Freemason Abbey Restaurant — Restaurant in Norfolk

We went here for my birthday and to be honest, the service sucked. We had a reservation, arrived and were seated right away at 5:00. The place wasn't busy at all as it was a Thursday at 5. Once the waitress came, we ordered our drinks. Came back and we ordered our appetizers. Then she was gone for a small amount of time before taking our order. Long enough to notice how long it was, but not long enough to be annoying. We ordered our food and then it felt like we were forgotten. We didn't get our food until close to 6pm. I'd say around 5:50. We didn't order anything crazy- I ordered chicken Asiago, my husband a steak, and my son chicken tenders. Thankfully my son's meal came a little earlier, so he was able to eat. No one checked on us once our meal was ordered and were waiting the extremely long amount of time. As our food came out ( around 5:50) it was getting busier. She checked to make sure food was good and then disappeared again. We wanted to get my son home for bed soon, so my husband and I only took about 10-15 minutes to eat. I finished maybe half my meal. Then we are waiting and waiting for her to come back to get boxes and pay. I had to ask the what I assume was manager walking buy to get 2 boxes and the check and asked if I could get my birthday cup since they forgot. Was questioned if we made a reservation, we said yes and told them we notified them it was my birthday. Turns out the hostess just left the birthday notification card on the side when she was grabbing my son's high chair. Totally understandable and wasn't a big deal. The lack service and long wait was what bothered us. Needless to say we weren't offered dessert...not like we'd want to wait an extra 40 minutes to receive it. As soon as we handed her the card, they started cleaning our table off. So much so that by the time I was done boxing our food at the table, it was cleared off and I didn't even get to finish my drink. Food was good and look forward to eating my leftovers, but not sure if we'd visit again based off of the service we received. We were out of the parking lot at 6:12. Thank the lord my kid was well behaved and didn't make a peep, but part of us wish he would scream a little so it would call our waitress over, ha! That's when you know the...

Came at around 4pm for dinner, restaurant was fairly empty and staff were very friendly. Our server was great, lots of energy and attentive. I have no complaints about the people working here, they were great. The atmosphere leaves something to be desired. I get trying to preserve the feeling of the old church and the history of the building but dear God this place needs a facelift. Carpet, old creaky booths, cheap foam padding on the seats, and my all time personal pet peeve in a restaurant…fake plants everywhere just collecting dust. It gives old without the charm. The food. Oh boy. The “fresh baked bread” for the table was clearly premade frozen bread that you can buy at any grocery store and it was overcooked and hard. To add insult to injury, it’s served with butter that comes in those little plastic containers, absolutely not something you would think about for a higher end restaurant and more of what you get at Waffle House. At least give us some actual house-made bread and real butter. Let’s not cut corners there. The French onion soup was good. I’ll give them that. Just good though. I’m still chasing the dragon that was the French onion soup from The Raven back in the day RIP. We had the calamari as an appetizer. It was clearly frozen and either baked or microwaved. Rubbery, mushy, and all around not good. And not sure where they are going with the huge serving of dipping sauce, which was a weird marinara, for about 10 pieces of calamari. We returned it. My husband had the filet mignon, and it was okay. Nothing that would leave a lasting memory. I had the herb butter steak pasta. Again, it was okay. We were hungry so we ate but overall it was lacking. Our bill for two sodas, and two entrees was $73. It would have been more had the calamari not been taken off. If we had tried desert and decided to get adult beverages the bill would of easily been over $100. Which for this quality of food would of been robbery. I am not sure if this was just an off day or if this place is slowly giving up. It’s needs fresh food, fresh decor, and an inject of energy and life. If anyone in management reads this please, please, give this restaurant the attention...

We visit Freemason often and usually have a fantastic experience. Initially, we planned to have our date night at Cork and Bull, Fin and Tonic, or Riverstone—our usual go-to spots—but decided to switch things up and head to Freemason instead.

Before I dive in, I want to mention that I have experience as a server. I truly loved my time in the industry and would gladly do it again. That said, serving isn’t for everyone. For those who may not have a natural warmth and attentiveness, additional training can make all the difference.

Tonight, my husband and I had a reservation, and the hosts—two super sweet younger ladies at the front—were incredibly welcoming. However, our experience with our server was disappointing. Out of respect for their privacy, I won’t mention their name, but I trust that management will know who was working during this time.

From the start, it felt like we were an inconvenience. The service was rushed, and rather than creating an enjoyable dining experience, it seemed like the goal was to get us in and out as quickly as possible. We were there for less than an hour when the check was placed on our table—without being asked if we wanted anything else.

To top it off, our desserts arrived frozen. I’m fairly certain the brownie was supposed to come with ice cream, yet it was served on a tiny plate, straight from the freezer, with some chocolate drizzled on top. My husbands turtle cheesecake was the same. Meanwhile, we noticed other tables receiving attentive service, making our experience feel even more lackluster.

When we requested boxes for our entrees and desserts, we weren’t provided with a bag—not a major issue on its own, but when we needed one, our server was nowhere to be found. We eventually had to ask another server member for assistance.

I do believe our server has the potential to be great—perhaps tonight just wasn’t his night. Still, given how much we enjoy Freemason, it was disappointing to have such subpar service. Hopefully, this was just a one-off, as we’d love to continue coming back for the great experiences we’ve had...