Fiya — Restaurant in Lake View Township

We've had some great experiences at Fiya, but this week was not good. Like several other reviewers...our experience with the 'restaurant week' menu was quite bad. It was obvious that communication amongst Fiya staff was poor (at best) and maybe completely absent (at worst).

We called a few days ahead to ask about substitutions for dietary restrictions, and were told they'd be happy to accommodate. Great! We arrived and asked about a substitution for the protein course, but our server told that the kitchen won't make any exceptions. We said we spoke to someone about that already, but the server insisted there were no exceptions. I talked to my wife about our options, and we contemplated leaving...but asked a third time just to be sure. Suddenly, the accommodation was now fine. A vegetarian option was perfect, so we ordered!

Our first two courses arrived simultaneously. No big deal. Less than 5 minutes later, the third course arrived. We provided feedback about the fact that the pacing was way too fast. We were told by someone other than our server: "I'm sorry, guys" and he walked away. Less than 10 minutes later, before we even finished the first two courses, they tried to deliver the fourth. We now have 4 out of 5 courses in front of us...all in less than 15 minutes, some getting cold. The man (still not our server) didn't even have enough space on the table to put the plate down. We were irritated, so we said "no". This time our statement was respected, and he took the dish back. A few different people then came around 3 more times, trying to drop off multiple other items that weren't even on the restaurant week menu (none of those people were our server).

During all of this, we still hadn't received any of the wine flight we had ordered. We reminded our actual server twice. She apologized, but as we finished the third course....still no wine. We finally canceled the wine, since the pairings were meant to go with each course. That clearly wasn't going to happen, so we switched to single drinks.

We then got the fourth and fifth courses while we were still finishing the third! Even after asking them to slow down. When we started our fourth course, our very first drinks of the evening finally showed up. The only course that was appropriately paced was dessert, which was very nice to finally get a breather.

Overall, the food was great, but portion sizes were small compared to other restaurant week menus. Not a big deal though because this was also priced significantly lower. The bigger issue was pacing and communication. I've never felt more rushed during a meal. Everyone was trying hard but nobody knew what...

A Major Disappointment

Fiya is located in Andersonville, offering a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean-inspired brunch and lunch menu. The atmosphere is cozy and authentic, giving off a warm and inviting vibe at first glance. However, the service quality and customer interaction left much to be desired, leading to an overall negative experience.

I ordered the avocado toast, which was supposed to come with a side of piyaz (a traditional Middle Eastern salad). When it arrived without it, I asked the server about it, only to be told that the green salad on the plate was the piyaz. To my surprise, the manager, who also happens to be the owner and involved in the kitchen, admitted that they didn’t actually know how to make piyaz. It was quite disappointing to hear this from a place that claims to specialize in Middle Eastern cuisine.

What truly stood out, though, was the unprofessional and unpleasant attitude of the owner. She responded to my questions with an abrasive and tense demeanor that made the entire interaction uncomfortable. After driving an hour out of curiosity to explore this place, it turned out to be a significant letdown due to the lack of professionalism and the owner's rude manner.

After all this, they brought me the check and offered to remove the charge for the avocado toast if I wanted. I told them I’d like to pay for everything except the toast, but they insisted on not taking payment at all. I mentioned that I wasn’t concerned with a $30-$40 bill, but the experience itself. Despite this, they still declined to take payment, further reflecting the overall mismanagement and awkwardness of the situation.

I share this feedback with some reluctance, as I am also a café and bakery manager myself, and understand the challenges of running a food business. However, I felt it necessary to bring up these issues in hopes that they can be addressed and lead to improvements. It’s not something I take pleasure in sharing, but constructive criticism is essential for growth.

While the other staff members seemed fine, the owner’s behavior overshadowed the entire experience. The ambiance may be nice, but customer satisfaction and service standards are where this establishment...

Update 10/20/22

The new GM seems to be getting things in order! Sat down for happy hour on Thursday and quickly had water and drink and food order taken.

Food came out quickly, drinks were a bit slow, but they also have complicated cocktails so not really surprising. The margarita and sazerac are worth the wait.

I think the food is even better now for some reason. Everything was delicious and served in a timely manner. The fries are unlike any fry you’ll have. Make sure to try the mango turmeric (?) sauce—it’s addictive!

I really appreciated that the new GM was constantly looping through the restaurant and checking in when things looked sparse at any given table.

The experience finally matches the food and I’m excited to see where they go with new management if this is just two weeks in.

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Tried Fiyah again on 10/6/2022.

Once again, the food was amazing, but the service beyond terrible. They do have a new general manager so hopefully he can figure out the front of house issues.

We were seated around 7:30. Around 7:40 the hostess realized we hadn’t been seen by anyone yet. She took our drink and appetizer order. A few mins later someone sped by, dropped off drinks and said they’d be back.

8:15 we had finished with our drinks and app when our server finally appeared for the very first time. No introduction. No apologies for the wait. Simply “are you ready to order?”—like he had been waiting on us to make up our minds. This was 40 mins after we were seated and the very first time he stopped at our table.

In nearly two hours at the restaurant, our server visited our table three times.

I want to come back to Fiyah. The food is good! I’d just suggest waiting a while until the new GM can, hopefully, figure out why they seat more tables than they can handle.

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We were seated at a table and told by the hostess that we needed to order quickly if we were going to get served even though it was 35 minutes before service ended.

15 minutes later no one had even come by our table to introduce themselves let alone take drink or food orders.

The food is usually good, but the service absolutely stinks. As a neighborhood local, I’m not likely...