Mack Avenue Grille — Restaurant in Grosse Pointe Woods

I’ve been a regular at this restaurant for months, but unfortunately, my most recent visit has convinced me not to return. The experience started with what seemed like a lack of preparation from management. Our server was clearly new and overwhelmed by the fast-paced brunch rush. She explained that her previous experience was in a slower, more formal setting, which made it evident that management did little to ensure she was properly trained or ready for the demands of this environment.

While I don’t entirely blame her—she seemed to be trying her best—the delays were undeniable. Chatting with the two tables near us, both shared that their meals were taking twice as long as usual. To be fair, those were larger parties, but it highlighted a broader issue with the restaurant's ability to handle a busy morning.

I politely raised my concerns with the manager, hoping they’d support the new server and ensure our meal arrived promptly. Unfortunately, the manager seemed distracted and only gave a dismissive, half-hearted response before walking away. Thirty minutes later, we were still sitting with nothing but the orange juice we had initially ordered. Frustrated, we decided to pay for what we’d had and leave.

This is where the experience took a shocking turn. The manager confronted us as we were trying to leave, belittling us for being “impatient” and displaying a demeanor entirely unprofessional for someone in a leadership role. To make matters worse, a busser chimed in with unfriendly comments, escalating an already unpleasant situation.

Originally, I thought this was just an off day and planned to give the place another chance. But after the manager’s confrontational and dismissive behavior, it’s clear to me that this isn’t just a one-time issue. Sadly, we won’t be...

I have taken my mother here multiple times and have never been treated with such disregard. I would not want to claim racism or discrimination, but the experience makes me definitely question it. I entered with my boyfriend. Upon quick observation there were only 4 booths occupied. The rest of the restaurant was COMPLETELY empty. We stood at the door waiting to see if someone would greet us and/sit us down. There were 2 waitresses towards the back, but they could clearly see us because they looked towards the door then looked away and continued their conversation with the buss boy. No one acknowledged, greeted, or even attempted to provide customer service. I was very confused, because again , I've been here several times before. We stood at the entrance for 2 minutes before just seating ourselves. My boyfriend excuses himself to go to the restroom. Again...no one acknowledged, greeted, brought out menus, water, nothing. One waitress comes over and stops at one of the tables, speaks to them and takes their money and walks away. Again, still no acknowledgement, greeting, not even a "give me one moment maam". The other waitress is just talking to staff and isn't acknowledging the floor at all. She even walks past my table to bag herself some food....still no acknowledgement. My boyfriend comes out and sits down and we continue to wait. I'm becoming angry because What is going on? We sat there for AT LEAST 5-7 more minutes where we were still ignored. I say "excuse me someone". Still no acknowledgement. Absolutely ridiculous. Eventually we just got up and left. I will NEVER be back here and will absolutely tell other AAs to stay away as well. Again the restaurant was empty so there was no way no one saw us waiting and it was NOT busy. I hope the...

I've visited this restaurant several times over the past few years and have always had a great customer experience. HOWEVER, there have been quite a few changes since that should be mentioned with this new staff:

1.Please know that the waitress you have never met or done anything wrong to in life will look genuinely annoyed by your presence. God forbid she even say "Hello" or anything that makes you feel welcome. 2.Please DO NOT expect water or refills to be offered (I'm assuming it's no longer courteous). 3.Please DO NOT expect silverware to be brought over automatically (you will have to stir your coffee with your finger). 4.Please DO NOT expect syrup to be brought to your table when you order pancakes (you will need to walk up to the counter to ask for this. Once your waitress takes your order you won't see her again until you flag her down for boxes). 5.Please DO NOT expect to have additional napkins brought to the table or offered (until you are boxing your food). 6.Once you have your food all boxed up, you will have to wait quite a while, and you'll never have your check brought over. However, once you are tired of waiting for your check, the first question asked at the counter will be, "Can I see your check?"

The food is still great, but it's not worth dealing with people who clearly don't want to be there and definitely don't want you...