Eleven Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in Lawrence

Worst Birthday Dinner Celebration!

I was really excited to celebrate my birthday at this restaurant after seeing their Instagram, where they market themselves as an “upscale” dining experience. The photos looked chic, and the dishes seemed really promising, but the reality was a total letdown.

Upon arrival, the waitress asked if we wanted separate bills—perfect for a large group, especially since some of us drink and some don’t. We agreed, but after serving our water, the staff just disappeared and we were left waiting. We had to flag them down to place an order for appetizers, and then chase them again just to order drinks and our entrees.

The staff wasn’t very polite, and considering this is supposed to be a fine dining place, customer service needs to be on point. It felt like they didn’t care at all about our experience, which was incredibly disappointing.

After we finally placed our orders, it took over an hour for our food to arrive. I ordered the Arroz Frito con Cangrejo, and it was honestly the most tasteless dish I’ve ever had. The menu and Instagram showed it with an egg on top, but mine came with nothing. When I asked about it, the waitress said the chef said it was “in there.” Well, whatever was “in there” didn’t help the flavor, and I definitely didn’t get the egg. My boyfriend ordered the NY Steak, and I swear, it was nothing better than what you’d get at Outback—and that’s not saying much. For the price, we expected something much better.

The food took over an hour to arrive, and the place had maybe four or five other tables. There was absolutely no excuse for the delay.

Once we finished our meal, we waited another 30 minutes before a waitress came back—not to check on how the meal was, not to ask if we wanted more drinks, We had to chase down the staff again for them to bring us the check. The music was blasting so loud, we couldn’t even hear each other across the table. This is a restaurant, not a nightclub!

And don’t even get me started on the $15 cutting fee for the cake. They simply brought the cake and plates, and I had to ask them to cut it since it was a “fee.” This is supposed to be a nice dinner, not an ordeal.

Finally, when the bill came, it was all together despite us asking for separate checks from the start. We had to wait over an hour for them to bring the correct checks.

The only positive part of this experience was Nathalie, the owner, who was polite and sweet. But unfortunately, that doesn’t make up for the horrible service and lackluster food. Upscale dining should mean more than just good looks—it should include great service and a quality experience, neither of which we got. This place really needs to step up its game, especially in terms of staff training and customer care. It’s a shame because it had potential, but I won’t be...

Pains me to make this review. I've been to so many restaurants, I was hoping this place would change the dining scene/ experience in the city of Lawrence. I always support local and small businesses to help the city thrive however I tried this place 2x and this was my experience: the food is just bad, the menu is not well put together Dish-wise. I’m not sure how they decided it’s good to serve to serve to people. Some of the plates seem like an experimental take on some dishes, I tried the ceviche it comes with chorizo horrible mix it was so bad. Someone in my party got the scallops with carrot purée? When has that ever worked? Just a Bad mix of ingredients they need to change up the menu. The humus with all those olives on top doesn’t work well together either, it all just feels very rookie-ish. Another thing I went a different day, ordered drinks we asked for casamigos they charged us for it but the gave us something else OR the drinks were premade and they added casamigos on top I’m not sure…whichever, was just wrong because I got extremely drunk out of 2 drinks my sister and my other friend were intoxicated out of 3 drinks none did not mix, we stuck to the same thing all night and the next day we were so sickkkkk (felt like alcohol poisoning) horrible headache and just the worse hangover in life! so they definitely gave us bad liquor. :( unfortunately I wouldn't go here again unless they change that menu and wouldn't recommend it. it’s a shame because the place has potential but you cannot...

this place is far from a fine dining experience first of all. very unorganized. I had a reservation for a party of 8, I arrived exactly on time and I had to wait 15-20 minutes to be seated. for a “fine dining experience” the music was wayyyy too loud and there was an obnoxious party which you would think the staff would ask them to quiet down but no, they just got louder everytime. food took FOREVER to come out, and they bought 1 meal, then the 6 others and my mom’s meal which takes the least amount of time to cook came out 30 minutes after everyone’s meal. That is unacceptable and most of the good came out cold. Also if you have small children you’ll have to carry them on your lap because they have no high chairs for children. before I left it also got very crowded, there was a crowd at the bar and you couldn’t even get through. A fine dining restaurant you think would put a cap on how many people should be inside but no. This restaurant overall needs to fix many things. It has the potential but there needs to be people with experience running this place or it’s not going to...