The Sourdough Co — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

I’ve had some great experiences at Sourdough Co. but after this weekend, I doubt we’ll be back. I placed an online order in advance for a birthday party. Sandwich trays, sides and desserts/pastries - big order for a birthday party. It was chaotic when I went to pick it up, but I made it to the counter (after one rude employee encounter) to be met with a response of “your order was picked up already.” Well, not possible because I was the only one who knew about it. So after about 10 min of a manager and employees blankly staring at screens trying to figure out what happened I had to jump in (I was already running late which was my fault) to offer a solution - is my order here or not? Nope. Someone “stole it”. The orders sit behind the counter and you are supposed to show your id and provide an order number. So no, not stolen. You gave my large order away. After another 10 min I finally asked what they could do, just to be told that they can’t recreate it but they will refund me. Ok - um thanks? I ordered a huge amount for a birthday party! I’m gonna need something. Finally a nice employee behind the counter said they could still provide the desserts/pastries - ok great. Guests won’t go hungry. It took another 7 min for them to find my order and throw the pastries into a box. I’m not kidding this packaging was a cardboard box and half of the desserts were broken or looking less than ok. Then this is the kicker - nothing. They hand me the box and that was it. No “sorry for the mix up”, not a coupon for my next visit, not even looked in the eye when they handed me the box. I’m literally going to a birthday party empty handed and they couldn’t even apologize. Then, I had to call this morning because I wasn’t refunded for the “stolen food”. But they made sure to charge me full price for the pastries and after explaining what happened to the manager handling the refund, I yet again didn’t even get an apology. It’s not how you do customer service. There is no excuse for how that...

My supervisor and I went this morning, and it was okay, not the best place we've tried since being new to St. Pete. Today was our first time trying this place and it could've been better. Before getting into the restaurant side of things, parking was a bit difficult to find being that the establishment is right on Central Ave. That being said, it was difficult to hear the cashier taking our order because of how loud the coffee area was, but I know it wasn't their fault. They didn't have breakfast menus on the screens, so when I went to order, I was told that I couldn't order due to it still being breakfast time, so easier accessibility to breakfast menus would've been nice. The avocado toast was extremely salty, so I was having a hard time eating it due to the salt content. My supervisor's english muffin was small and the cheese wasn't even melted, so it was mid. The coffee was great though, so that made up for the experience. We then ordered a cosmic brownie and a regular brownie and our stomach's are extremely messed up from them. Not sure what was put in the brownies, but they definitely do not taste right. The texture is not brownie-like and the frosting on them was not tasting right. Overall, I believe this establishment needs a reassessment on how their food items are made in-house, as well as add their breakfast menus to the large screens and switching it over when breakfast is over. I don't think we'll be returning anytime soon, but I figured to provide some feedback.

P.S., I also found it semi-inappropriate that an employee at this establishment decided to come by my table and hand me a paper that had a name and phone number just to hit on me while I was discussing work-related matters with my supervisor at the property. I know my looks may be all that, but wrong timing I guess. I am also in a loving relationship, so it definitely rubbed me the wrong way. Employee etiquette definitely needs to be looked into as well in this...

Today we visited this location as we have been awaiting the opening. Unfortunately, our excitement far exceeded the overall quality in which we received. First let me start with the drink selection and the water availability. The only regular drink offered is “Coke”, we also asked for some bottled water for the kids in which we were told they had ran out due to being busy but had placed a container with water in it on the counter for customers. Understanding they may have been busy we were ok with the water in the container but this is where the issue comes in. The water was room temperature or warmer and there was no ice offered. We ordered 2 Little Ones Ham and Cheese Sandwiches (They were served cold) we anticipated these being hot sandwiches. They also were to come with a side of fresh blueberries. When we received our food those were missing, I ordered the “Flamin’ Hot Chicken Sandwich and while this was served on Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough and had diced jalapeños on it, it definitely left something to desire with the taste buds as it didn’t live up to its name of “Flamin’ Hot”. We also ordered a sourdough salad with grilled chicken and no onions. The salad was delivered to us with onions on it but more importantly it was missing the main part of the salad which was the sourdough croutons as is advertised on the menu board. The best part of this restaurant is the cozy quaint environment and the staff that was working the counter were very pleasant with their customer service delivery. Also, I will add the “Brookie” had a very flavorful taste and is a great sweet treat for those passing by or stopping in to dine there. Our meal today was almost $60 for our family. The quality of food served no where near had the value of $60. We hope this restaurant can work its kinks out and truly provide the experience and food we were expecting in the...