Mel's Pine Pantry — Restaurant in Gerrish Township

We went here on a Sunday morning around 10:30. Previously when it was the “Pine Pantry” we had had great service. Today the service was horrendous. After getting a seat we had to wait about 10 minutes to order our food. Then during the 30 minute wait for our food never once did the waitress come by and offer to refill our drinks. We understand that it’s a smaller place so a wait is expected, but it would have been nice to have a drink refill. Then when our food was ready they waitress mistakenly gave our food to a different table and that table began to eat the food. No big deal, we understand that mistakes happen. BUT when the waitress realized her mistake instead of apologizing to us and offering to remake our food she grabbed the half eaten food from the other table and tried to set it in front of us like we were going to eat food that someone else had touched. We had to tell her more than once that we were not going to eat food that someone else had already been eating and touching before she took it back to the kitchen.

We were grossed out that she tried to offer us half eaten food, which we assume must be a health department violation, so we just decided to pay for our drinks and leave. Even when we cashed out there was no apology given nor offer to comp our drinks.

Overall, the experience left us with empty stomachs and a bad opinion of the establishment. Would not recommend until the restaurant does a in depth retraining of...

The food was just ok and the service was horrible. I couldn't believe how rude the male "host" was but then our waitress was even worse. We were never greeted by anybody...no Hello...no smile...not at the door, not at the counter, not at the table, and not when we left. After waiting 40 min for a table, the male ordered my husband and I to "go sit over there!" We sat there for a half hour as the waitress passed by many times but just ignored us. She finally came over and just stood there. I said, "Hi, how are you today?" She said, "Im tired. What do you want?". 😳 She finally came back with food after another 40 min and shoved the plates in our faces and said.."here!", rather than set it on the table in front of us. She then left us with no silverware and then we had to wait until our food was cold to get silverware.

I then got up to use the bathroom and when I came back out, the guy was now standing by a table taking orders. As I was waiting patiently for him to finish, he said, "Go sit down!!" This was unfortunately our first stop on our anniversary weekend getaway and it felt like we were in the twilight zone. Thankfully we found better food and...

Reasons I love this place: (It's the BEST restaurant I've found in this area.)

1. Their food tastes GREAT! They have cooking knowledge and skills to prepare foods without destroying flavors. They don't use mass-production corner-cutting cooking techniques. They use cooking methods that preserve the high quality of their ingredients. These people know how to cook! This is their centerpiece.

2. The high quality of their ingredients can not be over-stated.

3. Very nice atmosphere. Quaint. Customer service is perfect. They take the time to talk to you. Personable. Enjoyable dining experience.

4. Meals are reasonably priced even though they use top-quality ingredients. You can actually taste the quality.

So there you have it: Excellent food, Excellent environment, Excellent service, Excellent price. The perfect combination to be the BEST...