The Finch — Restaurant in Grand Prairie

What a shame this evening ended up "missing the mark"... I would love to give a positive review, and I do most of the time, but in this case every time I felt like I was trying to put my disappointment to the side and move on, well I would have another one. First off, I am a rule follower by nature, I went on-line and followed the instructions to the letter to make a reservation for dinner, since this was the restaurant, my daughter chose for her celebration with extended family. I even followed up to ensure my reservation was confirmed and they had my "requested seating" (table adjacent to windows in order to see the fountain & light show.) The person on the phone confirmed my request and said they had it set up. Upon arriving, we found parking to be a challenge... (not necessarily a fault of the restaurant) however it did require to park some distance away, since there were people parked and sitting in their cars in the handicap spaces, (which since I'm post-op on crutches and had a 90 year old with mobility issues we had planed on using handicap parking). Not the case and this is a very frustrating about the status of our society these days to express at another time. By the time I dropped my family off at the door, and parked and "hobbled" in they had placed my family at a table in the corner... technically it was at the window to face the fountains, however there was a tent set up outside and it blocked the view... When I addressed this, and identified there were tables clean and ready adjacent to ours with a better view and asked if we could be seated there, I was told, (by a manager) that "those tables were reserved" ... and my table wasn't? The next 4 tables were empty! (We would be using 2). No avail for honoring my request.. so we sat at a table at the end with limited view and where they would store extra chairs and children's high-chairs for other tables. So while we ate dinner, we had furniture moving going on... This set the evening at a disappointment and difficult for someone as stubborn and set in my ways with customer satisfaction expectations to overcome... but I tried. After we waited approximately 1 hour after ordering our food for it to arrive, I ordered the fillet cooked at medium rare. My potatoes were excellent, the broccoli was undercooked and bitter to taste. My steak was cooked well done with no color in the middle at all, (to be generous, way over done), and had no flavor. (Now please bear in mind, I have people ask me to prepare steaks often, so I admit I have a certain expectation for how a steak is served) Certainly another big disappointment. At no time was I asked how my steak was... which at any decent steak serving establishment, is standard practice to ask for the customer to cut into it to verify satisfaction. But I had to wait to show how the steak was over cooked. So In Summary: While the building is new, and the fountain and light show is a nice feature, the building is extremely noisy, music was played to loud, which made table conversation loud, and on, and on. Parking is a pain, (mentioned before), while our waitress, (Jade) was very polite, the overall feeling for customer satisfaction left me feeling like we are just a number. So we got the, "I'm so sorry we can't accommodate your request, but we hope you have a good time anyway..." Total food score over all? Well, the rest of the family said their dinner was fine... but they moved here from another country, and I guess they aren't as picky as me. None said it was great, just "it was fine." So I score the food average... certainly not worth driving an hour to get. And maybe if my daughter asks if we can return, I will honor her request... I will just set my expectations for Denny's or I-Hop, or the likes, and maybe I'll feel like I got the best they can do... UPDATE: I have been contacted by Finch Management and I must say I am impressed with their genuine concern with my experience. After discussing with my family, we have decided we will eventually give them another try. Thank you Andrew for...

Attended a friend's birthday dinner at this restaurant on November 18th with a party of 20 people. My husband and I were super excited to try this place since it was a newer spot in town. Upon arrival, our friend's wife advised of her trouble in coordinating the event with the restaurant event planner. She had reached out to this person with group reservations several times (who we later found out was a third party company) but never received adequate responses to her calls or email inquiries. Finally, she had to call the restaurant directly and make arrangements. With myself being a Corporate event/wedding planner I was disappointed to hear this level of service she experienced. Nevertheless, I was relieved things had worked out and we were able to enjoy a beautiful evening after all.

However, all that came to and end when management informed our friend that even though our reservation was pre-booked for 20 people, they would be unable to actually seat all of us at the same table. Ten of us would sit at one table, and the other ten at another table on the other side of the restaurant. I was completely shocked that a pre-booked group reservation was even being asked to split their party up! My friend asked to speak with the supervisor immediately and stated that our group reservation was reserved in advance. She requested that instead of splitting up our party, could they possibly seat the rest of our group at the surrounding tables near one of the tables of ten. She was informed this was not possible. After speaking with several managers, they advised that two separate tables of ten was the best that they could do because they have other smaller parties that "request to be at certain tables in the restaurant" and they have to make those tables available for them. So I guess a pre-booked paying party of 20 people is less important that a few small groups!? Not to mention this place has only been open 6 months, and I highly doubt that many people are requesting specific seats at this restaurant. Highly disappointed and very offended, we proceeded to have dinner with all ten wives at one table and all ten husbands at another table on the other side of the restaurant. My friend's wife could not even sit next to her husband on his birthday!! Nor could I even interact with my friend whose birthday celebration we are there for, because of this separation. All in all, we continued the celebration separately. We enjoyed delicious appetizers such as the wagyu potstickers, calamari, popcorn chicken, and meatballs. My husband and I split the petite wedge salad from across the room as they split it and delivered to our separate tables. It was very good as well. For the main course I enjoyed the 6oz filet and crispy brussels which was cooked to perfection! Despite a rocky experience to start, the food at least made up for our anger and disappointment.

Overall, the Finch has great food and atmosphere but really needs to work on the level of service and expectations they are providing customers from a group dinning reservation perspective. I would come back again in the future should they work on correcting...

Unacceptable Service and Complete Disregard for Customers – A Terrible Experience

I had an utterly disappointing experience at this restaurant and will never return. After attempting to speak with a manager multiple times, I was consistently told he was "too busy" to address my concerns. Since the management chose to ignore my issues, I have no option but to share my experience here and also escalate this matter directly to the corporate office.

From the moment we arrived, the two hosts displayed shockingly poor manners. They acted as though customer service was an afterthought, more concerned with counting down the minutes to clock out than with offering even the bare minimum of hospitality.

The first issue arose when we were seated at a table by the door which we asked for a different one before we were seated, despite there being ample empty tables throughout the restaurant. When I requested to move, I was told this should have been specified during the reservation – a ridiculous statement considering the entire dining area remained half-empty for the duration of our visit.

Next, we ordered club sodas, only to receive something that smelled unpleasant. When I asked for bottled water instead, it arrived in dirty, stained glasses that reeked, making it clear this wasn’t just an issue with their soda machine, but a complete disregard for cleanliness. The glasses also arrived without ice, adding to the impression that no one cared about basic service.

The table itself wobbled to the point where it was impossible to enjoy our meal. After asking the server three times to have it fixed, nothing was done. My son eventually had to stabilize the table himself and clean the spilled water caused by the constant shaking. To make matters worse, the floor beneath us was filthy, with visible food and stains. This was not just a bad dining experience; it was a health hazard.

I even informed the host on our way out that we had an unpleasant dinner, only to be met with an even worse attitude. It was clear that not only did they not care, but they also lacked any basic respect for their guests.

This was meant to be a celebration for my mother's birthday, with guests visiting from overseas, and I was left apologizing to them throughout the night for the appalling experience. None of us could enjoy the evening, and we left without even cutting the birthday cake.

The only reason I’m giving two stars is for the interior design, which we briefly noticed on the way to the restroom, since we were seated next to the hosts, right by the door, far from the dining area.

The location is great, but this establishment is a disgrace. I hope a restaurant with professional staff and basic respect for customers takes its place. Until then, I will never return and strongly recommend others avoid this place if they value decent service and a clean...