Phoenicia Gourmet Restaurant — Restaurant in Ocean Springs

My husband and I have always loved Phoenicia and it is one of the top places we recommend when someone asks for dining options on the Coast. After being treated extremely unprofessionally and rudely by the owner, as well as the unacceptable amount of time it took to receive my incorrectly prepared meal, we will no longer be doing so. Last weekend, a group of girlfriends went to Phoenicia to celebrate a birthday so I can understand it’s a big group and will take some time but here is why it was so upsetting.

1. asked 3 times for a sweet tea
2. waiter came back to verify my order
3. food starts coming out and my order was incorrect, as was 2 others
4. waiting on my correct order
5. still waiting, everyone else is finishing up or finished with their dinner
6. finally comes out and what was supposed to be a medium filet was very much rare
7. told the waiter, he offered to put it back on the grill, told him I didn’t want anything
8. eating off my friend’s plate so I can have something to eat
9. owner comes up and asked what the problem was, I explained that the steak was rare it should have been medium. He then become very aggressive and told me that it was medium, I reiterated that it was far from medium, it was rare. (I will eat medium rare but I cannot and will not eat rare) He then told me that I would have to pay for 50% of my food. Food that I didn’t get until everyone was finished and food that was not prepared properly. At this point I told him I had never been treated like this and would not be paying for anything and just turned away. I was shaking. I did not pay for my food because the waiter handled that for me. There were some other issues with the wait staff but I’m not going to go into those since I’ve already written a book. I will NEVER be back to what was once one of my favorite restaurants after...

The food is always good here. I never have complaints about that. However, the wait staff leaves much to be desired. This was the third time coming hoping that things would improve. We usually sit outside because we bring our elderly small dog in her stroller. It takes forever to get someone to come out and take our order even though they know we are there because we make them aware when we arrive and get menus. When we finally order I don't understand why the server doesn't bring the necessary condiments to the table like sugar, salt, pepper, napkins, ketchup, etc. or at least ask if we need it BEFORE the meal is served and not after when the food starts to gets cold. This last time we were there I ordered a egg white garden omelet which the menu said came with hash browns. When the order came out it was with country potatoes. When I said something about it she said there were 2 types of hash browns and that those were the ones that came with that order and that the other type of hash brown were an upgrade. First off if you know the menu, you should have said there were two types of potatoes and if it was an upgrade, your job was to try and sell us the upgrade. Either way not right and why are you arguing with me about it? You should have just asked if I would have like to change it, but you didn't. Then she never came back to ask if we needed anything else. I'm so tired of the poor excuses of servers these days. The place was not overly busy so I couldn't figure out the delays or neglectful service. I do enjoy the food a lot so there is that. Please either train your help better or hire more experienced or...

This was absolutely the worst experience I've had in many years at any establishment. Seated at 11:30am, order placed, gumbo and spinach salad brought out shortly after, at 12:30pm, we questioned where our order was to only be told the ticket machine faulted and that "Mr. Sam" was helping prepare the order. (Mr. Sam is the owner and I saw him when we were first seated greeting guests and asking how their food was, mind you, he walked right past our table and at this time I thought nothing of it) We waited about ten minutes and didn't hear anything further then decided to cancel. The server said she would "ask Mr. Sam". TEN more minutes, after still not hearing from our server, we decided to leave to go to the front register to pay for our soups and salad. At the same time, Mr. Sam walked past our table without saying ANYTHING to us at all. Many other tables received their orders without issue. At the register, I asked a lady, doing what seemed to be books for the restaurant, if she was the manager. She said she was not but did ask what was going on. We explained and she told the cashier that she should ask Mr. Sam if they should charge us for the soups, the cashier then said she already asked and that he told her to charge us for them. The total came to be $28.77 (3 gumbos/1 spinach salad) and I added an additional $6 tip (because I can't help myself). At this moment, I decided I was going to write this review because Mr. Sam was fully aware of the issues at my table but made no attempt to address/correct them with me directly.

Horrible experience, never returning, would...