Sweet Lula's American Restaurant — Restaurant in Pitman

Mother’s Day; started out great but our Brunch at Sweet Lula’s was not a happy experience. Our party of three arrived 10 minutes prior to our reservation. There was no hostess to check in with but after about five minutes a server took our name. We were seated not long after. The restaurant was full, which was to be expected on Mother’s Day so we were very patient.

Our server came to the table, introduced herself and took our beverage orders. On the table were three forks, napkins and water glasses. We received the beverages, no spoon or sugar for the coffee was provided so we had to ask. We placed our orders with the server at that time which was waffle and fruit, eggs Benedict and quiche. An hour and 10 minutes later, still no order. No additional visit from our server who along with many other staff including the owner had walked by our table at least thirty times. Our table was prominently positioned in the widest space to walk by against the wall, all by itself. We were never even offered a carafe of water.

At that time, we kindly asked our server to check on our order; she returned stating that our order would be coming up and apologized for the wait. After waiting another 15 minutes and observing parties of three or four, that arrived well after us being served, our patience had ended. Our daughter brought this to the owners attention and she went to the kitchen to see what the delay was. She returned along with the server stating that "the server was supposed to put a time on our order and she did not" so it was her fault. She said the order would be prepared then. The server told us that she had checked a few times prior to see what the delay was but they never prepared the order. So now I guess since the order was in and it just sat there, it was the kitchen staffs fault?

At an hour and a half, my husband was annoyed and just wanted to leave and I was trying to calm him as our order should arrive soon. We again brought to the owners attention that we still had not received our order. As I was calming him, she also stated saying it was a beautiful day and to relax and not get worked up. I said please just get our order, I did not need her condescending attitude at this point. She should have taken accountability, apologized and made our order a priority.

At the one hour and 40 minute mark, the order arrived and at that time we were offered a carafe of water but we still had to ask for a utensil.The waffle was pale and undercooked so we brought that to Lula’s attention and her response was a look of surprise and said “they have been the same all day”. So, I guess that is okay with her rather than say let me see what I can do to fix it for you. At that point my husband asked that she take the waffle away and he shared our daughters breakfast as he did not want to order anything else at this point. I asked that the waffle be removed from our bill, no discount for inconvenience was offered (not that we expected one) and we did not hear from her again. My daughter felt bad for the server because she was blamed for all of this so she made sure she gave her a nice tip.

I have never posted a negative review and I apologize for the lengthiness but I felt this was necessary as the attitude of the owner and her lack of onus, plus the service and food turned a happy occasion into a disappointment. Maybe instead of the owner taking dishes off tables and serving food she could have been greeting her guests and walking around checking to see if every table was being serviced appropriately and timely. Additional, we were not the only table that waited as long as or longer than us that day.

We will not patronize this restaurant in the future or recommend...

My wife and I and another couple had a 6:30 reservation on a Saturday. We all arrived right before 6:30 and were seated immediately. The place is BYOB. Our server was friendly and engaging, but after my wife asked for a glass of ice for her can of seltzer, our server seemed to have disappeared for 15 min. When she returned with the ice, we asked her for a few recommendations on the appetizers and entrees which she happily provided, and then told us she'd give us a few minutes to decide, but then she disappeared for about 20 minutes. We ordered the fried calamari and the Bang Bang shrimp. The calamari dish was very small, hardly a sharable appetizer and was mostly crumbles as if the kitchen was running out of calamari. Both appetizers tasted ok but very unremarkable. Again, we didn't see our server for another 30 minutes when she returned to take our entree orders. She highly recommended the Braised Short Ribs and the Lamp Chop special. My buddy's wife ordered the Short Ribs but 5 min after she ordered, our server returned to tell her that the kitchen was out of the Short Ribs, so she ordered a pasta dish. My wife who wasn't thrilled with menu variety ordered a beet and goat cheese salad with chicken as an entree, and my buddy and I ordered the lamb chops. The server didn't ask us how we wanted the lamb cooked and we failed to ask, but my experience has always been that they're usually rare or medium rare, but the server will tell you that in case you want it cooked to medium or well-done. These turned out to be very well-done, and a step beyond charred-- they were almost burnt. They tasted ok, but they failed to match our server's glowing recommendations. By the way, our server never stopped by to ask us if everything came out all right and tasted good-- in fact, we didn't see her until we finished our entrees and were ready to order desserts, which was also underwhelming. She looked harried, and perhaps the restaurant was understaffed that night, and there was a show at the Broadway Theatre, although the restaurant didn't seem crowded. In any case, by the time we finished dessert and paid the check, it was nearly 10 PM. Overall, it was quite a disappointing dining experience; however, I want to believe that understaffing was the culprit and that this was an anomaly because being on the main street almost directly across from the theater with a ton of potential diners out there, the restaurant couldn't survive if this were a frequent occurrence. So, maybe we'll give Sweet Lula's another try...

Overall, very disappointing and horrible experience. My wife wanted to dine here for years, but we never made it until tonight. Our server was working his first night at the restaurant and you could definitely tell. We ordered an appetizer, entree, and a salad (with chicken). Drinks were simple, a fountain soda and iced tea. We never received water; however, most other tables did. The appetizer was average, but came out within a reasonable time from the kitchen. The main course, salad and entree took between 45 minutes to an hour. Unbelievable! The server did not give a reasonable explanation why there was a delay. When the food finally came out, the food was average, especially for the price. We both ate some of the meal and within minutes after placing our silverware on the plate, someone other than the server, removed our plates. It almost felt like we were not welcomed. We each one refill of our drinks. When we receive the bill, we find out that the iced tea could get refills, but not the fountain soda. Crazy! Price per beverage was $4 so we spend $12 on simple fountain drinks. Plus, a 4% credit card charge was added to the bill. Neither of these policies were explained by the server.

We will never dine at this restaurant again. There was no adjustment to the bill to reflect our long wait, only the server’s explanation that he is trying his best. When looking for a night out with dinner in the Pitman area, avoid this restaurant. High cost, poor service, and average food.

Owner needs to recheck their menu…prices of drinks are not mentioned anywhere on the menu we were given and no mention of it online either. Regardless of what owner states….PRICES ARE NOT LISTED. AT LEAST OWN UP TO YOUR...