaten that entire time, which I politely declined. Because I didn’t want to go food. I will never return here and the manager sucks and is way...

I read the previous reviews & there is a consistent ongoing issue which is lack of waitstaff. We normally go to IHOP for breakfast and I suggested we try thumbs up this morning well when we walked in to the Eatery & were immediately told find a table and seat yourself. That tone set the stage for a long wait. Unfortunately the only booth unoccupied had not been cleaned off from the previous patron.

The restaurant was busy with to go orders, dine in patrons, busing tables, & getting the check was also await.

We didn't get our utensils until when the food arrived. I ordered coffee ☕️ & the server forgot I had ordered the coffee because she was busy. We felt bad about asking her for anything additional because the 3 people who were serving the entire restaurant were overwhelmed. No wonder why they were surly & curt. What ever you want make sure you order the items at one time. That's the Bad News.

The good news is the food is the 🌟.

I would have rated the food 5 stars. But the stone ground biscuits, which is how they look were tasteless & crumbled when you tried to pick it up. I ordered the Ultimate seaside dish which consist of a small bowl of well seasoned shrimp 🍤 & grits. That was Yummy 😋 Did I mention the came with the "Sassy Scramble" which consist of scrambled eggs, loxs, onions & cream cheese & a piece of Fried catfish which was also very tasty. The coffee ☕️ was hot, robust & satisfying. It's difficult to get refills.

It's unfortunate that Mgmt 😕 will not hire MORE help. I can't image getting a table on the weekends. My suggestion get there right when they open. I would of given the establishment a higher review, if we didn't have to wait for over a 1/2 hour for food.

Unfortunately, no pictures, we were so hungry, we didn't stop to take shots. I would love to eat there again when they hire MORE staff. At one point the cook was serving some of the customers & this was Friday morning.

I wanted to try the salmon croquettes but I just couldn't wait that long for the dish to be brought to the table....