The General Public — Restaurant in Norfolk

I ordered the salmon bowl specifically for my dogs. Before placing the order, I made it very clear to the server that this was for my pets, and I emphasized multiple times that they have serious health issues, including pancreatitis. The server assured me she would inform the kitchen that the salmon needed to be cooked without any seasoning whatsoever. I also ordered waffle fries for myself and asked that they be prepared without any salt or seasoning. When I got home and opened the salmon bowl, I noticed black specks on the fish. I initially assumed it was residue from the grill and did not think much of it. One of my dogs refused to eat it, but my other dog did. Concerned, I called the restaurant and spoke to the same server. I mentioned the black specks on the salmon. She informed me it was blackened salmon, and blackened is not a seasoning. I was shocked and told her that "blackened" means it was seasoned, which is exactly what I had explicitly asked to avoid. By then, it was too late; the damage had been done. To make matters worse, my own fries were heavily seasoned and extremely salty, despite my request. A few hours later, he became extremely sick with severe diarrhea, having more than seventeen episodes. I had to rush him to the emergency veterinary hospital late that night, where he received IV fluids and treatment. My dog is still unwell and is returning to the vet at 3 today. This experience has been heartbreaking and deeply frustrating. I am incredibly disappointed with the restaurant’s negligence. Either the server failed to communicate the request to the kitchen, or the cook chose to ignore it. Regardless, it resulted in unnecessary suffering for my pet and several hundred dollars in veterinary bills. More importantly, this could have been fatal. Requests concerning health, especially those involving animals and humans with known medical issues, should always be taken seriously. I am angry and devastated that my clear instructions were disregarded, and now my dog is suffering because of it. I sincerely hope he recovers fully. This is not something I take lightly. I urge the restaurant to take better care in honoring customer requests, particularly when health and safety are involved, and I hope, for the sake of the restaurant, that my baby...

🍸 As a person who doesn't eat animals, I wound up finding way more delicious vegan options than I expected. As a person who enjoys a cocktail, I wound up finding a place that has (strong, but smooth) cocktails in a juice bottle with a sealed screw top lid for easy now n later options. The modern decor and ample seating matches the cool atmosphere downtown, and the service was wonderful too.

The owner, LaShawn, came out of the kitchen to offer suggestions and assure me of the whole food ingredients in my veggie burger, which had a great flavor, plus I discovered that the General Public offers scratch kitchen cuisine. 📢 THE OWNER FORCED FOOD ON ME, BUT I'LL GET TO THAT LATER. I ordered a veggie burger (it's vegan if you leave off the Chef mayo) with a side of green beans (flavorful with small shredded carrots; SO good).

🍔 The burger was soft, not burger textured if you're expecting that, but with the bun and toppings (lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle) its a delicious burgery option.

Once LaShawn came out, she let me know that I could order a vegan bowl even though it wasn't on their bowl menu and any bowl could get their sautéed cabbage on the bowl instead of (or 1/2 cabbage, 1/2 green beans). THIS IS WHERE THE FOOD FORCING COMES IN... TRUST ME IT WAS WONDERFUL:

🥣 LaShawn goes into the kitchen and brings out some savory, slightly sweet sautéed cabbage and I feel in love imagining this in a bowl with rice and some of the other ingredients from their salmon bowl (most popular) , Caribbean bowl (smoky &spicy), or any of the other bowls. Next thing I know she says the General Public fries are a signature dish that meets vegan standards. She shows up with a sample and WOW, I was surprised at the tasty delight that a parsley-oil drizzle concoction could bring to crispy waffle fries.

Overall, the service and atmosphere were just as amazing as the food, and the experience was CHEAP yall. They're making FRESH FOOD FROM SCRATCH and...

I place a to go order on at 3 pm when I called 20 minutes later the phone kept giving me a busy signal. I was staying at a hotel just 2 minutes walk away so I came thinking the lack of online update was a glitch since it said it’d be ready in 22 minutes. When I walked in at 3:30 I saw the phone sitting on the counter the busy signal loudly coming from it which to me suggested it was taken off the hook purposely. The lady behind the counter had the worst attitude and customers in the restaurant kept having to get up and walk to the counter to ask for their food, drink refills, napkins etc. At one point she went behind into the kitchen as spoke profanity about customers getting up. At 4:20 my food still wasn’t ready and I had to ask for an update only to be told that, an hour and a half after I ordered, the food still wasn’t close to being ready. The server placed a call to someone to complain about the lack of supplies and help at the store. That’s how bad it was! After sitting there for over an hour I finally received my food 2 hours after placing the order online!! I’m not sure if the incompetence is on the cook the server management or ownership but there was clearly a disconnect somewhere that has lost them a repeat customer in me and several customers cancelled their orders because of the wait. Had I not already paid online I would have...