The Lodge Restaurant — Restaurant in Kearney

The Lodge Restaurant is a good place to eat. I would like to make some recommendations to help you improve. First I am a retired truck driver and have ate in restaurants all over the United States. I have never managed a restaurant but I like to observe what and how a restaurant is managed and operated. I see things other patrons will miss and all some of them want to do is complain. Some of the things I have noticed is you need a better training program for your new help. If they have never worked in a restaurant before they need to follow somebody around and be taught on everything the restaurant is doing before they can be expected to work by themselves. If you have new staff that has worked in restaurants before they could use less training but still need to know how everything works before they should be expected to work by themselves. Also slow down don't try to do more than you have staff for. I have seen a lot of chaos when I have visited. If it means closing off a section during a busy time do it. If a wait staff should get too busy allow them to speak up and be skipped when it is their turn to be seated. If the kitchen gets backed up hold off on taking orders for a short time. Train everybody to carry hot food out. If a trainer carries it out their trainee needs to help. But the trainee shouldn't be expected to carry food by themselves. In the kitchen new cooks need to be supervised until they understand and know how your business operates. Don't just expect a new cook to handle cooking by themselves if they don't know how everything works. Be honest with your customers. If you are busy let them wait up front and try to give them a rough wait time before they can be seated. Don't rush seating people just because you don't want to make them wait up front. They will be a lot more understanding if they are waiting up front than at a table because your staff is to busy to get them service. Please don't be offended by what I have shared here. If you would like to visit with me I'm open to that. Do I know it all about how a restaurant should be run no but I can see where improvements can be made. You have a great restaurant and I want to see you keep offering the community service for many years to come. Thank...

We have left reviews all over the country, having traveled literally coast to coast. This was our first time in Kearney and unfortunately, every time we think of or discuss Kearney, this will be the first thing that comes to mind. Something anyone in the service industry should remember; you're not just representing the business, but also the town in which you are located. We stay three hours away and go often to Lincoln, but have no desire to stop back here because of this. The Lodge had absolutely the rudest service I've experienced at a restaurant in yearrrs, maybe ever. It started with HORRIBLE coffee. It was so weak it was transparent when poured and tasted like tea. It didn't even smell like coffee. We couldn't catch our waitress's eye, despite her walking past our table no less than 5 times and us saying "excuse me ". They had customers but were by no means swamped. Over 1/2 the tables were empty. Zero reason to be ignored by her. The hostess/manager, an elderly woman, came by and I asked if we could perhaps have a fresh pot of coffee, that this one was very weak. She yells (YELLS) at us and stomps off. The coffee issue wasn't a big deal to us until she she decided to yell at us so we decided to leave. We had two juices (an orange and a tomato) and went to pay for them. She again yells and says "AND you're paying for that coffee !". I was floored. I said we didn't drink any. She said "Yeah, well, it was POURED!". She was a nasty, horrible woman who has no business working in the service industry. A simple, "No, I'm sorry, that's just the coffee we use, would you like me to take it away?" would have been fine, we would have stayed. Instead, two juices, untouched coffee and getting yelled at cost us $15 and change. I left embarrassed from being screamed at and almost in tears. So we went to Perkins, had GREAT coffee and incredibly friendly service. Our waitress received a 50% tip just for smiling...

Days ago I entered the restaurant for another reason, AND LITERALLY, I fell in love with the cozy and even familiar atmosphere that is breathed. Today I decided to invite my brother for his 30th Engineering Anniversary and I really wasn't wrong. The young woman who sang so sweetly not only livened up the dinner, but also made the difference between the speed with which they offer you information about the menu, WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW DETAILS OF THE MENU, some confusion and the way they say goodbye to the restaurant, bringing the account without even asking for it. It is certainly a place to have lunch in the middle of a workday but I did not find it pleasant to share a dinner and some topic while you do it. He lacked time to listen, information to indicate and suggest some detail of the dish and some delicacy to serve, for example, a steak that did not come in the air on a knife pierced through it. Without wishing to offend the service that they go out of their way to offer, I would dare to suggest that you be more careful about garnishing the plate with a sprig of something, a slice of lemon or a pinch of any cream. A detail that does not make the plate look empty or rude in its order and a certain gastronomic art. Then I noticed the number of people waiting to enter the room and understood to a certain extent the possible reason for all these failures that border on rudeness. Maybe it's time to expand the room and the number of tables. The food tastes very good and in general I would like to return. Maybe today was not the day. Mistakes are made daily in all spheres but gastronomy is the art of making the starter feel good. I have faith that I could have better luck with the attention, next time! Happy and Prosperous...