J. Alexander's Restaurant — Restaurant in Louisville

CURBSIDE NIGHTMARE!

We decided some weeks back that we would take our Valentine’s DInner at a place we’ve always loved over the years, J Alexanders/Redwood Grill. We anticipated it would be quite busy, so we decided to do curbside pickup and enjoy it at home. Again, assuming that they would be busy on the day, I put our order in online, eight days ahead (Feb. 9) at their website, using the “ChowNow” app from their website. I prepaid the entire order, including a generous tip. Later that day, I got an email with an itemized confirmation of my order, along with confirmation of the curbside pickup date/time and acknowledgment of payment. Deed done….or so I thought.

Yesterday evening, I arrived at J Alexanders/Redwood Grill at 6:00p as arranged. I took a numbered curbside p.u. slot and phoned them to let them know I was there. The young lady (F.O.H. hostess) thanked my and said that my order would be right out.

Time passed and I noticed that the car next to me was having big difficulties getting their order straight. After waiting for a hlf hour, her two salads, two prime ribs and two desserts turned out to be just the two prime ribs - - forget the salads and desserts! But eventually she got something she was satisfied with and left, leaving me to note that; (a.) I had been sitting there for 40 minutes and was the lone car left in the curbside/p.u. lot and (b.) had not been contacted by any staff to let me know what was up with my order? I flagged down the curbside/p.u. server and inquired and gave her the printed out confirmation email noted above. I was , of course, assured that “they would look in to it right away…”. Right…..

15 minutes later, someone pulled in next to me and a couple of minutes later, had their order brought out. As soon as the young woman gave them their food, she turned to me….”Sir, we ran out of Ahi Tuna and “they” tried to call you, but they had a wrong number……so would you like a piece of carrot cake?” really?…… seriously?…. I was fuming….. “You don’t have half of my order? You’ve made a half-asked effort to let me know? And, as I put my order in EIGHT DAYS in advance, just WHEN did you realize that you would not have what was required to fill my order? An item that you had already CHARGED me for?”…. And WHEN were you going to let me know all of this - - or just let me sit out there in the cold in your parking lot? And now you’re offering me a piece of carrot cake in recompense?”

I hurridley backed out of the slot and headed for home. My wife and I wound up doing the “Christmas Story “emergency meal thing - - a hot meal at a trusted, nearby Chinese.

And as for J Alexanders/Redwood Grill? Hard to say because the food is soooo good there! But their version of the whole curbside/pickup thing is a disaster and amateurish…. My recommendation? Do “dine-in” only with them……at least you can get up and walk out, if the wheels come off. ((and there’s a pretty good...

If this was based on the first visit we made it would be 5 stars. Went on a friday night it was busy but got a seat even though we split the party into 2 groups. We ordered got our food and was eating when the waitress came out to say that the manager would be coming by to talk about what they would be doing cause 2 of the sandwiches ordered by people in our group didnt have the correct bread used. We never even knew anything was wrong with the sandwiches. Manager gave gift certificates to compensate for the mistake and was extremely nice. One table had to wait longer for their food so the waitress also gave them a carrot cake dessert to split. Awesome service and food. So decided to take the group back 4 days later and use gift certificates given since we are from out of town. Got there at 8:30 pm. Got seated right away. Everyone in group ordered prime rib after the ones that got it last time talked about how good it was. After a little while the waiter came back to say that they where competely out of prime rib but that they could do ribeyes steaks in exchange. Only after being asked if they would make it the same price as the prime ribs ordered did the waiter say they would do this. One guest asked if he could swap for a new York strip but was told by waiter they had just put the steaks on and couldn't do anything about it. When the food came there where several plates that had the wrong sides on it. I sent my steak back after ordering medium rare and getting a steak that was medium well. I dont normally send food back but for the price I think the steak should be prepared the way it is ordered. Finally received my plate after almost everyone in my party had finished so they had to wait on me to finish. The restaurant was not busy at anytime in this visit and at no time did the manager come by to apologize for not having prime rib or the mistake on the cooking of the steak. Several times my drink glass got empty for awhile before they would bring a refill. When the waiter was there after bringing the check he was asked if the management was the same on a Tuesday night as a friday night. He said no its not and was informed that the main reason we came back Tuesday night was the quality of food but just importantly was the customer service we received the time before. And that this this time the service wasnt near as goid and the steak wasnt a 34 dollar steak. His only comment was sorry thats how you feel and was informed that when a party shows up 30 minutes before closing time that things aren't always the best. When we left the restaurant the door says they are open till 10 pm on Tuesdays. Our ticket shows that our order was placed and time stamped at 8:30. I believe thats more than 30 minutes before closing. I would diffenently have recommended this restaurant when in the area but after the last visit...

I’m so disappointed by our experience. When we lived in Lexington, J. Alexander’s was our weekly date night spot—we loved it. So we were excited to visit this location, but unfortunately, it was an incredibly frustrating and disheartening evening.

I’m in my 30’s disabled, use a cane, and I don’t fit or move comfortably in booths because of this. When we arrived (around 8:45 PM on a Saturday), I asked to be seated at a table with chairs. The hostess immediately said those tables were “reserved for large parties,” even though the restaurant was not full and they close at 10. I even offered to wait if the tables were occupied, but she insisted we’d have to take a booth.

A second hostess led us across the restaurant, walking quickly and visibly annoyed that I was slower due to using a cane—and took us to the opposite side of the restaurant past many clean tables, and UP STAIRS, which was totally unnecessary and I was obviously having mobility issues. The booth was completely inaccessible for me: my chest was pressed against the table and I physically couldn’t slide in easily or sit comfortably, hence why I asked for a chair. I said I couldn’t stay there, and after clear irritation, she finally gave us one of the several empty tables we had asked for originally.

I explained the situation to the manager when I asked to speak with someone, and while she was empathetic, the situation didn’t improve. We sat for another 25 minutes and never saw our server again. The lighting was so dim I couldn’t read the menu, and the chair/table combo was so awkward we were both towering over the table, as if they were bar chairs under a normal table. We eventually gave up and left.

Gave 5* for food only because I have to assume the food is still as good as it was in Lexington—but we never even got to find out.

I left feeling humiliated and dismissed for simply needing a basic level of accessibility and human decency. I...