Mark of the Beastro — Restaurant in Salt Lake City

I know that Mark of the Beastro only opened recently, and some of these things might be kinks that need to be worked out. But my experience there last night was miserable. Arrived at 6:15 (they open for the evening at 6), was dismayed at the cleanliness and altogether shoddiness of the place, but hey, dives sometimes have the best food. It might be a diamond in the rough. Nope. Just rough.

Ordered the vegan chicken and waffles, vegan burger and fries (everything is vegan, I don't need to keep saying that). There were three tables with people at them before us, so I guess it might be a few minutes before we got our food. None of the other diners had their food yet, but they only opened 15 minutes before that. Be patient.

Another 20 minutes went by before for the first customers had their meals -- the chicken and waffles were popular, turns out. The other dish I saw most was the breakfast burrito. I'm not sure how that was. I figured now that people were getting their meals, our would be out soon. Soon? Eventually? Someday?

57 minutes. 57 minutes from the time we placed our order until the time we saw our food. When the food came, the waffle was cold to the point that you had to wonder if it had ever known warmth, and the chicken had been sitting for some time. The fries were fresh, the burger was warm. Everything tasted...okay. I saw rave reviews of the chicken and waffles on a vegan FB page, which is what got us in the door in the first place. The closest way to describe the taste is densely packed Thanksgiving stuffing, battered and deep fried. Which is actually pretty good for a few bites, but it got old fast. And served as it was atop a cold waffle, it also got cold fast. The burger patty was just okay--with other options like the Beyond Burger and Impossible Burger having more flavor and better texture, it's hard to pay this much in time and money for "just okay" food.

I wanted this place to be good. The play on words, the address of 666 State Street--I want this place to be good. The cashier, the only guy we really interacted with, was super nice, had some great pink Chucks on...but in between the dirty environment and the mediocre food, and especially the incredible wait with no explanation, we...

I read a lot of the other reviews before posting just to see if my main problem was a fluke. Apparently it was because no one else has mentioned the overwhelming sewage stench. We walked in the door and I almost just turned around and left because the smell of raw sewage was so over powering. Maybe they were having issues with plumbing? I dunno. It doesn't matter though, NO ONE wants to eat a meal with the smell of sewage permeating the air. My buddy I went to lunch with had been in the building a few weeks prior for an art show and said it stunk then too. If this is an ongoing issue I would IMPLORE them to take care of it post haste! I agree with some previous reviewers that the ordering process is a little confusing. Not a big deal, but want to offer some constructive criticism. This should be relatively easy to address. More signage directing guests to seat themselves for example. (The girl that helped us was great, so this isn't a criticism of the service, just the lack of a coherent system.) My buddy got the burger and fries and I tried the spicy chicken wrap. Both were okay. I hate to be a downer, but I do have to admit that it just didn't wow me much. The chickn wrap is pretty good, but I felt like the tortilla could have used some love (Like maybe steaming or a quick grilling to add some interest.)The seitan wasn't very spicy to my tastes. Maybe I was wrong in expecting the chickn pieces to have a little more of a breaded crunch to them, but I wished it was more of a fried and crispy chickn. The fries were fresh and hot. The fry sauce was really good. Service was good. If the sewage smell was a fluke I'd probably have given another star. But eating with that kind of stench is really unpleasant. We really tried to just look past it and enjoy our meal, but it was pretty strong and noticeable. I've been to Bar Deluxe a lot in the past and I have to say that the "new" place needs a fresh coat of paint or something. Between the smell and the decor I was left feeling like I was eating in the remnants of a now defunct dive bar. I love a good dive bar, but it just felt a...

I used to love this place. I've tried going here three times during the past few months. Every single time they are either closed (weird hours), or a bunch of stuff is out of stock, making half the menu unavailable. It feels like it's being run into the ground.

Edit: Out of curiosity I went and checked my Google Maps timeline to double check. It was actually seven times. Seven times I've tried to go here and couldn't, the last three were just more recent. The review complains about how I'm NOT able to contribute and would like to. I'm literally trying to give you my money and you are making it so I can't. Maybe making it so customers can contribute, instead of being a combative keyboard warrior, would help quite a bit.

Last edit since your responses are getting pretty childish. This is exactly what reviews are for. Just like how I updated it from 5 stars to 1, I can change it back. Customers leave reviews with good and bad feedback. You can choose to be a professional and act on that or not (what you've chosen is pretty clear). If the issues get addressed, then reviews get updated. I think it's pretty clear you're upset because you know the feedback is legitimate, and your "dirty laundry" is being aired.

Lastly, when leaving the review that's what I expected, a legitimate concern to address issues and I would go back and change it, because that's what a professional business owner would do. It's pretty clear you have no intention of addressing it, and will just try to harass and argue your way around it. Initially it was a small disappointment that I hope got addressed. Now, I will go out of my way to tell everyone I know, do not eat there. Not because the food and service weren't great (when you could get it), but on principle. Because the owner is extremely petty, unaccountable, and unprofessional. And all I will need to do is point them to this response...