The Book and Bee Cafe and Tea — Restaurant in North Carolina

The quality of the food is definitely going downhill. The chicken strips used on sandwiches are pre-cooked, with a jelly like consistency, all fat included. Beware..This is not fresh chicken that is grilled in the restaurant. We ordered a sandwich that was not edible, tasted disgusting and spit into a napkin. Nothing else was requested to replace it. The poor server had to come back and say the owner refused to take it off the check. The owner finally showed her face and was obnoxious. Clearly she was put out, having to deal with unhappy customers. She had quite a superior attitude. Having myself, been in the food service industry for almost 40 years, it is obvious that the quality, once quite good, is being replaced with sub quality ingredients. The owner was quite aggressive and insisted no one had ever complained. She basically was trying to convince us that we didn’t know what we were talking about. She wasn’t worth the breath, I know better than to argue with someone like that. Although, it would have been fun to watch her head explode, as I went through the rest of the lunch. I was tempted to tell her that it was also obvious that her chicken salad is not made fresh, it comes in a tub, I believe they make their own mac and cheese sauce, although the pasta was so overcooked, it was mush. The croissant the sandwich was made on, was also stale. The chicken pot pies are different than they used to be as well. Most likely replaced with a frozen type. All in all, it seems that the blush has worn off this once popular lunch site. And with good reason, quality is declining quickly and ownership is pompous. The death toll of any restaurant… I felt quite sorry for the server, she was embarrassed at the owners attitude toward us. We did tip her well, I hope she doesn’t have to work there much longer. It’s a tough enough job to deal with customers and then have a jackass for a boss? That’s...

We chose Book and Bee for my 60th birthday brunch and I was excited to see the facility. The first two minutes in the door we were met with a very rude and aggressive hostess who did not make us feel welcome. We had called ahead to ask specifics for a party of 6-8 people. We followed the recommendation to be there early and for all of the party arrive together. We were confronted regarding our number attending and asked if we planned to be there longer than an hour and a half because they needed the 6 top table at Noon, it was 10:30 am. Once we confirmed our party of 6 we were ‘allowed’ to sit down. We asked for a reservation ahead of time considering our group number but reservations are only for people who pay $40 a person for a tea service. Our waitress was wonderful with awesome service and she was extremely kind and accommodating to help my 96 year old mom inside the building and throughout her meal. The food was okay and the decor very cute but our lovely brunch was tainted by the hostess and her aggressive tone when we arrived. The first impression is the lasting impression so maybe another representative at your front door would be beneficial to your business. I won’t recommend or return to the Book and Bee because of the way we...

In October, while visiting family in Hendersonville NC, they took me to this tea room. High Tea is available with a reservation but we were there for lunch. The building is really charming and they’ve gone all out with their decorating! The front steps are painted to look like book spines, pages and quotes from books adorn the walls, even the menu items are bookish and cleverly named. The wonderful atmosphere coupled with really good food and my family, made for a very enjoyable afternoon. I had the spicy crab soup, ahhh creamy spicy goodness! The soup came with house made herbed crackers. The crackers seemed like a saltine that had been dipped in melted garlic butter then toasted with parsley on top. I could’ve eaten 20 of these babies! My sandwich was on grilled sourdough and it had crispy bacon, greens, goat cheese, craisons, pistachio nuts and a drizzle of ranch dressing. It was seriously good! It came with a side and I chose the mashed potatoes. I know that may not “go” with a sandwich but I’m never going to turn down homemade mashed potatoes! Our server was Michelle and she’s my Aunt and Uncle’s favorite. When they saw her they flagged her down. She later disclosed that we weren’t in her section but she was happy to help us. ...