Estelle Southern Table — Restaurant in Jackson

Disasterous! I don't know where to begin. The amateurish service, horrible food...We were a captive audience, as Estelle is one (if not the only) of the few restaurants to have lunch or dinner in downtown Jackson. Estelle, conveniently located at our hotel, nicely appointed with banquettes, a bar, and outdoor seating, had just opened with a rising chef spirited away from Market Parlor at the helm. We could have done much worse, thought we. Little did we know! We could have perhaps forgiven the wait for lunch order stretching well into a half hour in the practically deserted room. Or, the inexperienced waitperson, who couldn't even get a straightforward drink order right. She came to inform us that the wines by glass that we had ordered, were all out. But, she didn't know the names of the ones that the bartender offered as a replacement. To find out what the suggestions were took her three more trips to the bar with several minutes of endless waiting in between. Finally, the food arrived. Instead of one gazpacho we were served two. I had earlier corrected her pronunciation for the dish, which she took to mean that I had also ordered it. My husband upon tasting his, put his spoon down and wouldn't touch the rest. I tried it and almost spitted out. So sickly sweet, the chef-actually, we should call him the cook, because I don't think he's properly trained- had apparently added tons of sugar to green tomatoes to compensate for the tartness. Let's not even talk about the look of the soup, a yellow green viscousness, not unlike phlegm. The Caesar featured lettuce sliced so thin one needed a spoon to eat it, of course no anchovy, and a dressing that had nothing to do with the namesake salad. But, the deviled eggs, so quintessentially Southern, were boiled to death as the whites were beyond rubbery and fridge cold, and quiet frankly unforgivable. My order for local shrimp on toasts arrived the last. I had to inquire for the kitchen had forgotten. The topping and the sauce, so heavy handedly dolloped on top, had turned the barely toasted cardboard bread underneath into a soggy mess. I couldn't even lift it up from its serving platter onto mine. I asked for extra utensils. The waitperson handed them to me casually over the table, holding them by their handles. At that point, I couldn't help but laugh. There were three managers on duty at the restaurant, and here was one of the few tables, ours, having one mishap after another. Did anyone come to ask us about our experience, showed concern over things going so terribly wrong? Instead, we clocked them at the hostess stand, gossiping with each other. I welcome the ambition that led the Westin chain to take a chance on Jackson and open a modern hotel, and the adjacent stylish restaurant. However, the poorly trained staff, horrendous food, the management with devil may care attitude miserably fail to fulfill...

I previously had a great experience at this restaurant, which is why I decided to return with my partner so he could try it for the first time. Unfortunately, our experience this time was extremely disappointing.

When we arrived, we waited at the host stand for about 10 minutes with no acknowledgment. Eventually, a short woman with locs approached us, but instead of a warm greeting, she simply stared at us as if we were in the wrong for standing there. She then said, “Y’all can sit at the bar orrrrr the high table,” in a way that made us feel like an inconvenience rather than welcomed guests. Since my previous visit involved being seated by the host, we were confused and unsure if we even had the option to be seated elsewhere. When we asked if a server would be available to take care of us at a high table, as we were hoping for a more private dining experience, she responded with clear irritation and said, “Uh yeah, the bartender,” as if we should have already known this information.

This interaction left us feeling unwelcome, and my partner, in particular, was so put off by the treatment that he refused to sit down, stating that we should leave. As we were discussing what to do, we noticed another guest walk in and immediately receive a warm greeting when she stated she wanted to place a to-go order. This made it clear to us that we were being treated differently, likely because we arrived about an hour and 15 minutes before closing, and she assumed we would take too long to dine in.

Feeling completely disregarded, we asked to speak with a manager—only to be told that she was, in fact, the manager. When we expressed how unprofessional her attitude had been and asked if there was anyone above her to escalate the issue, she simply said no, showing no concern for resolving the situation. We then spoke with the front desk staff, who took down our information and assured us someone would reach out, but no one ever did.

It’s truly disappointing because I initially had such a positive experience here, but this visit left us feeling completely undervalued as customers. Even a simple apology or acknowledgment of our concerns would have been enough for us to consider giving the restaurant another chance, but the complete lack of customer service and follow-up made it clear that our business was not appreciated. Unfortunately, we will not...

My experience tonight started off terrible! After being greeted by an extremely polite hostess, Jasmine she attempted to escort me a two person table next to a column in front of the open kitchen. I did not want to sit there and the restaurant was relatively empty so I asked to be seated at the corner table to which she kindly obliged. As I was sitting the rudest waitress I e ever encountered, Kayla, walks over to us and says to me “this section is closed you need to sit over there and points to the front of the restaurant.” I kindly decline her invitation to move and asked what waiter was serving and she said that there was only one, Jacob. I asked to see him and when he came over he kindly asked what I wanted to drink and went to get it. Kayla continued setting up tables and with disdain and vehemence stared me down at every table she went to. After about 4 minutes of it I asked her why she was staring at me and she says “no you stared at me,” and stormed off to continue setting up tables.

After that I asked her name and she told me it was Kayla and then in obvious disdain says “and what is your name,” as to show me she was not afraid of me asking her name in order to report her. She is a TERRIBLE representation of customer service and a gross misrepresentation of your location as it is clear from every other employee that kindness and southern hospitality are a part of your culture. I asked Jasmine to get the manager for me, and after a few minutes she came out.

LaQuanda has to be one of the most genuinely kind supervisors I’ve met. She was apologetic, empathetic, and immediately sought remedies to change my experience. If not for Kayla this would be a 5 star review. She (LaQuanda) recommended the chicken livers (that she comp’d) and I found them excellent . Jacob was an excellent and attentive waiter.

I will be back however Kayla could never wait on my...