Cultivate Cafe — Restaurant in Jackson

Worst service I’ve ever had at a restaurant. We were told 10 to 15 minute wait for breakfast, waited for 30. Three groups came in for to go food at the bar got their food before we even placed our order. Terrible response from bartender when we tried to cancel our order. Host tried to tell us it was our fault that our order had been placed 20 minutes before we left. Do not come to this restaurant unless you have an extra hour to waste.

Here is the response I received from the owner. Not only did he neglect to mention the fact that all of the to go orders were placed in person at the bar, he was EXTREMELY rude to my girlfriend. Don’t worry, we will never be back at this establishment again. And considering it probably won’t be open past this off season, Jackson will be better off without them being there.

Jenna and Ben - Generally, we would apologize to people who say they have had a less than enjoyable experience at our restaurant. We would also strive to learn something beneficial from a negative comment. However, in your case, we would like to invite you to not return to our establishment. You were incredibly rude to our employees and you were unwilling to have a positive conversation with anyone. Because we have limited seating, we give our best estimate as to "Wait Time." However, this is not a guarantee. Most reasonable people understand this. Regarding people ordering at the bar - During this Pandemic, many people prefer to phone their order in, and when they arrive, they check in at the bar to let us know they are here to pick up their food. This is what you saw. We pride ourselves on providing excellent food and service to our patrons. The fact that you left as your food was delivered speaks perfectly to the kind of patron you are. Our hope is that as you continue to dine out, you will learn how to be a better patron of...

Weird experience here today with the owner after coming here regularly and having overall neutral or positive experiences with the staff.

We were tight on time and requested food to go, but were emphatically told that means no eating there and we had to choose dine in or to go. We had to decide that up front regardless of when the food was coming out he said. He was trembling and gesticulating as he aggressively explained what “to go” meant. We understood that his motivation was to prevent eco waste and “to go” boxes were a common and frustrating request from non eco friendly tourists.

We chose to leave to deescalate the situation, but boy, I’ve never seen someone be that aggressive to the point of trembling in a restaurant situation. I couldn’t tell if he was intoxicated or that’s just his authentic personality, but definitely not someone I’d ever feel safe dating, let alone being a customer at his restaurant. It was my impression this guy is no stranger to confrontations given how swiftly he escalated.

I guess if you’re not one of those annoying tourists wanting takeaway, and you don’t waste a napkin, they do use quality ingredients here.

I did say on the way out that this was a dumb thing to be arguing about, we’d be leaving, and best to just resolve this via reviews. I found the owner to be pretty cocky when he said he didn’t care and this review will be in such a minority it won’t matter, so take that for what you will. Worst restaurant experience...

Do you think a gluten free cafe is bound to be mediocre at best? Reframe your mind at this eatery.

A small place - seats 50 people at most - we arrived mid-morning on a weekday in the height of summer tourist season. The wait was an easy 20 minutes with outdoor seating and sidewalk space for milling about while waiting our turn.

The menu is completely gluten free, which is a God send for anyone traveling with Celiac disease. Dairy free and vegan symbols also peppered the menu.

We ordered the chicken and waffles, breakfast burrito, coffee and chocolate milk (many different milks available from cow, cashew, almond, etc).

The waffles were flavorful, fluffy and dense all at the same time. The chicken was breaded and was an oversized strip of breast meat - also tasty. The burrito (we ordered with scrambled eggs & bacon) was filling, delicious, and had a slow spicy heat.

The service was friendly and the food came out faster than anticipated given the wait times we have had at other establishments as of late. We spent more on breakfast than our usual, but given the comfort of knowing the food was completely safe for a person with Celiac disease, it was worth it. We left so full that we'll skip lunch.

About half way through the meal we ordered espresso drinks to-go and those were also good. We are not fans of Starbucks and these drinks, thankfully, were far from green mermaid norm.

If we visit Jackson again, this place is...