Berry Fresh Cafe — Restaurant in Port Saint Lucie

2/5/23 9:40 am

I never leave a bad review, but this is COMPLETELY warranted. I was visiting family here in Pt. St. Lucie and from the word of mouth here this was SUPPOSEDLY the best place to eat in the area. Unfortunately I did not get to eat here, as the management is terrible. Floor management is completely lacking skill and understanding. To say that the hostess understood what it meant to make provisions for a larger party is reaching for the next galaxy let alone reaching for the stars. When asked if there was an ETA after waiting for an hour and a half, we were told " we don't have chairs". When asked why other patrons were seated, we were told that "Management tells us to seat who we can first! We can't move chairs and tables to accommodate," and " we will seat you when we can when we have a table large enough." Several other parties including an elderly couple that stated "I've been coming here for 12 years, but this is my last!" At the 2 hour mark, I decided that it was time that we speak to the manager. I reached David, the managerl on duty and explained the situation. He quickly spoke to the hostess, who didn't seem to understand the meaning of service and that the customer should be treated with respect. He quickly turned and said, "we should have a table for you in just a few minutes!" At this point, my family that I was visiting were all too upset with the situation and feared we'd have our food tampered with, that the decision was made to leave. When leaving I asked why it escalated to this point, I stated that, "it's all about accommodating to give the customer base the opportunity to enjoy your establishment, not stepping over larger parties, just to bring in people, to get them to a smaller table. Just for the quick money." I am a Service Delivery Manager at Morgan Stanley and would never treat people in this manner, no matter what the situation. Poor management in the sharpest of meanings.

Please work to improve your customer service. This needs to start from the top and trickle down to your employees. It's a shame that this day had to end with us visiting another establishment to have a good meal.

Thank you for your time.

PS, to all that think to visit this location, please think twice if...

Atmosphere: very cute & cozy

Service: our waiter Joe was outstanding. Incredibly attentive and extremely kind, we loved him.

Food: Berry Lemonade(not pictured): 10/10, refreshing and more of a tart/sour lemonade but that's the kind I like.

Mocha Iced Latte(not pictured): 3/10. This is my personal take on this as I like very sweet coffee, but also the latte came warm. We did have our waiter come back over with another person from the back(without even having to ask) explaining that they have to brew the coffee hot and then pour it over ice, so I completely understand. They also offered to get me a cup with more ice to cool it down with I very much appreciated! The service was above and beyond, but the coffee itself just wasn't for me.

Blueberry Fritters: 5/10 I was excited to try these thinking they would be kind of like a moist donut texture, but they were very dry, and I didn't really like the yogurt on the side. I feel like if they tried to make these more like donut holes/a blueberry glazed donut hole, they would be much better! The flavor was there, but the texture wasn't.

Challah French Toast: 8/10, not the best french toast we've ever had but it was pretty good! Nothing really negative to say about it

Traditional Eggs Benedict: 8/10, these were very good but very small. They come with a side of your choice so I chose hash browns, but for me personally, these are not the type of hash browns I prefer and I wasn't interested in any of the other sides. I'm sure others would like these if you like those traditional square red potato hash browns! Again, the eggs benedict was delicious, I just wish it were a bigger portion, or that it came with 1 additional one.

Overall, we will probably be back to try out some of their items!

Additional info: not sure if the owner does this for all new customers or not, but before we left, our waiter told us to wait a minute as the owner had something for us and gave us a $5 gift certificate for our next visit. At the beginning of our service we had told them it was our first time, so that was very kind of them whether they do it for all new customers or not. Greatly...

This is my 2nd experience with Berry Fresh. My first was in Stuart which made an amazing first impression, so I didn't think twice about taking my mother in law for an early Mother's Day brunch. She drove from Ft. Lauderdale and we visited the Port St Lucie location. Sat morning, we joined the line in advance and our wait was no more than 10 mins for 4. We chose to dine outside, our waiter was awesome and the food came out fairly quick. We were more than excited to dig in and I couldn't wait for my mother in law to enjoy what I had previously.... No more than 2 mins after we received our food, a family came in with a big hair dog.. NOW don't get me wrong, I love dogs.. I am a dog mom and she is spoiled beyond measure, however, if you are going to allow dogs at your facility, I believe you should have a designated area for families with dogs. Granted we were outside, not a huge area, but big enough, and the family and dog had to pass by those already eating to get to their table. While passing the dog went after my husband's plate and my husband was quick enough to put his hand in the way and winded up getting licked by the dog...said family though this was funny and said "he likes leftovers"... well it was not leftovers as we JUST started eating. The family was placed to sit behind us and I watched as the dog put his two front paws on the table. Needless to say our entire dining experience change and we packed up our food to go. Quite disappointing that we spent over $150 and was not even able to enjoy our dining experience... Suggestion... have an area near an entrance, designated just for families with dogs, that way others dining are not disturbed... Let those dining outside know that there is a possibility of a dog being seated here and let them make that decision if they want to sit there are not. Why should we not be allowed to enjoy dining...