Plate 38 Kitchen And Bar — Restaurant in Pasadena

IF I COULD GIVE LESS THAN ONE STAR, I WOULD!!! I have patronized Plate 38 for years and I have NEVER had a negative experience until August 10, 2018. My sister & I went in for happy hour & left VERY unhappy. Our server, ALAURA W., brought our bill to the table with a total of $61.32 AFTER we asked for our to go box and SHE stated the staff would be there for a while to close up but needed to close out the bill, so it would be appreciated if we paid sooner than later, We paid on our way out since we were wrapping up and planning to leave any way, as we were the last patrons to leave. HOWEVER, when our bill was closed out, we were charged $96.36....never were we notified that there was a price differential or a mistake made on the bill ALTHOUGH Alaura was summoned by the bartender/manager/whoever he was, named ERIC T. at the register AS HE WAS SWIPING MY CARD AND CLOSING OUT OUR BILL....there was $30 cash and the remaining balance of $31.32 was to go on my card.... When brought to Eric's attention, he stated that he had charged us the correct amount and given us back the original receipt, which he hadn't. The receipt he ACTUALLY gave us was the receipt that is given at the close of the bill that reflects what was paid and what was due (which reflected a $0.00 amount). Since the receipt HE claimed was the original receipt had a $0.00 balance due, we stated that our meal should be free (as it reflected no total amount due). After raising the point, the Eric and Alaura decided to CALL THE POLICE ON MY SISTER AND I because we were disputing THEIR mistake. This incident is shocking and quite offensive. ESPECIALLY when we were JUST there on Sunday, August 5, 2018 for dinner and had a rather enjoyable and pleasant experience with EXCELLENT service provided by Lauren W, which resulted in a higher tab than either what was billed AND what was charged during this current experience. As African American women, you can (or maybe you can't) imagine how terrifying of an experience this has been considering that law enforcement was brought in and we all know that doesn't always end too well for people of color....fortunately, it didn't escalate and we were able to walk away with our lives, but this experience CERTAINLY makes me think twice about Plate 38....I mean, is it right for the police to be called when we were just correcting THEIR error?! We have EVERY receipt to prove our side and the police simply stated it was a "civil matter" and didn't do much else to help....interestingly enough, it was a "civil matter" all along, but they wasted the City's constituent's hard earned dollars dispatching THREE officers for two VERY small framed women for an error that occurred by THEIR staff. I would NEVER refer anyone to this place. I wouldn't even want my worst enemy to experience this type of treatment. Smh.....I really used to like this place.

Oh, and did I mention, THE ORIGINAL receipt that was ACTUALLY given to us was recovered from the trash can, uncrumpled and handed to us by the busperson that night?! The SAME receipt ERIC AND ALAURA said didn't exist.

I spoke to the manager, Dennis, the following day and he did very little to show empathy over the situation and even stated that his staff did no wrong, but later stated that during a meeting with his staff, Alaura admitted her mistake. Dennis only gave a half assed apology & offered no...

Went there last Saturday to have lunch. A man took our order. We ordered an appetizer, which was the artichoke. He asked us if we wanted the appetizer to come out first. We said yes. We also ordered a waffle & the Chinese Chicken Salad. We got the very small artichoke (way too much money for so little - almost $10). We sat there for a long time waiting for out other food. I watched as people were being seated way after us and getting their food. He finally came over & said he was going to check on our order and bring more coffee for my sister. He never came back. We waited & waited & waited for the rest of our meal. When it didn't come, I called the girl that seated us over & told her I was not happy. When she asked who our waiter was, I turned around looking & he was at the bar mixing drinks. She said he was their bartender, but sometimes waits on tables. I told her he needs to stay a bartender because he was no waiter. He came over when he saw I was talking to her and when she explained what I was upset about, he pops up with "there was a miscommunication". He claims because we wanted out appetizer first, that he felt 45 min. later was a decent time to wait for our food. I got even more upset and told him that it doesn't take 45 min. to eat that very small artichoke. Nobody should have to wait that long between appetizer & your order. We were not offered any discount on our bill, which was over $50 for three items & two drinks. For these prices, the service should be great and when a customer is dissatisfied, offer them a discount to cool the flames. Owners need to pay attention to how these young people are treating their business. Will not be back. I won't even get into the noise level of the outside traffic. The place is not that great for the prices they charge...

Admittedly this is my first time here since the place opens seven years ago. I've had a few friends who have been complaining about the service.

I stopped by just after they opened and seem to be their first customer. After admiring some of the custom Woodwork and details of the place which are quite nice. The second thing I noticed was how filthy the place was. The windows to the patio seating area weren't clear, they look like they had been cleaned but by someone who doesn't know how to clean windows. There were crumbs everywhere. You'd figure being the first one to show up, the place would be spotless.

There was one server working who was not busy doing much of anything, standing in one spot when I walked in, which now that I look back, he should have been cleaning.

The team of one was nice and catered to my needs, so I can't complain about the service. However, I was the only customer at the time.

The Caesar salad I ordered was fine, nothing special. I did notice that the prices were quite high for the condition of the restaurant and the lack of front of house staff.

The place seems like it has potential and clearly management isn't pounding into the staff's heads, the importance of the details. It's probably because Chef Humphrey isn't leading by example. Although, kudos to this owner as I'd imagine it's hard to keep a restaurant open for 7 years in Pasadena, so maybe it's something else.

I'm writing this review in hopes the Chef Owner might improve conditions and prices because it has a good vibe.

The ambiance is nice, if Plate 38 were to drop prices slightly and increase their attention to detail It may make customers want to come back more often.

Prior to leaving I stopped in to the restroom which was also not very clean. 😬

Hopefully it will be better next time if there is...