McLean's Restaurant — Restaurant in Richmond

I am disappointed in how my family was treated when we came to enjoy a family gathering at McLean’s. My family came from out of town driving 6 hours to visit me and I have suggested McLean’s because I have came there several times and was satisfied.

This one particular day when I brought the restaurant business with 9 of us that we received poor services.

First we put our name on the waiting list. The manager said it would be about a 30 minute wait. We said okay. We will be in front of the restaurant waiting for our name to be called. One hour past and we are still waiting. We walked in and asked have our name been called. She said yes and she has called our name for 10 minutes. We said okay, but we knew it was a lie because we were literally right outside the door waiting for our name to be called. We didn’t care we just wanted to be sat down so we can eat. The manager immediately sat us at a table. We proceeded to be seated.

The waitress had us waiting 15 minutes to bring our menus, I had to get the menus myself. We waited another 20 minutes to order our food. We finally put in our orders. The kids food came 45 minutes later and it was cold and we still had to wait for our food. My daughters became impatient after waiting total time of more than 2 hours that we asked to see the manager. The manager did not come. So we decided to pay for the kids food and left.

Soon as we left the manager/owner came running behind us screaming loudly where is my money! We said we left the money on the table. She then said all the money for the beverages and the food. We told her the money was left on the table. The manager tried to snatch the receipt other hand. The manager/owner displayed unprofessionalism and bad conduct in front of her customers and my children. Two of her paying customers had to jump in to calm her down. We tried to walk away, she then continued to follow us still screaming and taking pictures of what car we were driving even when we paid for our food.

I was embarrassed that I have recommended my family from out of town to McLean’s. I should have went with Eggspectation or First Watch. They have great food and great...

Well, I had an urge to come back here, that’s now squashed and regretted. I couldn’t recall the food so I tried it again. I must say, the experience was not much different from what I was vaguely remembering. I’ll start with entrance - it’s a ‘neighborhood’ restaurant and the atmosphere is very basic. You are directed to seat yourself - sign is at the door. There is a variety of people from the neighborhood and that’s a good thing! They are welcoming once you find a spot to sit it. My first table selection was thwarted at my own will because there was a basket of someone from the area’s clothing cart parked next to it. I ordered the Broad St breakfast and selected salmon cakes as my protein, I wanted my home fries a little crisp! They came so HARD I couldn’t eat them. The waiter was nice and brought me a second order…he commented he wouldn’t have served them to me had he seen them on the plate like that! The lady who delivered the meal obviously didn’t care. I requested my eggs scrambled soft - they were cooked to perfection. Just the way I like them. I will say, the salmon cake was a bit dry and flavorless…one or two pieces of onion, but that’s it. I will say almost everything - and I do mean everything- had this ‘aftertaste’. Even my Pepsi! I’m not sure what it was. This trip has squashed that craving for good! Again, my waiter made it worth the trip, just not the food. Very very very BASIC and BLAND cooking! No flavor on any of the food! Adding - Buyer beware: I know people work for tips! I respect that but let me choose what I want to pay. They charge 20% gratuity adding it to your bill…so if you get bad service, you’ll pay for it! If you get lousy food, you’ll pay for it! I won’t be back - EVER again. I bet I won’t forget this experience - I’m making a mental note this time! I knew I should’ve kept it moving, I had that feeling in the parking lot! Intuition-...

I ordered a Sheila Scramble with bacon, mushrooms and cheese. It comes with choices. Mine was two biscuits and home fries and I added sausage gravy on the side. The scramble was perfect with a generous supply of mushrooms and bacon worked in. The cheese rather cooked itself into the 3 eggs but I tasted them. The home fries (slices) were fried to a golden brown and the biscuits were firm on the outside with a soft flaky center.

What I was most impressed with about this place is how hard the servers work. My coffee was refilled at least 4 times within a half hour as these ladies buzzed around the floor like bees making sure each patron was attended to.

That is another thing. This was morning around 7:30. The place wasn't packed but there was a good sized crowd amassed on a random Friday. No one that I could tell had to wait for anything. My food came about 10 minutes after ordering and when I was handed my check I was told 'no rush'.

The decor is simple and basic. There are some wooden booths along the wall but most of the seating is tables and chairs. There isn't much in the way of ambience besides the humanity which frequents this place.

And, that is just fine. I was very pleasantly surprised by McLean's and I...