Eden — Restaurant in Hot Springs

I just want to start off by saying that the food and drinks were amazing, and the waiter and bartender were both very sweet. Unfortunately, the service we experienced from who might be the manager or owner was absolutely horrible. To begin with, my boyfriend made a reservation for 7:45 which was offered by where he was booking from and the restaurant accepted this reservation. I did not know the closing time was 7:45 because I was not the one to book it, he was able to make a reservation for that time, and also 7:45 is a very odd time for a restaurant to close, but not my business. We were arriving from out of town and our ETA on Apple Maps said 7:47. I am a considerate person, so even for 2 minutes past the reservation time, I decided to call and let them know. The man on the phone was extremely rude to me saying things like “Well you aren’t going to be here at 8:00 are you?” “We’ll keep the kitchen open if you get here at 7:45.” I remained polite and informed him that the ETA moved to exactly 7:45 and he continued those questions. After a while we got a confirmation call for our reservation. I answered and told him that yes we are coming and I was the woman who called earlier. He then proceeded to act like he did before and told me parking would be bad. I then informed him I would drop my boyfriend off to get the table while I went park. He told me to park at a location and he’ll “deal with my car” which I don’t know what that meant. Upon arriving to the restaurant I decided to just drop my boyfriend off and buy parking not too far away. When I got there we were the only people in the restaurant which I guess because they closed, and were seated at our table. The ENTIRE time we ate the manager or owner stood at the bar and talked about us to the bartender while STARING at us trying to enjoy a meal. I thought that was extremely rude behavior towards a customer. I ended up not being able to enjoy my meal and asked for a to-go box. The owner/ manager did tell us goodbye but by then I had no patience to want to talk to him. I still (as politely as I could in the moment) said thank you to him and the employees. All of this said, if the restaurant had a problem with us being there at 7:45, don’t offer that time on the restaurant’s website or other booking websites. And even if they were frustrated, staring and talking badly about customers the entire time they eat is extremely poor service. The two employees serving us were very sweet and the food was delicious, but we will not be returning after this treatment. There was just no reason for this. The next night we were 5 minutes late to a reservation because we walked there and that restaurant treated us absolutely wonderful. Don’t blame customers (especially in a tourist area) for the times you make available to book. And yes, I am aware of 15 minute grace periods, which we did not break this time nor do I ever allow myself to break. If you want to close your kitchen, don’t accept reservations. Not to mention it’s extremely rude to rush customers when they sit down to enjoy a dinner. I wish those sweet employees well and hopefully they find a better job than working for such a rude and...

To start, I'm not the type who looks to give out bad reviews. I'm honest and I want to make sure that people understand the kind of experience that I had here. I don't eat meat, so when I saw the menu online I was very pleased to see that they had some meatless options.

I settled on the mushroom oyster wings to start with, which were delicious, but terribly overpriced for the quantity that you get. The worse part is that this item was listed as an entree on the menu, not even an appetizer! I believe I only received 3 full mushrooms which happened to be very small ones at that.

Next, I ordered a southwest salad and I requested that they replace the chicken for tofu, since it was offered on the menu. They agreed under the condition that it would be a $3 upcharge. I went with it , even though the salad was pretty expensive at this point. What I received was a salad that was missing avocado, cheddar, and seriously lacked dressing. The tofu was raw and anyone who eats tofu knows that it's disgusting raw and must be grilled to be palatable. The salad was literally canned black beans, lettuce, raw tofu, and charred corn with very minimal dressing. Does that sound good to you? When I asked for the missing ingredients, they gave me the tiniest 3 slices of avocado and a pinch of cheddar. I wish that I was exaggerating here.

I almost forgot to mention that I also got a cocktail with whiskey before the meal. I can't remember which drink I got, but it was so alcoholic that it tasted like a straight shot in a tall glass instead of a cocktail. Not good at all.

The restaurant staff was very rude and un accommodating. My advice to them is to give their customers a genuine amount of food compared to what they charge, to learn how to cook tofu if they're going to offer it on the menu, and to hire a bartender who isn't trying to get me wasted after the first drink. When your kitchen staff ruins a meal, own up to it. My advice to hungry customers, ESPECIALLY vegetarians, is to go elsewhere unless you want to pay an arm and a leg for a subpar experience. I went with a friend, and we paid over $70 for a meal that only had a single enjoyable dish out of 3 dishes...

2022 update. Sadly I recommend you avoid Eden. (if you do go, double-check your ticket for errors).

The food while the chef obviously is the star of the show, the leadership here seems to be overwhelmed and unable to address competing priorities. Pitiful guests (table of ~8) playing explicit music next to our 12-yo as loud as possible on their phones, being as loud as possible, and ultimately leaving and proclaiming, "you can NOW enjoy the rest of your meal in quiet" were never addressed by the ever-present owner/manager of the establishment...I had to laugh and appreciate that my 12-yo son is more wise and mature that the entire table of "young ladies" snorting next to us (yes, they actually snorted intentionally lol).

There are two waitstaff covering the room as others have noted and I even previously excused, they are unable to serve/manage tickets in a timely manner. The "last straw" this time was our waiter almost doubled the price of our check.

Now...why? While, our waiter seemed concerned yet made errors (he still earned his 20% tip as he seemed to be very busy), I place the responsibility on the management. While the manager listened to my complaint, he ultimately seemed basically unconcerned...only offering, I hope you'll let us try again in the future. Sorry, no, hard pass.

Last year: Loved the experience! The vegan hot wings were amazing and while I was grateful they had some wonderful vegetarian options, they were so good meat eaters would love them too. Eclectic and delicious beverages were also available as non-alcoholic versions as well. Waitstaff were challenged with timely coverage of their tables but were helpful and friendly. Overall, I...