Bolay Fresh Bold Kitchen - Wellington — Restaurant in Royal Palm Beach

I’ve been a regular at Bolay for a long time and have never had an issue — until today. I visited the store with my mother, and what should have been a normal lunch turned into one of the most uncomfortable and disheartening experiences I’ve had at a restaurant.

We both ordered large bowls. My mother got rice and noodles with corn and beans, and I got double rice. When it came time to choose veggies, I asked Nichol (one of the workers) for a sample of the cucumber. I liked it and politely asked if I could have it in a separate container so the dressing wouldn’t touch my other food. Instead of using the regular medium side container that’s normally used for beans or other sides, Nichol placed the cucumber in the tiniest sauce cup — not the standard portion. It was my first time ordering it, so I didn’t question it right away.

When we moved to the protein section, my mom and I asked Nichol for a sample of the teriyaki chicken, and after trying it, we both chose it. I was also interested in the salmon but noticed the salmon was small, so I asked when a fresh batch would be ready. She said in six minutes, and we told her we’d wait.

While we were waiting, I saw another customer (not Black) ask Nichol for cucumbers in a separate container — and Nichol gave her the full-sized side container that I should have received. That’s when I started noticing a pattern.

After more than six minutes, I politely asked Nichol again when the salmon would be ready. She responded with visible irritation and said “30 seconds.” When it was finally done, she asked me aggressively, “Which one do you want?” and tossed my mother’s salmon onto her plate with an attitude, shoving it to the side like it was a chore. It was so blatantly disrespectful that it stunned both of us.

Then came another issue: at no point did Nichol mention there would be an upcharge for the salmon. So when we got to checkout and saw the total, my mom was visibly confused. Lack of transparency like that is not only unprofessional, it’s frustrating — especially when paired with everything else that had already happened.

Before checking out, I asked another employee if my cucumber portion counted as a side or a sample. That employee asked Nichol, and she said it was a side. I told her I had just seen her give another customer a larger container, and Nichol snapped, “It’s the same portion,” which was clearly untrue.

From the very beginning, Nichol was cold and dismissive. As the only two Black women in the restaurant at the time, I couldn’t help but notice how differently we were treated — especially compared to how she interacted with other non-Black customers. I truly didn’t want to assume it was racially motivated, but the difference in energy, tone, and treatment made it hard to believe otherwise.

When I asked Nichol for her name (more than once), she ignored me completely. Thankfully, another employee told me who she was.

This entire experience was upsetting, especially as a loyal customer who brings family and friends here often. I’ve never felt so disrespected and dismissed — and it’s even more painful knowing my mom witnessed it too. I don’t take accusations like this lightly, but if the behavior fits, it has to be addressed.

I still love Bolay, but this was unacceptable. Management needs to know how employees like Nichol are making people feel — especially customers of color who deserve to be treated with just as much respect as...

Had the worst experience I’ve had at a Bolay before. Typically go to the one in Pembroke Pines - Claude is amazing with guest experience.

This was my families second visit to Royal Palm Beach as we’ve been visiting the area lately.

Our first experience wasn’t bad, portions seemed skimp but I chalked that up to different interpretations of portion size between stores (I’ve been in the food biz for 15 years).

This experience was awful. I mobile order 95% of the time when dining at any of your restaurants. When I arrived, the food wasn’t ready. They asked my name and told me it’d be a few minutes, I was 3-5 mins early from the requested time. My kids were a bit unruly from being hungry, I took one outside to calm her down. I came back in to check on the status (10 mins after requested time) and the kid at the counter told me he thought I had my food already. They apologized and offered me three cookies, we are all vegan and can’t eat them. At no point did the manager come over or say anything, a lady in a dark blue button down was involved in helping to prepare our order and seemed aware of the situation. Not sure if she was the manager but this was on 1/9/19 at 6pm.

They were not busy, mildly steady at best. A gentlemen came in just after us and finished his food before we received ours.

I run a fast casual restaurant, It’s not difficult at all to throw 2 large bowls and 2 kids bowls into the mix and get them done. It’s a blip on the speed of service and wouldn’t cause an issue for the 5-6 people in the ordering process.

On top of all of this, my wife had to find the high chairs, and balance our 18 month old and a high chair over to a table while two people cleaning tables watched her. I guess Pines has set the standard too high by always being overly eager to grab high chairs for their guests.

My minor complaint is the pineapple lychee tea was out. At 6pm that seems kind’ve early, it’s the little things you need to pay attention to in order to execute a flawless experience.

They didn’t get the worst rating due to the food being some of the tastiest Bolay I’ve had - props to the line cooks.

Overall, some major issues by any standards and some other issues based upon the bar set by...

My wife and I moved to Wellington a little over a year ago. One thing that excited us alot was the sheer number of places to eat around the mall area (where I live). However a year later I realize that a majority of these places are forgettable, unhealthy, and just more of the same.

It blows my mind that there are almost no good places to get healthy food. This is where Bolay comes in. I knew from word of mouth and stuff on the internet that it's some sort of healthier bowl place. That didn't exactly paint a perfect picture for me and even after being there I can't totally explain what's going on with their model nor is that important.

What is important is Bolay offers extremely tasty, healthish food at a not so bad price. Finally a place my wife and I can grab a quick meal that is full of flavor without leaving feeling like I over stuffed my face with fried proteins, greasy starches, or tons of sugar.

Bolay is a Chipotle style walk up to the counter, ask for x,y,z, take to a table. Add in Vegetables, better grain, better protein options, and even craft beer.

My wife and I intentionally picked different things so we could sample just about everything that could be stuffed in a bowl. I have to say, everything was amazingly good. Even the brussel sprouts tasted good. Its clear to me the designer of the menu knew what they were doing.

TLDR / Summary:

Bolay is a fantastic place to get a high quality meal, at a reasonable price, that will leave you feeling good when you are done. Bolay's model/menu is kind of a new thing, don't let that put you off, go there you will not be disappointed. They bring to our area something we didn't have and I am so happy they...