Suzette's Restaurant — Restaurant in Saint Lawrence Township

Where to begin. Like many others, my girlfriend and I stopped in here for a dinner, you know, as the "last chance for real food before road trip territory" one Friday night. We nearly turned around upon entering, after seeing the charms and necklaces and overgrown plants at the counter, and 2 other patrons in the restaurant (a couple in their seventies).

Now, this is all fine. Let me make this clear: I'm not a difficult city-slicker, secret-diner type. All the tat out front, and the dim lights and grime would be on the list of Pro's, were this the charming oasis many of the "Google User" reviews from 3-5 years ago claim it to be. But this place is horrid. Let's begin:

We sat down and ordered drinks. As we had a drive ahead of us, my girlfriend wanted a simple ginger ale. They didn't have Ginger Ale. Fine. I suggested our server (think her name was "Julie") make some the old "diner" way: with 7-Up and bitters. She didn't know what "bitters" was, and that closed the issue. This was the first warning sign. I was a bit surprised (as she was in her mid-thirties) that she hadn't heard of bitters, but more than that was the air that I was referencing something arcane and impossible because she hadn't heard of it, and no curiosity or desire from her to find something the restaurant could serve. In the effort not to nitpick or special-order, we picked a couple standard dishes that seemed impossible to screw up: Chicken Fettucine and Cranberry Pork.

The food arrived about five or six minutes after our order went in, and that's on the long end. I was skeptical they made it all fresh to order before seeing the plates. She set the plates down: piles of goop. The chicken fettucine was just greasy, cakey soup, with diced, rubbery, fatty dark chicken pieces and broken noodle bits. My Cranberry Pork was a square grey puck, dry as a bone. A paltry sour drizzle of what, I guess, they called cranberry sauce on top. Again, goop potatoes and the mixed vegetables were soft, brown, and tasted like your bog-standard chinese takeout. Confusing, as this "hidden gem" supposedly features European Cuisine. We took a few bites, I got up, and spoke to the waitress at the front counter out of courtesy to the other patrons and not wanting to embarrass the place.

She asked how it was, and I told her frankly that it wasn't what we expected, and that we were very disappointed. Her response? "I've never heard that." After a puzzled pause, I confirmed that yes, indeed the food was not to our liking, and she repeated, "I've worked here two years and I've never heard that. Nobody's ever said that." Our waitress wasn't convinced. In response to an honest evaluation, she seemed to deny my right to take issue with the food. Instead of asking what about the food we didn't like, or offering anything whatsoever to change our minds or make good to a dissatisfied customer, she instead claimed we ate "most of [our] dishes," which I pointed out wasn't true in the least, and the only reason we took more than a look at our dishes was because of the positive reviews, and the wish to give each dish a try...at which point she welled up in tears, and we asked politely to speak to the manager.

The manager (I believe her name is Jolene) very reluctantly spoke to us, and only on the phone, after we left the restaurant. After using the same strategy as our waitress (arguing with us that we didn't actually dislike the food) for about fifteen minutes, she offered to take HALF of ONE order (the cheaper of the two) off the final bill. Absolutely astounding. The worst, most bewildering restaurant experience I've ever had, by far. It makes me wish Google could audit and shut down the previous positive reviews, but I think the fact that every review within the last two years is 1-star...

Suzztte's is a quaint little eatery on the very busy Hwy 169 South of Chaska. It fan folds it's napkins and serves it's meals on colorful dishes. (Faux China) a nice touch

I had the Salmon Buerre which was delectable.The Salmon filet, was cooked with finesse the garlic mashed potatoes were tasty and garnished somewhat uniquely with a bright red radish with greens waving gently in the air.

There were also a mix of Al dente' asparagus, green beans and a carrot. All in all a very colorful and creative plating.

The meal began with a green garden salad and thick delicious home made ranch dressing. Included was a warm French roll and butter.

The only disappoinment is; if you are going to go through all the trouble of fan folding the napkins, serving water in stem wear with lemon garnish, placing the salad and warming the bread, I would suggest serving foil wrapped butter or put a pat of softened butter in a tin instead of a plastic container such as you'd find in a diner or fast food joint. (Picky, picky... I know)

For dessert I selected the delectable Rasberry Mango cheese cake garnshed with three large sweetly tart raspberries, and a delicate puff of whipped cream nestling a marischino cherry stem aloft. The cheese soft creamy and tasty the crust light and crispy. The perfect finish to delightful dinner.

The wait staff was friendly and helpful with suggestions, and ever present to...

3 words. Hair in food. The place was empty, but they had made a fuss on phone about not having a 615 open. No prices on wine by the glass, no brands either. Menu is under glass table top. We were made to keep our utensils for app, salad, entree and desert. I ordered the mixed grill which was a filet with bordelais, a tiny lobster tail, a pork tenderloin with cranberry sauce served with what was described as whipped potatoes and a raw radish. The cranberry sauce was cold, and seemed to be stirred canned cranberry jelly. My son had chicken marsala. He thought the mushrooms were from a can. He hadn't tried lobster so we split the 2 bites. I won't bore you with every disappointment. One bite of each meat and the long hair was discovered beneath and over my overcooked filet . Lights out for me. 10 minutes later the severs assistant took my plate to the kitchen. Our server came later and offered to remake. Hard pass. We eventually ordered a napolean for 2 that was not freshly made, or memorable. She brought the check and explained she was only charging me for the lobster, because I ate it. She charged 15.00 the entree was 34 ( I should've known by the price). Unbelievable. The atmosphere was very similar to a diner in a smalltown. No ambience, no nothing. Avoid at all costs. They never responded to the review they asked for. I had asked...