Kid Cashew — Restaurant in Mount Pleasant

I will begin by saying how much I enjoy Kid Cashew, their food, staff, and atmosphere . My last visit was very disappointing. I called to place a carry out order, I asked for a B-L-T (plain, untoasted), and explained I knew it was not on the menu, however they had previously accommodated this request multiple times; the lady on the phone politely explained this item was not on the menu and they could not make it. I acknowledged what she said, and explained that they had made it in the past, but I understood. I had to drive past Kid Cashew on the way to my destination so I decided to stop in and attempt to order the sandwich in person, thinking it's possible I spoke with someone new. I sat at the outside bar and was immediately greeted by a very nice bartender who took my drink order, and asked if I wanted to see a menu. At that point I asked if they could make me a B-L-T, to go, also explaining I knew it was not on the menu, but they'd made it in the past. The bartender agreed, but was unsure how to key it into the POS, until a very helpful young gentleman sitting at the bar explained it to her. As I waited for my order to be completed, a lady who I'd seen there many times, and I assumed is one of owners/managers, approached from the other side of the bar and proceeded to tell me they don't typically accommodate requests that are not on the menu, but they would this one time because they weren't busy. For the record, it was a few minutes before 4pm on a Friday, and she was correct, they were not busy. Rather than engage, I thanked her for accommodating me. I've been to Kid Cashew quite a few times, and keep going back because they are so accommodating to people's dietary needs, willingness to modify orders, and it's a great atmosphere. Not every visit has been perfect, specifically a time in mid-April of this year when I walked over with my dog to have lunch. We sat at the outside bar (not on the screen porch), and immediately received the same high level of service I'd come to expect from them. That experience changed when I realized there was a baby shower scheduled to begin shortly after I received my drink. The bartender was quickly overwhelmed, however he maintained his professionalism and pushed through. It took an extremely long time for him to get back to take my order, a B-L-T, which he had happily placed. I let him know I understood his predicament, and could clearly see he was in the weeds. This was an obvious miss when the schedule was made. At some point, the same lady I mentioned above came to assist the bartender, while she didn't appear to have the level of bartending skills, she was able to help. I only mention this experience because I've seen first hand how this simple, custom order is handled in this establishment when they're busy. I would fully understand if I had some off the wall, complicated request, but I'm talking about bacon-lettuce-tomato & plain (untoasted) bread, all common ingredients, used regularly on other dishes. The lack of professionalism, her tone, and the fact the lady made it a point to let me know they were only accommodating my request because they weren't busy, was unnecessary and surprising. I recommend the owner/manager watch a short customer service training video on YouTube called, Give 'Em the Pickle! by Bob Farrell. A little goes a long way! I will return, and I will continue to request a plain...

We went for the Prime Rib brunch that they’ve been advertising and there are just no words to describe how awful this experience was. First, our server took our drink order and said to help ourselves to the buffet, with no further information or explanation. We go up to the buffet and there was no prime rib station, no eggs-cooked-to-order station, etc. I asked the hostess where we would find the prime rib and the eggs, and she looked very confused and said, “Umm, I’m not sure. I think maybe you need to ask your server for them.” So., we select a few items from the buffet (French toast, Mac and Cheese, and some bacon) and return to our table. We were almost done with that food (French toast was ice cold btw) by the time we were able to flag down our server and ask about the other items. Only then does she share that yes, we need to order the Prime Rib and Eggs or Omelets through her. We ask for one serving of Prime Rib, medium-rare. About 5 minutes later a plate of prime ribs is brought to the table — a slice that is literally 1/8 inch thick and is practically raw. No salt amd pepper on the table and server nowhere to be found, so decided to eat it while it was hot. Not only was it not hot (which makes sense since it was raw), but it was tough and flavorless — essentially inedible. With that, I headed back to the buffet to try the Avocado Toast they advertised as part of the brunch offering. After searching for some time, I finally found it — a tray of tiny crostinis with a paper thin smear of avocado. I took just one (call it a sixth sense) and returned to my table. After we stopped laughing at the sad look and size of it, I took a bit and almost loosened a tooth. The crostini was so stale and tough that I literally could not tear it apart with my teeth and I so I just gave up and we asked for the check. I could go on about some of the other items on the buffet (the unripe razor thin slivers of watermelon, the pancakes that tasted like uncooked batter, the grilled veggie skewers that were completely raw, etc) but to suffice to say that this is the worst brunch I’ve ever experienced. The managers and chefs at Kid Cashew should be embarrassed at what they are serving and $90 later for two people, we feel robbed (not to mention ill.) Can’t advise strongly enough for people to avoid this place...

So I have mixed feelings. On one hand, the food was excellent, all 5 of us had excellent meals that were reasonably priced. No one disliked their food at all, so high marks there. What offset our overall experience was the very mediocre service we received throughout our entire dealing with them. It was my wife's birthday, and we wanted to celebrate around 7 on a Sunday (they're open until 9pm) so we called ahead for a reservation. They said that we didn't need one for a party under 10 and they're never busy around that time anyways. Cool. We go there and they put us on a 30 minute wait. No problem. More than 30 minutes, they didn't call us, my wife went in and they said they were wiping down tables and to come in. Now it's going on 8 and we only have an hour to eat. Takes over 10 minutes for anyone to acknowledge us even. After waiting awhile we were ready to order when she came to the table. We got drinks and didn't see anyone again until the food came out, got one drink refill and then we were left to our own devices for a half an hour. No more drinks, no mention of dessert, just nothing. Not one plate bussed off the table. We were just ignored. It was very clear to us their priority was closing the restaurant and we were just an ancillary problem to them. My wife finally flagged down our server and she just said sorry guys, I got distracted. Seemed like everyone was super young and just didn't really care. Which sucked, because the food was great. So I guess if you're in the market for some great food and sub-par service, this place...