Proud Richard's Restaurant — Restaurant in Jacksonville

This was our second time at Proud Richard's. Both times the food has actually been pretty good, but the service has not. We had a reservation for 5:00 and were there at 5:00 but the doors were still locked. Not a big deal, but when you are standing outside in the windy cold with a 2 year old, 1 year old, and 5 month old, slightly frustrating. Once seated, the music was incredibly loud - much too loud for a nice dinner establishment and more on the level of what I would expect at a bar setting. It was impossible to carry on a conversation with anyone other than who was sitting directly next to you. Our waiter (unfortunately we had the same waiter both times we have been there) was extremely inattentive. Once everyone was seated and clearly ready to order, he was standing talking to other staff for a good 5-10 minutes (clearly not busy and the restaurant was virtually empty at that point). In general, he was not very personable and did not check regularly on the table or refill drinks other than maybe one time. We had to ask for the check and then explain to him how to split the check as there were three different couples and he didn't bother to get this information up front. Then the way the check was split was incorrect, but we didn't even both to correct it. My wife and I are generally very patient with restaurant servers and understand that many have been stretched very thin over the last few years. We never punish the waiter/waitress when the service is sub-par due to them being extremely busy. It is unacceptable, however, to have poor service when you are not busy.

Couple of side notes: Kids meals do not include a drink - $2 extra for a small cup of milk which seems a bit high. This puts a kids cheeseburger meal at $9 (adult burgers are $10-$11). Chili "bowl" is a massive bowl with a very small amount of chili - my brother-in-law ordered this and when it arrived at the table we all looked at each other like "is that a joke?". Nitpicky point, but perhaps a recommendation would be to choose a different bowl size as the optics of receiving a bowl of chili that is ~20% full seems like a poor strategy.

Not sure if we will give this restaurant another shot at this point. Perhaps we were unlucky and had the same waiter twice on his worst days. To restaurant management: don't be discouraged by this review. We want to see you be successful and improve. Without critical feedback when the experience is poor, you have no chance to make positive adjustments. I don't believe I have ever taken the time to write a negative review for a restaurant, especially on a Saturday morning, so hopefully you can understand the level of disappointment with our...

Had the place not had a stinch (close to raw sewage is the best way I can describe it) I would've given a 5 star review. This odor hit me as soon as I hit the door all though it wasn't pungent like other times I've smelled raw sewage the smell never left, it stayed the same smell the entire time we were there. Had we not driven over an hour to come check this place we would've probably went somewhere else. According to all the reviews and looking over the prices I assumed I wouldn't have to worry about dealing with a foul odor the entire dining experience but I was wrong. I expected Richard to come by and apologize for the odor due to some issue they were trying to fix due to it being an older building but he did not and no one came to ask if our meal was cooked correctly it or if tasted well, nothing like that and we literally right next to the kitchen door. The waiter did ask us if we needed a box though lol so I guess technically she did check on us. The food was delicious and that's putting it lightly but the stinch and the service were not what I would expect from an establishment that's as proud of their prices as Richard's was. Ya I could've said something to my waiter but she was already hard enough to catch her to get us to go boxes and she didn't seem too concerned about whether my mother's or my experience was good or not I think she just wanted us out of her booth so she could have the opportunity to get more tips. I understand wanting to get more tips but there has to be a good reason to get tips and I didn't see many good reasons to give her much of a tip. I may try this place again in a month just because the food...

I really wanted this to be a good experience. Jacksonville needs more good restaurants. This was my 2nd, and last visit. My niece told me she stopped going, but I thought I'd give it one more chance.

As with some of the other reviews, the fact that there are NO substitutions or special requests (even VERY reasonable ones) takes this down a star. I ordered a burger and asked for onions. The server said, "The chef doesn't allow onions in the kitchen. He's a bit of a control freak." On the previous visit, my friend asked for something to be cooked with light salt since he's on a low sodium (medically necessary) diet. Nope!

It's pricey, especially for Jacksonville. It seems to be trying to be trendy with "avocado toast," distinction between vegan and vegetarian dishes. They are not reading their demographic correctly and, I hate to say it, may not get enough return business of those it appeals to, to stay in business. Looking at the reviews & even testimonials on their own page, There were a plethora of great reviews. That's all but trickled off.

The décor is fantastic. They have a well stocked bar and their limited menu does have some very, albeit, overpriced food. Sincerely, I wish...