The Exchange — Restaurant in Lancaster

Sorry to Leave a 1 Star Review, But There were no Apologies for A wholly Poor experience, the Food Runner was a Star, She was Exceptional, everything else, a Miss!

This Was supposed to be as very special Occasion, something different, and while the time with My Loved one was, the Restaurant Left a lot to be Desired…. When we entered the Greeters were friendly enough, We stepped outside and looked at two identical Sofas, the one had the Better view of The City, the soul reason we booked a reservation on Our anniversary Here, And Since We were the only ones standing in line for a seat, I asked if we could have the one over the other, the Hostess said no, we save That For larger parties, (in my mind I’m already thinking they’re side by side and exactly the same size, But I’m not argumentative, so, ok) a minute or two later, The Next 2 people who came in for a seat, Were Instantly Taken to the seat I just asked for!!!! I kid you not, and in the end, they only had a pizza, and a Drink, We had three times the order, We had a pizza, the cauliflower, and the Shrimp!, sad that we had to sit with Our Backs to the view we asked for, The restaurant was about 80% Empty, Now I can see why, Now let’s talk about the food, The pizza, It looked like a pale, Bubbly toad, it was Wet, Soggy, and A truly miserable experience…. anyone who thought to make something that crisp and then saturate it with that much moisture is probably beyond Help, The Cauliflower Smelled of Ketchup, a sauce like that needs rounded out so even if you’re going to use Ketchup, You shouldn’t taste something so Understated as such a forward Ingredient, you actually smelled it before you tasted it, which was incredibly unpleasant, The Shrimp were decent, The 1 piece of Non-burnt focaccia I received was phenomenal, I felt a sad loss for the other two, The check wasn’t bad, sixty dollars, the Single best part of this whole entire experience was Corin, I think she said Her name was who Brought us the food, Each time she brought a plate she smiled and was the most down to Earth, Kindest Person You’ll meet there, sad she wasn’t a server or door greeter, because Like everything else that missed the mark, she’s completely miscast, She should be put in a place where she’s More Present with the customers, the door greeter really ruined the beautiful atmosphere we looked so forward to, The Chef Needs Better education, or replaced with someone who Cares, It was Really All so disappointing, Except Corin, She was a highlight, Smiling, friendly, It’s a shame no one got the idea to promote someone like this who was truly exceptional, a lesson needed in kindness there, and The complete opposite of everything else we’d experienced while we were sat right on the same size sofa as another couple who came in later, only to be seated at a seat we were told was “Saved for Bigger parties” Unbelievable! All in All, if you’re going for drinks, and a Great Atmosphere, I think there’s one there, We wouldn’t know we were seated on a sofa with our backs to it, looking at the hostess who lied to us and the couple to the left of us who apparently were a “Bigger Party” than the 2 of us, A disappointment and Not worth revisiting, Very sad for what was supposed to be a memorable time there for Good Reasons, I hope anyone who decides to go finds something redeemable, Beyond the Poor Hostess, So so server, Burnt, Bizarre food choices, (by choices, I don’t mean menu offerings, I Mean By the decisions of the chef?) The Only Good Part of the experience was Corin, one star is generous after being lied to, and served Food that Could have been better by leaps and bounds by anyone who’s ever picked up a Good Housekeeping Magazine and cared about educating themselves on what they’re putting forward they need better Help it all feels Very Absent and Loveless

….And Please, Mgt., no need for an apology, too little too late, I see They all read the same & Apparently All Your “Talks” with the Problems You Have, Haven’t Helped by Now, so, No need to talk, perhaps actions...

Being a manager at a luxury hotel & restaurant, I notice a lot in regards to service & ingredients when visiting another hospitality establishment and can always overlook them but not in this instance. I was there celebrating my soon to be stepmom’s bachelorette dinner. The elevator was broken, which things happen so that didn’t bother us except that we were sent up an elevator by ourselves to the 11th floor to guest rooms in the Marriott with no further instructions. After wandering the halls, we went up a random flight of stairs and found the restaurant and wow, what a beautiful view. We were greeted & sat. Our waitress came over and instantly I had a strong feeling she wasn’t a trained server but due to all the staffing issues everywhere, we decided to be kind and let her do her thing. She did not have knowledge on basic drinks or if they had orange juice. Our drinks were brought out (1 was wrong) & I had to hand them out as they were spilling while being carried over. Again, we overlooked it. Our food was then brought out but we didn’t have any silverware or plates. I didn’t see our waitress anywhere so i got up and went to the bar to ask for some. The bartender asked where i was sitting and when i pointed to our inside table, the bartender laughed & said “oh wow usually it’s the outside complaining about service”. After that I knew our singular waitress wasn’t the only problem. We ate and it was all SO delicious. Shout out to the kitchen staff! Our waitress came over & asked if we needed anything; we ordered waters with lemon. About 20 minutes later, our waitress brought them out and said “sorry I had to get ice and jazz”. That was shocking to hear and extremely unprofessional. We then finished our food and drinks (still only had 1 drink per person) & sat there chatting for roughly one hour. Our waitress never checked on us while our leftover food sat out. I could’ve gotten up to find her or ordered from the bar, but we were expecting a certain level of service and the bare minimum was not hit. We then spoke with the manager, expressed our disappointment. She was kind and starting clearing the table right away. She was professional (I wish I could remember her name). Our waitress came back over and started to make excuses saying she checked on us when she got us waters but that was roughly an hour and half ago. We were a table of 4. We had 1 martini and 1 water each, 1 pizza, the cheese board, & the pork nachos and we were there for 3 hours. The waitress’ attitude was extremely uncalled for and at the point we had enough. The manager kindly provided us with a discount. It was the absolute worst service experience and I do not recommend this place for table seating. If you want to go experience the view, sit at the bar as the bartenders appeared to be attentive. I think this place will flop quickly if there isn’t new management soon. It’s a shame because the view, food & drinks...

My friends, family and I were here for my birthday on June 17th. We had a reservation for 8. I had made my reservation over a month in advance. I had called several times confirming. I was admittedly 20mins late and extremely apologetic about it. The Exchange team held my reservations until I could find parking. Upon entering the lobby I was greeted by a host, that stated 2 weeks prior to my reservations, their policy had changed and that all 8 people in my party had to be present in order to be seated and that they were going to give up my reservations. Immediately perturbed by that comment, I had asked why no one contacted me or relayed this information via a phone call or during any conversations when I called confirming my reservation so that I could had planned accordingly. There was no answer and there was no apology.

The first to arrive was myself and 4 members of my reservation group. We were taken upstairs to be seated after some hassle. Immediately treated poorly by the rooftop staff and manager. With The Exchange prices, I had highly anticipated better service. The same service I received when I was there months before. Both times my group received water, I had to request it. We were consistently requesting drinks. The wind was taking our empty beer containers flying and I’m almost certain a server poured my beer with extra foam as I watched her pour everyone else’s beer perfectly fine with little to no head.

Gossiping was taking place right in front of my party by the staff even after my group was very apologetic about being a little late and for the misunderstanding regarding all people in your party having to be present in order to be seated of which we had no knowledge of. A host even had placed a serving tray up on the side of her face to avoid being seen. Overall a very childish experience.

The rest of my party had arrived and the energy on my birthday was so poor from the staff that waited on us, that everyone in my party felt it including my mother and we all decided to cancel dinner and and go elsewhere.

It’s a shame that this place is such a beautiful venue and I didn’t have this same experience before. Circumstances occur, but the reality is, The Exchange allowed my group to be seated and under no circumstances should we have been treated any differently.

While exiting, I pulled the manger to the side and had a professional conversation with her and explained my concerns. While she seemed receptive, nothing was done to rectify our experience in that moment. I hope this doesn’t happen to anyone again.

EDIT: I read other reviews and there’s a plethora of reviews from customers who received the same treatment. Clear house on management or give them the proper training they...