West First Wood-Fired — Restaurant in Hendersonville

Made last minute reservations for my family for my birthday. My husband and I had only eaten here once. I remembered it as just OK. Since I always give a restaurant a 2nd chance, this would it. First for the good. The hostess staff was efficient and pleasant. Our server was friendly,attentive & efficient. My husband liked the hibiscus tea. Unfortunately that’s where the good stops. I noted on the reservation that it was my birthday. There was no mention of that from any of the staff. But I can live with that. The food was the WORST I’ve had in a long time. My brother and parents had never been there and I was embarrassed that I brought them. We had 2 chicken piccata, 2 shrimp scampi and a trout piccata. My brother said the trout was just OK. My parents aren’t complainers so they ate but I could tell they weren’t enjoying. My mother, like myself, seasoned her food multiple times. My chicken piccata and my husband’s shrimp scampi was the most flavorless food we’ve ever ordered. The chicken tasted and looked like it had been boiled with no seasonings. I’ve never had a piccata that wasn’t pan seared and/or lightly battered and seasoned appropriately. My pasta was just as bland & overcooked. There were only 4-5 capers on the dish. The piccata sauce that should have provided flavor was flavorless - there was very little of it and it tasted like weak lemon water - no butter/wine/garlic flavor at all. I managed to eat 1/4 of it just to put something in my stomach since I hadn’t eaten all day, but it required using everything on the table - salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese- multiple times to give it enough flavor to get it down. My husbands shrimp scampi was the same. The shrimp seemed good quality - just no flavor - not even garlic. IF we decide to give it another chance it will ONLY be to try the pizza. I did notice most people ordered pizza. That should have given me a clue. Lesson learned. I’m at a loss on how the ratings in general...

I love the food. It’s great. I was so excited to bring my friends here for the first time, who were visiting Hendersonville for the first time. I made reservations for 630 but traffic held them up and so I modified my reservation and selected a time that was available (8:30). Our server, Tami, started off our service with a very short attitude and I couldn’t quite figure out why. My friends took a little more time looking over the menu and when they were asked if they were ready, they said no and she responded “well kitchen closes at nine.” That was at 8:40. They quickly chose their food, but we sat there until 847 for her to come back. We ordered our food and it came out shortly after 9. It was delicious. A few bites in, At 9:15 they shut the lights off for 30 seconds and then turned them back on. Clearly that was our sign that we needed to either pack up or scarf down food really quick. If your kitchen closes at nine, why do you allow someone to make a reservation for 830? When going to pay my friends cash for their bill. They both were $100 bills. The server said that she didn’t really want to take them. But my friends prefer to not use their card and she said that she could take the money, but angrily stomped away, shaking her head. The server was incredibly rude and ruined our entire experience. My friend jotted down a note about how she did not appreciate the rude service and as we walked out the server rushed out the door and said in the most sarcastic tone possible“Thank you so much. You have such a great night.” The hatred was dripping out of her. will never come back here. What a horrible start to our yearly girls weekend. It was embarrassing because I made the...

My family ate at West First last night. The food was good and our waiter was appropriately attentive. The problem started when our reservation was screwed up. We made a reservation for 2 tables of 4. West First had the reservation for 1 table Of 4. Because of this error the second table was seated at 8:15 (after we waited an hour to be seated.) Apparently the kitchen closes at 8:30 on a Friday night. Something we were never told . Again, we were seated at 8:15 and left at 9:30. The website says West First closes at 10:00. I’ve always looked at dining as an experience to be enjoyed not rushed. If your chief has made the effort to prepare a good meal I’m paying that chief and the establishment a good buck to appreciate it … along with the wine, dessert and coffee… judging by the behavior of the staff last night West First didn’t agree. We were the last two tables to leave ( at 9:30 ). The staff proceeded to put the chairs up and FLASH THE LIGHTS to let us know it was time to go as we were paying the bill. 🤔. The unprofessionalism and blatant rudeness of this act is unacceptable. The icing on the cake was when one of the waitresses decided to show her displeasure with more over the top rudeness. Another display of gross unprofessionalism and her personal level of immaturity. West First can’t decide if they’re an upscale dining experience or one more glorified pizza place. Btw, If you’re in the service industry, as I am, you should know that sometimes you don’t get to go home for at least an hour after closing ( at 10:00 ). Shame on you for treating your patrons so badly. It’s time to retrain your staff. I would have been fired had I treated any patron with...