Metro Diner — Restaurant in Jacksonville

We've had Metro in Georgia and it was great, so we were excited when we saw it here. It's just my Mom and myself and every few holidays, we will order food instead of cooking. We saw Metro had a holiday dinner and decided to get it. The pick up was easy, everyone was friendly, but the diner was SO LOUD I could barely hear the lady I was talking to. Heating up the food was easy. It was all in foil containers and they're put in the oven at 350⁰ for 30 minutes. We got: Ham, street corn, mashed potatoes, gravy, Mac and cheese, stuffing, rolls and cranberry sauce. The ham was ok, at least it was tender. The street corn was so spicy, my Mom couldn't eat it. The mashed potatoes were bland. The gravy was awful. It was loaded with spices, maybe cumin? Whatever it was, did not belong in gravy. The Mac and cheese was watery and bland. The stuffing was awful and dry. The rolls were from a bag and the cranberry sauce from a can. Not literally, but you knew they weren't homemade. We're just thankful we didn't have company, because it would have been completely embarrassing to serve the food we ordered. I'm not sure if these recipes are Metro's normal recipes, or just specific for this holiday special...but it was awful. We threw everything out. I wouldn't even bring the leftovers to work for my coworkers, because it was that awful. I only gave 2 stars, because the pick up and cooking process was easy and the staff was friendly.

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4/4/2023 Just wanted to give an updated review. I have since moved my rating down to 1 star. Metro contacted us and was apologetic for our experience. We were told they would be mailing us a gift card. Over 2 weeks later, we still never received anything. We called them. They stated they placed the card in the mail and somehow we never received it. They told us to come in and they would give us some coupons. We stopped by and they cave us x3 $15 metro dollars. Today, I attempted to used them. I had an order ready online, however, they do not accept the vouchers online. I attempted to call at 4:00 to place an order. I was put on hold for 20 minutes and I hung up. At this point, it would not matter if the food was even decent, I will not waste my time or money going here. This experience has been absolutely awful. I will be giving the vouchers away or throwing them out. Customer service can ruin an establishment, not matter...

First of all, let me say how amazing our waitress, Jasmine was. She was absolutely great and always there when needed! Great personality and full of life. Secondly, I found hair in my salad at the same time of noticing a waitress whom shirt was covered in dandruff and hair. She was standing against the booth where we were eating. I called manager Gary over to speak with him about hair in salad and I went on to speak about the waitress of concern. He did take the salad off and offered another one, I declined. I asked about the waitress with dandruff and hair on her shirt, he stated it was a skin condition and there is nothing he can do about it. I went on to state, it’s a restaurant, it has to fall off somewhere, and that it was unsanitary. He stated he can’t fire her or it will be a lawsuit. I’m thinking could you not have her do anything with food, maybe be a hostess, anything other than standing over someone’s food. I asked could she not wear a hat, he stated waitresses don’t wear hats. So she has major dandruff that’s all over the place, but she can’t wear a hat? She can’t take no precautions? It’s okay to end up in someone’s food? Ok sir. He was very nonchalant about something so serious, so I took it as he just didn’t care. It was enough to not want to eat there anymore. No wonder I had hair in my salad, a-lot of staff, other than cooks, weren’t in hair net, a hat, or hair pulled back away from food. Hair was everywhere. My waitress hair was pulled back neatly. Great waitress, food was great until this situation happened, but horrible excuse of an unsanitary issue. So if you’re eating there expect dandruff and hair in your food with very minimal precautions taken whatsoever, according to Gary. We all have issues but when it comes to food there is...

I love Metro Diner more than most places due to it's quality and consistency. I've been to majority of the Metros in the US, including the original and I have never had a bad experience until now.

Today I ordered the chicken and waffles. My chicken was overcooked, and my waffle was cold. So cold that the butter didn't melt at all. I had to ask my waiter to put it under the heat lamp. My chicken was so dry it was dark brown in color. The other person at my table ordered an extra side that never came. When asked about it, the kitchen responded with an audible attitude and the side eventually came out and was cold as well.

The back of house and especially the manager should be ashamed of themselves. They have no pride in themselves or place of work. Cutting corners saved them maybe 3-5 minutes and for what!? When my order was messed up the manager didn't even feel so inclined to speak with us. I would have liked to explain my grievances in person but was never afforded the opportunity. The older white gentleman in the pink shirt on shift (manager) should be looked into for his professionalism and overall position/employment. The staff is a direct reflection of management.

Speaking of, last but certainly not least, my waiter Johnathan was absolutely stellar. He was attentive, caring and exuded pride in his job. He was very remorseful for the unacceptable meal which means a lot because nothing was his fault at all. He genuinely cared as if it was his restaurant and that was the only redeeming quality of my experience. If anyone in corporate management reads this, consider looking into this location and mending the...