The Syndicate — Restaurant in Lake Township

Below average, and beyond compare.

I love shopping local, and ESPECIALLY dinning local. Bellefontaine is well known for great food, and I’m well versed in being a fat guy! My issue isn’t that it was bad, my issue is that both times I’ve been (once for brunch, and once for dinner) the food was average, and actually to an extent, inedible.

My first experience for brunch was uncooked chicken and waffles. Which was then met with some sort of weird expectation from the management staff. I was told “we’ve been having issues with the chicken not being cooked properly”. Which is cool, I get it! Just warn me before I dig in to it, so that I can at least check it and make sure it’s done. ESPECIALLY if it’s a known issue. As a response they handed me a gift card worth the value of my meal, which I in turn gave to my Dad as a way to curb the pricing deterrence he had for going there. Because let’s be honest, it’s not cheap.

My second meal, I had the Shrimp and grits, and my girlfriend had french onion soup and a side salad. I can’t stress this enough; the bread and butter, as a courtesy appetizer, was the best part of our meal! The shrimp were extremely lackluster, the grits were ok, and the shredded beef on top was completely unseasoned. Her French onion soup tasted like sautéed onion water, and the salad had beautiful croutons and (what I would assume is) a house made ranch dressing that wasn’t awful. The biggest issue with this meal was, we neither one finished it because it was so mediocre. We paid the bill, and left a tip for our waiter (who was great by the way) for a swift loss of $60. And then moseyed our way to McDonalds to get something quick that at least met our price expectation. We finished our dinner with a medium fry split between us, and an aggregated conversation about how we should have just got a pizza.

I’m only rating them two stars because I know members of the kitchen staff personally, and I know that they can do better. They have a VERY talented staff, and I hope that they listen.

At least the...

I recently visited The Syndicate Kitchen in Bellefontaine, OH, and it was an experience I wish I could erase from memory. Let's break it down:

Steak: The steak only tasted like grill char. It was as if they forgot the actual steak part and just served me the remnants of a BBQ gone wrong. Eggs: Unseasoned and bland. They might as well have served me raw egg whites for all the flavor they had. Potatoes: Also unseasoned, which is a culinary crime when it comes to potatoes. They were as exciting as a cardboard box. Toast: Looked like it was pulled straight from a generic hotel buffet. Dry, tasteless, and forgettable. Monte Cristo: Deconstructing this dish was like solving a mystery where the answer was 'disappointment'. The sweet potatoes were old and poorly prepared, adding insult to injury. Back to Basics: As the name suggests, it was basic, but in the worst way. No seasoning, no love, just a sad, well-described basic taste.

The pricing was unjustifiably high for the quality of food we received. And here's the kicker - the military discount was a joke. It was only applied to 2 out of the 3 meals, not the total bill, despite us all being veterans. There was no verification process, which made me question the sincerity of the discount.

Here's the breakdown from the receipt: 7 Mimosas: $56.00 Syndicate Skins: $14.00 Back to Basics: $15.00 Twisted Monte Cristo: $22.00 14 oz New York Strip & Eggs: $39.00 Side Alabama White Sauce: $0.50

Total before discounts: $146.50 After a pitiful military discount of $8.15, and tax, the final total was $147.32.

To make matters worse, we were seated by the door to the patio, which had heavy traffic. Every time the door opened, the weather hit me like a bag of blades, making the dining experience even more uncomfortable.

I left feeling ripped off, hungry, disappointed, and chilled to the bone. Save your money, your taste buds, and your comfort; steer clear of The...

Solid Food / Sub-Par Service

We placed a pickup order and our review will reflect a terrible pickup experience but pretty good food. We’d ordered through The Syndicate’s website. Our pickup time was just before 9pm on a Friday night. (They say they’re open till 1am, but not sure if that’s food or the venue?) We accidentally arrived early and the place looked dead - literally no customers - so I decided to go up and check on our order. When I tried the doors, they were all locked. So we waited till our pickup time and the doors were still locked. I then called the restaurant and no one answered. They called me back within 2 minutes. I explained the situation and he said they lock the doors when they’re slow, but was apologetic and met me outside with our order. Our food did seem to have been done for a while; it was lukewarm at best. Otherwise, it is about the best food we’ve had in this area. We had 2 adult entrees, a kid’s entree, an app and a dessert. Try the Brussels sprouts - they were seasoned unlike any others I’ve had and were delightful. The fries seem hand-cut, on the thinner side and were pretty good. The sirloin/smashed potatoes/asparagus meal is solid - not poorly done, but not particularly stand-out. The flourless chocolate dessert is almost more like a baked pudding - much less form than most others I’ve tried. Like others have said, for the money spent we’ll probably still head to Columbus, especially after this bizarre experience. But if you’re looking for decent food, can’t get to C-bus, and don’t mind spending a bit more than you might’ve, this...