Perkins American Food Co. — Restaurant in Northfield

I don’t even know where to begin with how absolutely dreadful my experience was with Perkins today. I made a reservation well in advance, excited for a nice family dinner at one of my go-to spots, but apparently, that was just a fool’s errand. Upon arrival, we were told — no, informed — that our reservation had been cancelled. No apology. No explanation. Just a cold, dismissive "we had to cancel it." Not only was there zero accountability, but the staff had the audacity to act as if we were the ones in the wrong for expecting to be seated.

When I asked why this happened, I was met with a shrug and a vague "we don't know" from the manager, as if they hadn't been running a restaurant for the past several decades. You’d think with a reservation system, someone would double-check things like this, but clearly, that’s not a priority at Perkins. We were told there was no space for us despite our reservation, and we were left standing in the entryway, awkwardly watching other guests who hadn’t made reservations waltz in and be seated right away. Is this some sort of secret Perkins policy to penalize those who plan ahead?

To make matters worse, no effort was made to make it right. We weren't offered another table, a complimentary drink, or even a sincere apology. We had to wait another half-hour just to speak to the manager, who continued to offer zero assistance. It honestly felt like they just didn’t care. This is beyond frustrating, especially when you take into account the fact that Perkins isn’t exactly a high-end restaurant, and you expect at least basic customer service.

As we left, completely irritated, I overheard another guest being told the same thing — their reservation was cancelled with no warning, no explanation, and no effort to make up for the inconvenience. It’s clear that Perkins has zero regard for the value of its customers' time or plans.

I’ve had bad experiences at restaurants before, but this one takes the cake. I’m not even sure I’ll bother trying Perkins again; after this incident, I have no faith in their ability to manage reservations or treat customers with any level of respect. If you’re looking for a place that actually honors your reservation and doesn’t treat you like an afterthought, do yourself a favor and go literally anywhere else. This place has completely lost...

The service received was appalling! My daughter and I went to eat there at 2pm last week. There were only a couple of tables with customers. when we were to be seated by the host, I asked for a booth and the manager (Louz Castillo) hollered across the restaurant "all the booths are dirty." As we sat down I glanced over at the booths. If they did need cleaned, they just needed a simple wipe down at best. I should have just walked out right then and there because the experience only got worse.

As we sat waiting for our food (that was probably spit on thinking in retrospect), the manager and hostess were talking just a table away from us. In Spanish what I heard them say in reference to my daughter and I SHOCKED me! I whipped my head around toward them causing them to realize I knew what they said. OMG for such language whether in English, French, Spanish, whatever is disgusting and certainly not how you speak in a place of business.

I lost my appetite. Upon paying (begrudgingly at this point) I asked if the woman with the atrocious tongue was the manager, she reply flippantly that she was. I told her to write her name LEGIBLY on my receipt. Couldn't tell you what that foul-mouthed manager's first name is, but I can tell you I filed a complaint with corporate.

This town does not need trash like that serving us food. Perkins needs to improve their reputation by the looks of the Google reviews. They can start by getting a more professionally...

I took my son out for breakfast as I have the day off, and went to Perkins for my favorite egg and cheese omelet. We were seated right away, waitress very nice and we had our food in like 5 minutes!! Meals were delicious and coffee was the best.

Upon leaving I noticed a beautiful American flag on the wall so I commented how much I loved it. The gentleman manager told me that yes, "because of Northfield City, they always received a hard time about the big American flag that we had outside, and that is what Perkins is known for", so they had to take it down from outside! Being brought up in a military family, and husband serving 26yrs with 3 deployments, that makes me so sad and appalled to live in Northfield MN. Hence why in several years when we retire, we will be leaving Northfield forever.

Keep up the great job with your restaurant, food and service. From one woman who knows all too well what it's like to have a Father and husband, whom fought and gave their all to our Country, my hats off to you for your patronize and standing up to...