On the Rise Restaurant — Restaurant in Osage Beach

So first let me start by saying I had to take a little time to calm myself from this experience to decide whether to write a review or not.I never leave bad reviews in fact I'm terrible of taking the time to post reviews period. However this interaction warrants a lengthy review. Today myself and a close friend decided to treat our other friend out to brunch and a day away from the house. Our friend just got diagnosed with cancer for the 2nd time and we were trying to spend a girls day at the lake just getting her mind off of everything. So I looked for places to have a nice brunch and drinks. We live in Fort Leonard Wood so it was a bit of a commute for us. We got to On the Rise approximately at 1045. We were friendly greeted by the hostess which is also the manager later Im told. We were seated quickly and greated by our server fairly quick as well. Our service and our food were both good no complaints, until we were almost finished with our food and that's when it all went down hill. Once our server seen we were almost gone she naturally brought our ticket. We paid it instantly but continue to finish our plates and drinks. We had bloody Mary's and then ordered mimosas. Their staff kept cleaning our table while we were finishing eating even tried to take my plate from me mid bite! Then that's when we saw and overheard the manager tring to seat a couple and said loudly enough where we heard, "well they've paid their bill but they just keep sitting there" as she was pointing at our table. My friends were finished with their food but not their mimosa and I wasn't finished with my food. I said that pisses me off they are trying to rush us out of here. Mind you we got our bloody Mary's at 1059 exactly I know because I took a picture to send my husband and we hadn't ordered yet. We paid our bill at 12 exactly or that is when the waitress ran our card. We walked out of the restaurant at 1220. They were not crazy busy and had available tables. Two different times that same manager as she sat people she loudly says so sorry for your wait thank you so much for understanding then glared at our table. Each instance I looked around and there was at least 1 available table. So naturally we became more and more irritated. So after finishing and all taking turns going to the bathroom and honestly being a little slower than normal we decided to leave. As we were walking out said manager says with the most fake tone.. have a great day. My friend looked back at her and told her to do the same and that we wouldnt be coming back. She smiled and replied good that's for the best. All irritated at the hospitality or lack the of I decided to go back it and try and make it right at least talk with the manager not knowing the rude hostess was the manager. When i went back in I kindly asked the bakery lady for the manager she rolled her eyes and then got the hostess who was seating people. I said to her I just want to explain why we were here today to enjoy a nice brunch with friends and explained my friends situation. She was so unconcerned and said well its all your fault, you started itvby deliberately taking your time. I told her she started it by rushing pushing us out the door, making comments, taking my plate away mid bite etc. She never apologized and said it was all our fault and even our waitress thought we were taking too long on purpose and that she has nothing more for me and she didn't care if we didn't come back. Here's my biggest issue they have created a cute upscale brunch restaurant with a coffee house feel. The prices are fine dining prices yet they have fast food expectations of their guest and have no problem expressing that. After $100 bill I don't think its rude that we were there from 1045-1220. The food was good but not exceptional and it did take awhile to get our food. Rude...

Firstly, the wait was excessive because the hostess wrote down the wrong amount of guests. So we ended up waiting 45 minutes for a table for 4 when all we needed was a place for 2, and the hostess realized this, then moved us to a 2 seater.

We then sat for 15 minutes waiting for our server to approach the table. At this point my girlfriend and I were both hangry and frustrated with the service and wanted to leave, but we reluctantly stayed to order food (because the building looked great so the food should be great as well…right?).

I ordered biscuits and gravy and my friend ordered chicken and waffles. Compared to everything else, the food came to us rather quickly and there was a reason for this. The biscuits and gravy were utterly tasteless, and I was unwilling to even waste a calorie burn later by consuming the tasteless dish that was given to me so I pushed it aside. Just like the biscuits and gravy, the chicken and waffles was undercooked, not crunchy in the slighted or even browned, and not seasoned.

After all of the wait time, we ate for less then 10 minutes, before the hostess/ owner rushed in and took our uneaten food away without even asking why we did not eat.

In summary, we wasted about 2 hours of our life and $42 dollars on food that was not even eaten. And not a single person cared. I would not waste your time or money on this establishment, because clearly they can afford to not care about the people they should be serving.

Response from owner (who was actually the hostess who told me that she wrote down party of 4 instead of 2) and clearly didn’t read what I wrote:

Response from the owner 25 minutes ago Joseph, we absolutely do care about every detail of our restaurant , otherwise we probably wouldn’t be in business here for over 27 years. I am the Chef/Owner, and I can tell you and anyone reading this, that there was absolutely nothing wrong with your biscuits and gravy. We did sell 32 other people the same exact meal… the same with our chicken and waffles, one of the most popular dishes we serve. Your girlfriend did eat everything on her plate, and I can assure you it was well seasoned. As for as your wait time, we have you written in our book as a party of 2, when our hostess was taking you to be seated, there was a 4 top and a 2 top that just opened and she gave you a choice of which table you who rather be seated at. So obviously, that had no bearing on your wait time. We are a very busy restaurant and it’s the 4th of July, a wait should have been expected. I’m not sure why “being hangry” is a good reason to tip your server $0.00 (which is what you wrote on the receipt) my staff works extremely hard and it was unfair of you to treat my servers that way. I hope that you can find a way to just enjoy the rest of your holiday and treat others with kindness and respect.

Again in summary, this kindness and respect was not applied to me and my guest. The owner who responded took our uneaten food and seated us is accepting zero responsibility but still took my money. What I see is a tired establishment that is selling an exceptional curb feel but delivering school lunch room meals (possibly worse). Enter at...

We ate here yesterday on the request of my best friend who has a vacation home here. We split the one chocolate coco muffin they had and it was awesome! That's the first star. Then we were brought a basket of homemade potato chips that is the second star..they were also great.

Too bad the good stopped there. Two of us ordered the lobster pot pie. It looked great when it came. But one stir under the puffed pastry top revealed nothing but seasoned cream. There were abut 5 or 6 small cubes of potato, about a tablespoon of corn and peas each and three..yes I counted them- THREE teeny pieces of lobster. Combined they would have been about the size of the end of my middle finger. And none of this is a exaggeration. I asked my friend who has multiple other guests order this dish if it was supposed to look like that and she said "No" "Previously, the orders were chocked full of veggies and lobster- the way a pot pie is supposed to be" So, we called the waiter over and told her the problem. She agreed and took it back. We were expecting the chef to make it right and send out a bowl full of veggies and lobster. Instead the chef threw that poor waiter under a bus. She came back out and said "The chef says this is the way it is supposed to be" They looked and there are three of 4 pieces of Lobster in there" And she set those bowls down just as they were. We were so shocked none of us could believe it. This is a 16 dollar entree folks and touted as a specialty. As as a chef myself..the cream sauce was tasty- but not reduced. And there were no veggies or substance to it. it was Lobster scented cream sauce. Not even as thick as a bisque. It literally was a thin soup. No self respecting chef would allow something called a "Pot pie" to go out like that.

We supposed they were down to the bottom of the barrel and instead of just telling us they were out- they scraped up the last of it- added some cream to get 2 servings and tried to pass it off as a pot pie. Our waitress was mortified but unable to say anything, we were not offered the opportunity to get something else, She didn't check on us until the end of the meal. Nor did she ask how it was because she knew, And frankly I am still shocked the chef sent that dish back out. Our hostess got the chicken and gave us the veggies that came with her entree so we had "Something" to eat. But it was horrible. We picked out the veggies from my friends entree drenched in the cream and ate it because were were starving- we took the rest to feed the ducks.

This is a place that has beautiful decor and excellent pastries.. but the attitude of the chef, the chef's understanding of customer service, and comprehension of what a "Pot pie is is makes me believe that this place will not make it if they continue to be so inconsistent. It truly was one of the worst dining experiences I have had in a long time. And I can honestly say they I have never before wanted to go back in the kitchen and show a chef how to cook something....