Good Day Cafe — Restaurant in Golden Valley

My boyfriend and I love Good Day and would visit once or twice a month, but unfortunately, today will be our last day coming here. We each ordered "The Good Day" and a "Yogurt Parfait." Our waitress made sure our drinks were always topped off, and the toast basket arrived just before our meal —perfect timing! The Good Day was delicious as usual. My boyfriend wanted to try something new on the menu and got the Yogurt Parfait. He took a bite of the parfait and was instantly excited to dig in after finishing his plate. I looked over to admire the parfait and saw something white jump out from the granola. As we scooped a little of the granola, more of the white larvae-looking things moved around. We were shocked. I told my boyfriend to scoop some of it out and put it on the small colored plate so we could point it out to the staff. As we were inspecting the granola, a gentleman walked out of the back office and past us. As I was about to get up and grab a staff member, he walked back to our table. We showed him the spoon and pointed out the white spots on it. Then he took the spoon, inspected it, and dug around the cup to see what we were seeing, but we told him to just look at the granola. The granola was toasted and dark brown, so it stood out. He grabs the parfait and brings it to the kitchen. He comes back and introduces himself to us as the manager. He is unsure how that got in there, but they will inspect it. Before he walked away, he said, We will take care of you guys. After a little bit, a gal staff member walked over with our waitress (I assume another manager or supervisor). Says that they checked the yogurt and didn't see anything. She mentioned that the granola contains flaxseed, which can sometimes be mistaken for a bug. We tried to explain that the thing we saw was white and resembled a larva or small worms. We wish we had kept the spoon or recorded a video because she asked if we had any of it on the table, but the spoon and cup were taken back from the gentleman manager right away. She let us know that they would remove the parfait and comp half of the bill. We both sat there in shock and had chills running through our spines, thinking about how my boyfriend just got a bite into the parfait. Our plate was well-presented and food was cooked great, but we didn't have the appetite to finish the rest of the food, so we sat there for a little while before the waitress came back with the bill. She confirmed that the parfait had been removed and that the bill was 50% off. She asked if we would like our food boxed up, but we politely declined. She cleared the plates and took the bill. She came back to give us our receipt and let us know that the restaurant had taken care of our bill. In the end, we found a dead larva on the table and placed it on a spoon to show our waitress. What an unfortunate event— we can get by with hair in food but bugs… no, thank you. We will miss the fun staff and atmosphere. Again, thanks for taking care of the full bill.

We took into account our overall love for the restaurant and today’s event in the...

I just dined at GDC earlier today. I was excited to be meeting a friend for lunch.

As a Celiac I am always up front with the wait staff that I can't eat gluten. I also tell them cross contamination does not make me sick (which is fortunate for me). However, eating gluten makes me really sick. I ordered a salad and asked her twice to please check that the ingredients were gluten free. She said she would write that on the ticket.

The salad came and it had couscous on it. (I must have missed that in the ingredients list, but this is where I feel I should be able to rely on staff to pick it up.)

I asked the waitress if it was indeed couscous, and she said she wasn't sure. She took my salad to the hostess stand and asked the woman there. She returned to the table and told me the salad does not contain gluten. I told her it does contain gluten, and if I eat that I would be very sick the rest of the day. I did eat a small amount, so I am hoping it wasn't enough to trigger symptoms.

She took that salad away and the woman who had been at the hostess stand brought me another salad after only about 5-10 minutes which appeared to be couscous free.

My friend and I were reminded of an incident last year at GDC when it was determined there was something I could eat if the sauce was left off, but the meal came with the sauce on it. I can't remember what it was exactly. That time the waitress noticed it right away herself and took my food back.

All of this is to say I really want to like GDC. And, I know they don't need my business as you tend to stay busy. But, for persons with food allergies GDC are not a good fit. At least right now, and not for me.

The worst part to me was that the waitress took my salad to what I am guessing is her superior, and she was told there wasn't gluten in it. The waitress tried her best to be accomodating. If this other person was in management she should have known, or followed up before having my food returned to me. If the cook staff saw something labeled gluten free then it should have made it that way.

I am not a complainer, but I do have a serious food allergy. A thriving restaurant in GV should be able to accomodate...

The atmosphere was happy, loud and packed full of customers (at the tables, waiting area and outside the front door).

There were 4 people in our group.

We made a reservation before arriving. It was a Saturday and crazy busy. We arrived about 10 minutes early. We were seated about 12-15 minutes after our reservation time.

Our waitress was pleasant. She took our drink order. Then asked if we wanted some kind of pastry (cannot remember exact wording) or pie to start. One person at our table ordered a carmel roll. I asked about pie. The waitress didn't know what the pie of the day was and seemed a little bothered when I asked her to check. She came back and said apple pie was the pie of the day and gave other options. I chose apple pie. She took the rest of our food order.

The waitress brought our beverages and left to help her other customers. Some of the other wait staff brought out the Carmel roll. My pie was no where to be seen.. The waitress didn't come back to our table until the main breakfast orders were served. She then noticed I didn't get pie. She said she would check on it. She came back and said no one told her they were out. She asked if I wanted a different kind I said no because the rest of my food was there, please take the pie off my bill/order.

She disappeared again to help her other customers and didn't come back for a while. We were almost done eating when she got out table beverage refills.

My total bill was $19+ and some change. I asked for change for a $20- bill to tip in cash. She came back with four $5- bills. I was put off by her thinking she should receive a $5 tip, but gave it to her anyway. I didn't want to bother her again for smaller change with how busy it was and it didn't feel right to tip her on my credit card receipt.

I like to tip servers in cash. I usually tip 20% or more on the total bill amount, including taxes and fees.

In this case , I felt my service wasn't great. Therefore, I would have only tipped $4-, not $5-.

Next time a group of us want to go out for breakfast, this will not be on the top of my...