Elephant & Co. Royal Oak — Restaurant in Royal Oak

I’m not big on complaining about local businesses because I understand that mistakes happen, but certain mistakes you simply cannot make. While leading a group of around 12 Cyclists on our Wednesday Night Ride Detroit, I decided to bring the group to Elephant & Co. for some food and drinks before finishing our last 10 miles.

 I didn’t want to overly fill myself, so I ordered some chicken tenders off of the CHILDREN’s menu. When I got my food and took my first bite, I could tell that something was off. I looked at the other piece of chicken I just bit off, only to discover it was raw on the inside (not under cooked but RAW). When I told the waiter, he took the food and then came back about 10 minutes later saying “don’t worry, I comped it for you” as if he was doimg me a favor😳. It’s clear that the staff has not been educated to the dangers of raw meat and particularly chicken. 

I’m sharing this for several reasons:

These people are literally risking the health of their clientele.

Frying chicken is the easiest thing that you can do food wise outside of pouring cereal. If they can’t do that right only God knows what else they’re doing back there.

This is a brewery that needs to be up to code simply to operate. If this is how lax they are on their food… who’s to say what’s in their beer?

This was off the Children’s menu!!! Thank God they didmt serve this to somebody’s kid who didmt have the wisdom to check before consuming.

On top of potentially killing people or making them ill, their cavalier attitude towards the situation calls for alarm.

There was no offer to make it right. There was no explanation for why it happened. It was just business as usual.

Oh, and we were on the only 12 people in there out of a place that sits roughly 70-100. I can’t even give them the excuse that they were busy.

Do with this information what you may, but please spread the word and keep this community safe because they...

How an organization reacts to issues says a lot about their ethos. In this case I was bummed it wasn't ideal, however I was more impressed with their handling and other aspects. While our pizza was undercooked, it didn't diminish my opinion and still a revisit is warranted. Its apparent they use high quality ingredients and craftsmanship. At least the perimeter of my pizza was cooked and scrumptious. I showed them the undercooked inner crust and they proactively took action to ensure we were satisfied. Thank you! We were fully compensated...even items not effected, (beer); which leads me to my next thoughts.

They use a novel solution for beverage distribution. After a quick ID check they give you RF wrist band and use it to tap your libation of choice and then you proceed to a DIY pour (prices indicated in oz.). This makes getting drinks way more efficient. While I only sampled one beer, it was a great local craft beer from Detroit's Eastern Market. The selection choice is vast (see pics).

Lastly I wanted to mention the environment has a very cool, relaxed vibe, great sound system, and various board games are available. Our 8 year old son loved that. High ceilings and a dark motif adds to a cozy, yet not cramped feel. It's an elevated lounge atmosphere with an outside patio located a stone's throw from the Royal Oak downtown.

Despite our initial hiccup I plan to...

I had a few issues with my visit here. Some may not bother most. First was that it felt like at least half the taps were IPAs. I'm just personally not a fan. Second was asking for a tip. I am more than happy to tip my bartender for service, but this is self serve. So I did tip like normal because I don't know how the business pays their people, but I was not expecting to be asked. Lastly was scanning my ID on entry. I'm well over the legal drinking age. I'm not mad they asked, but a quick look would have made it clear I'm well above age to be in there. No one asked if it was okay to scan it. I don't want my data stored in your system because I don't know what you plan to do with it. And I didn't cause a fuss with the staff because they don't know either I'm sure and what's done is done. Otherwise staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. But right now I would...