Goldie — Restaurant in Philadelphia

well dang. i’m not usually one to write a negative review, but here we go! i’m always happy to add 20% tip to the meal, but after i got my receipt i see that they already charge essentially a 10% gratuity. and my 20% tip wasn’t based on the base meal, but the meal PLUS taxes, SCT, AND the service charge. again, i’m happy to pay 20%, but you got me for over 30% this round. shady.

oh yeah! the food. a solid 3.8.

EDIT: just got this response from the owner, "We are so sorry to hear that you felt deceived! It is absolutely not our intent. We do have signage at all locations regarding our service charge, which we use to pay our employees a living wage. We would be happy to refund that tip if you would like. We hope you otherwise enjoyed your meal, and again, our apologies for any confusion!"

i understand the concept of a living wage. please don't make it sound like you're the hero here. if the you were paying your employees a living wage in the first place, then you wouldn't need to be charging the gratuity.

if i didn’t see the signage, then the signage isn’t prominent enough.

still no mention as to why the tip is added ON TOP of all other taxes and charges.

try again, goldie.

and...

Had craving for a falafel sandwich was searching for an old place I use to go called Mamas but I didn’t find it I found Goldie’s on 19th Samson street instead.The falafel pita sandwich here was just as great!😃,all ingredients were crunchy fresh, the tahini sauce fresh and the falafel balls at the bottom so the pita stays neat, even a tin holder.However; I would rethink the music here .I started to eat my falafel to a tune that sang 💁‍♀️“Tonight you will die ,tonight you will bleed” in my head I was thinking my mouth is in nervana heaven but my mind is creeped out by the music.Offering this restaurant a most helpful Tip for I use to be a mystery shopper play chamber classical music it’s calming and relaxing and everyone likes calm music when they eat.You could have seriously done an entire Seinfeld episode about me and my falafel sandwich and that music that day.Serenity Now, lol.The staff was great.Just...

I've been coming here for a while and always get the the Harissa Falafel Sandwich. I wouldn't say it's the best falafel in the world (ie. compared to in Israel) but probably one of the best in the area. The one item that really brings down the sandwich is the pita. It doesn't taste that fresh, probably because it is always cold. The falafel itself is usually hot, though I've seen this vary in temperature. Not sure if they are fried to order. Everything is also quite expensive for something so simple. Even something like extra harissa costs extra. For example, one of the reviews complains about the shakes getting smaller. The owner replied saying the cups got smaller due to supply issues. That's fine, but if you're reducing your portion size, you should...