Harvest Room - Munster — Restaurant in North Township

This has always been our favorite breakfast spot. We had Easter brunch here and upon being seated our waitress was a bit sharp and crabby. It was clear she didn’t want to be there. We understood and all chose to be kind in return. Although she was attentive the bad attitude continued throughout the meal.

The reason for 2 stars instead of 5 is because we were automatically charged a 20% tip on our bill (party of 4) as well as a 4.5% credit card fee. I don’t appreciate being forced to pay a predetermined tip to someone who didn’t earn it. I would have chosen 15-18% instead. If the server was exceptional I would have given 25+%. I decided to speak with the manager and my waitress stopped me asking if I was ready to pay. When I told her I wished to speak with the manager, she was quite cocky, pretty much laughing at me, knowing I could not affect her or change her tip. After explaining our experience to the manager, I suggested an alternative that he consider changing the auto tip policy to 15% and allow the customer to add more based on the quality of service — that this was a sure way to still hold servers accountable for their quality of service and allow the customer freedom of choice. I was quite dissatisfied with the managers response which was basically “I’ll talk to her but we’ve been doing this for 6 months and we won’t change it.” Even though I was very kind and trying to be helpful I was made to feel I was not a valued customer and that my experience didn’t matter. At the very least, he should have offered me a 3-5% refund on the tip and he could have incurred the expense of her poor service — but nothing was offered.

The automatic predetermined tip and credit card fees seem to be spreading throughout the restaurant industry. The credit card fees are nothing but the owners passing more costs on to the customer. I hate to tell them, those fees are the cost of doing business, period. It’s not like they’re discounting their prices in lieu of us paying the card fees. My family and I all agree we will be avoiding the restaurants that choose these policies. Too bad the Harvest Room made such a bad executive decision. I understand protecting their servers hard work, but there are other more effective ways to do this in order to maintain their staff and avoid shortages, yet still allowing freedom of choice to their customers. Don’t forget we as customers have a choice and you may not always be so fortunate to be at the top of your competitors. Everything changes — always. Start putting the customer first and you will stand tall above all others. For those considering a visit to The Harvest Room — I can’t...

I wish I would have reviewed this place on one of my earlier visits. I would have given it four stars. Service and food were both better.

Today was very sub standard. Maybe one star. The 2nd star is because previous visits were better. We dined just before 9 a.m. we asked to be seated outdoors and were guided thete and then told to sit anywhere. The waitress followed us to a table and left the menus. The outdoor tables were all dirty. I thought it would be cleaned -- it wasn't. I saw a bus boy clean other tables, but none where people were seated. I cleaned mine with a wipe from my purse.

We received water and coffee without anything but a tablespoon in the coffee mug and a creamer. I don't use sugar so no big deal. No straws, no napkin to set the spoon on.

We both ordered the smoked brisket hash and eggs. We requested the hash be cooked crispy and asked for crispy bacon. One order of bacon was cooked to order, one was sent back. Neither of us had crispy hash. My dining partner asked for her toast to be done well, it wasn't.

A few minutes after breakfast was delivered to the table we received our napkin and silverware. Then our toast came out with bacon. One order was sent back. We had to wait for our waitress to reappear with the recooked bacon before she checked on us, by that time the eggs were already cold and half eaten. We were able to ask for salt and pepper for the eggs.

After all this and a yellow jacket that circulated around the table, I noticed a hair in my hash. Maybe it was mine, but it looked a little golden and that's not my color. (I know it didn't belong to the server. ) I didn't complain about that because I don't know if it was served with it and at this point it really didn't matter anymore.

Prices are clearly printed on the menu so I have no one to blame but myself when I get a bill for over $40 for two for breakfast. Still that is ridiculously expensive.

This was my third time here within the last month. On other occasions service was much better. Food was not as described on the menu but it was tasty. Today, the food was not cooked the way we requested but it did taste ok.

We did not complain about any of this because there was so much wrong and I didn't want to appear as if we were trying to get a discount. It's just easier...

HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE! I live in the area but had never been there so my friends from Atlanta found it for a quick Sunday brunch. The place was crowded so we had an approximate 30 minute wait, which was pretty precise. Once the 3 of us were seated , 1 glass of water arrived to the table with a visible piece of “something” on the brim. The waitress arrived to the table with hickies on her neck (unprofessional) was not cordial or engaging at all…I’m not sure if she even introduced herself. She took the glass with apology or explanation.

At any rate , we got our orders in and I ordered crab cakes with a side of the diced potatoes with veggies added. We had barely started eating our food when I tasted the potatoes they weren’t to my liking. I spoke to the waitress and asked her to take them back (1 cube missing) and was met with a resounding and nasty tone of “WHY” with a very confrontational face to match! I looked at her in astonishment and started to explain all my issues with the potatoes and she said “well I need to tell my manager “ snatched the plate and said “say it to me nicer next time”……so as not to loss my cool, I asked my friend “who is she talking to” and she was several feet away and yelled across the the restaurant “I’m talking to you”!!

My friend got up to get a manager who states she is the owners sister who basically laughed it off with banter about comping food rhetoric that had nothing to do with my experience and was another insult added on top of all the other things that had happened.

I wish I could comment on the food but I didn’t eat any of it as this all happened at the start of the meal!! We came based on recommendation but I will not come again or recommend.

Attempts to reach the brother of the manager Chris but was given...