Maple Street Biscuit Company — Restaurant in Jacksonville

My daughter got the waffle that the menu said was topped with whipped cream and strawberries. Came as a waffle cut in quarters on the plate standing on edge with about a tablespoon sized dab of whipped cream on the side and one strawberry sliced. Maybe a dictionary to look up the meaning of "topped" should be standard equipment in their kitchen!

I ordered biscuits and gravy topped with an egg. First try was one dry and tough biscuit that wasn't even split swimming in a ridiculous amount of room temperature gravy burying the biscuit and egg. Brought it back to request that it actually be at least warm. Second try, same. Third try same, but at least they split the biscuit and put the hot egg on top instead of buried to try to warm the gravy a bit. Still, most of the dish was room temperature, the biscuit was dry and tough, and the gravy was quite bland (made from a mix?).

To be fair, the manager refunded the whole meal and brought us out some of their cinnamon biscuits with the icing on top. Certainly a very nice gesture to try to make it right and the only reason I'm not giving one star, but sadly, it only provided the opportunity for them to demonstrate that dry, overcooked, and under leavened biscuits are the norm and the rest of my meal wasn't just a bad batch. We struggled to even cut those biscuits with a fork and, again, it was room temperature, not even warm.

Given the name of the place, I was looking forward to having some awesome biscuits and a nice warm savory breakfast on a cold morning. What I got was biscuits that would have been far better had they just baked up some mass produced frozen ones from Pillsbury that they don't even have the sense to keep in a hot hold box topped with cold mediocre, bland gravy that they don't have the sense to keep in a soup well. They missed the mark on every single element and, instead, I dined on a plate of boredom and...

I’m a little late to the Maple Street game, but now that I’ve been I don’t feel like was missing anything all these years. I don’t understand the high reviews.

The good: cashier was friendly and efficient, food came out quickly, plenty of seating. Biscuits are pretty good. My husband liked them better than I did, but that’s just personal preference.

Why I won’t be back: We ordered a retro sausage egg and cheese biscuit, side of grits with cheese, and the High Steaks with scrambled eggs. I think the most disappointing part of the meal was the grits. They has the texture and flavor of instant grits. They had no seasoning other than cold shredded cheese sitting on top. I thought it was cheddar but after mixing and tasting it was definitely American. The cheese on my sausage egg and cheese biscuit was ice cold, straight from the fridge. Could at least put it on the eggs while on the grill to warm it up a bit. The sausage was also a little too salty. The sausage gravy was way over peppered. The coffee didn’t taste like anything. And finally, the benches could use some kind of cushion. Also, at $30 for two people there should be table service.

Side note: I just noticed on the menu that the grits are made with cream cheese and butter. Cream cheese?! If I had seen this I never would have ordered.

Overall I’m just really disappointed and I don’t think I will be back.

Edited to add: you are expected to tip and it appears you may be expected to bus your own table. I have seen other counter service restaurants put up a sign to leave everything on your table for them to take care of and/or staff members patrolling the dining room and asking if they can clear the table. Here I just see stations to bus your own and no employees in the...

I had high hopes about trying Maple Street for the first time. The lady who took our order at the counter was very nice. Everything else was downhill from here.

I had to order at the counter. I had to get my own coffee. I had to get my own food. It’s was over $30 for 2 people. They still wanted a tip. No thank you. They got a tip out of me but they will never get my business again.

The grits had cream cheese in them?!?! No this is simply wrong on so many levels. It made the grits flavorless and soaked up our attempts to season them. It also soaked up the flavor of the cheddar we added.

The coffee was flavorless. Deeply disappointing as I used to know who roasted the coffee for Maple Street. If he is still, they are ruining his coffee. If he is not, they should bring him back.

The biscuit was good, but the gravy was both spicy and peppery. I like that but many people really don’t. The chicken fried steak was done well, as were the scrambled eggs.

The seating was spartan. I’m sure it’s part of their aesthetic but for me it was simply uncomfortable. Chick-Fil-A is more comfortable and less expensive if you can believe it. Someone in a wheelchair would find this deeply uncomfortable unless they had help with, well, everything. As someone who is handicapped, everything about the restaurant screamed “Don’t eat here.”

I won’t be back to this or any Maple Street location. If you are looking for a good weekend brunch place in Jacksonville, go to Biscottis. If you just want a southern breakfast, go to Metro Diner. If you just want a biscuit, go to Chick-Fil-A. Maybe Cracker Barrel changed this place when they were bought out. I don’t know. All I know is I regret allowing someone to talk me into going here...