Brochu's Family Tradition — Restaurant in Savannah

First of all.. I never do negative reviews. I felt obligated to report on our awful experience.

We were very excited to try this restaurant, we live local and are foodies. What a COMPLETE disappointment this restaurant was. Prices: $15.00 for a sandwich. Food- COLD. Terrible service!!! McDonald's serves better sandwiches.

We eat out at least 3 days a week and We usually tip 25% (or higher for impeccable service!).

First of all.. The restaurant was so NOISY from just other patrons talking, it was difficult to even think about having a conversation. We asked our waitress to describe the chicken sandwich since the menu only says; "The World Famous Chicken Sandwich" She asked what we wanted to know about it. So I asked what comes on it? Is it lettuce, tomato, Mayo? She said "No. It comes with pickles on it and a special mayo". We then asked if we could have it with the special Mayo and the pickles on the side and if we could add tomatoes. She answered that they do Not have tomatoes. We did see on the menu that they have tomatoes.. couldn't get any in the chicken sandwich.

When the chicken sandwich arrived; the pickles and Mayo was on the side, but it was COLD in temperature and was beyond SPICY with some kind of green SPICY spread that they smothered into the chicken breading. So, I tried sharing my husband's awful burger with him which was at least slightly warm. Then we waited over 20 minutes for the waitress to come over. All she did was ask if we'd like a box for the chicken sandwich we didn't eat. We told her we did not like the chicken sandwich because it was so SPICY.. then asked her why she neglected to mention the SPICY sauce when we asked her to explain the chicken sandwich to us.. then we informed her that our food was cold when it arrived.. especially the fried chicken sandwich.. then we said we would like to send it back to the kitchen and we did not want anything else to eat.

She brought the bill and the $15.00 charge for the chicken sandwich we could not eat was still on it. When she returned to the table 10 minutes later we let her know.. She then asked.. "oh, did you want me to remove that charge from the bill?" We said "yes, please! Since we asked you to describe the chicken sandwich before we ordered it and you never mentioned the fact that it had some SPICY green spread on it. We do not like food this SPICY and wouldn't have ordered it if you or the menu had let us know that it was on the sandwich."

She left and went up to the manager by the bar. We did not want to wait around another 10 to 15 minutes for her to return to the table so we followed her to the bar. The manager came over to speak with us to let us know that typically this restaurants policy is to never give refunds, but in this case he decided to give us a refund for the chicken sandwich. We discussed with him how we felt they should think about having more of an explanation on the menu about the items so diners have a better idea of what they are ordering. We did let him know that we did ask our waitress to describe the sandwiches to us before we ordered and that she neglected to mention the SPICY green spread on the chicken sandwich. He said that was the only reason he was giving us the $15.00 refund.

Then he had me go over to a tablet to pay for the 2 sandwiches we did eat.. and he stood right in front of the tablet as I leaned around him to tap my credit card to pay.. and when I have the waitress a $1.00 tip he turned and looked at me with wide questioning eyes. I then told him how I have worked in the restaurant industry in the past and I know how to serve and I know what good service is and what Bad service is and she gave us terrible service! I followed it up with "she's lucky I left her a dollar, I wasn't going to leave her any tip." He then tried to shame me into leaving her more money. Asking me to Not hurt her financially. I told him if she was worried about her finances, then she should've done a better job.

On that note.. we left.....

We experienced a similar experience regarding kids as someone that previously left a review. To start, the oysters are great, the drinks were great, and the fried chicken was great, but the peel and eat shrimp were over cooked, Mushy, and not deveined (still overall good food and drinks minus the shrimp). Our waiter was attentive and knowledgeable. But…. This restaurant markets themselves as a “family style restaurant”, so we thought this was a place that would be ok to bring our 2.5yr old to celebrate a Father’s Day/birthday dinner. We were wrong. They do not have highchairs available for toddlers. We were ok with this because our 2.5 yr old is big enough to sit in a chair, but as any parent knows, you can only keep a 2 year old still for so long without actually being restrained. We were sat in the very back table of the restaurant in a corner, which I thought was perfect to be able to let our son out of his chair to walk around our table and “dance” to the music that was playing. We all thought it would be less disruptive and distracting to other people to let him out of his chair to walk and dance around our table rather than others having to hear him scream and cry by not letting him down (as there was no option for a booth or high chair). We spent $400 on this meal for three adults and one 2.5yr old. After we paid our bill and we’re packing up our things, our son was about 2 feet from us standing in the walkway between tables, a staff member (who looked like he was running food to other tables) stopped and tried to tell our son to go back to his table. Obviously, our toddler looked at him like he was confused bc he was a stranger trying to physically push him to our table (2 feet away). When our son didn’t immediately respond to the strangers request, he proceeded to come to me (while I am packing our to go boxes and diaper bag) to say “you need to keep him sitting at this table”. He didn’t introduce himself or in any way try to gauge the situation that we were trying to pack up to leave or consider that we just spent $400 at this establishment that is “family style”, but offers no accommodations for actual families with small children. We had previously spoken with the one table next to us to assure that our son circling our table would not be a bother or distraction to them. We were told that they were grandparents and parents and that he was not bothering them at all and in fact they enjoyed the comic relief of his dance moves. We are local foodies and frequent many local restaurants in town with our son and are very aware of restaurant etiquette, but we thought this was a family style place and didn’t think it would be an issue for him to stand a few feet away from us bc there were no booths or high chairs (taking into account that we already checked with the one table beside us to make sure their experience wouldn’t be interrupted by him standing in between our tables). I think there was a better way for this person to approach this situation. My only response to him at the time was, “we are trying to leave”. But afterwards it really rubbed me the wrong way that a stranger that was employed by this restaurant would come up to me and say “you need to keep him sitting at this table” after we just paid $400 for a meal and we’re trying to pack up and leave. So, I would not recommend coming to this place with your family if you have younger kids. If it’s an adult night and you want some oysters/fried chicken and cocktails then go for it, but don’t attempt it with your kid. Prior to this happening, we talked about coming back (just the adults) to sit at the bar and have some oysters and cocktails, but we will not be back again with or without our kids because of the abrasive and intrusive way we were approached at the very end....

Here’s a nice place that you don’t want to overlook. For some months I’ve been hearing about the fried chicken at this place. Finally, I had the chance and time to swing by. I’m a Savannah native. So that I don’t lose myself around or in our fast growing city I like to get out and move around a bit. This restaurant is located on the back of what use to be a grocery store years ago. Now it’s a nice quaint place with lots of character and great vibes. As I walked up I noticed people sitting on the huge outdoor patio enjoying our beautiful Savannah air, drinks and some menu selections. As I entered the restaurant the vibe was definitely alive, and the lights were perfectly set for the evening. The restaurant was full and there was a lot of chatter and happy times going on. I took a seat at the bar in which I was immediately greeted by Cari the bar back. She was extremely friendly and made me feel welcomed. She asked if I wanted biscuits at first I said no. I’m always trying to watch my back and waist size (lol) but what if they are really good? How would I ever know? So yes!!! Bring on the biscuits!! OMG I almost cheated myself out of a piece of heaven. Yes!! They really were that good. Definitely a southern perfection. I decided to get a lemon drop and Joe did a great job at making it. I like it a bit in the sweet side and he got it right. Cari came back and kept my company a bit while she worked. We had a very nice conversation and being that I was there alone I was happy for the conversation.

I can’t remember the name of the selection that I choose but it was a seared chicken breast and a fried chicken thigh or the other way around. I love the fact that you can see the kitchen and how they work. My food came out so fast I was overly impressed. At first bite I couldn’t believe how juicy and seasoned the chicken was! I’m usually not a big eater. Well not in one sitting at least but I about finished my entire meal.

My overall impression of this place is definitely a 10/10 I would visit again and if you are in or around the Savannah area this is definitely a place I believe you would truly enjoy.

Edited: 3rd visit. I’m adding the peel and eat shrimp to my review. They were seasoned to Perfection and the sauce that’s paired with them...