Restaurant 17 — Restaurant in South Carolina

Great food & service, but rude manager. My family ate at Restaurant 17 Sunday for brunch, and I normally only give stars for the food quality because that’s what I care most about. But as I’ll mention later, the manager experience was so bad I had to drop to 4 stars. The food was truly great, our waiter and the serving staff were fantastic. The crispy duck and Chef special frittata were especially spectacular.

We had made a reservation for 14 plus a highchair 2 weeks in advance, excited to bring out of town family to this restaurant. Our toddler began having a hard time at the end of the meal (as toddlers do, but I wouldn’t even say it was close to a meltdown) and I was packing him up to take him outside, when Danielle, the director of food and services for the restaurant approached us. She asked if we had a problem, stopping me from taking out our son, and proceeded with a look of disgust on her face to ask again if we had a problem. Obviously we knew he was being loud and were taking him out. I said we were all doing fine and she rolled her eyes and continued to rudely state that there were other guests. There may have been upstairs, but there was no one around us. My problems are these:

1. If you don’t want children in your restaurant then say something when we made the reservation for 14 and a HIGHCHAIR.
2. we get it, he was being loud. WE WERE TAKING HIM OUTSIDE. Her nastiness delayed what we were already trying to do!
3. All she needed to do was come down and say “I wanted to ask if you would mind taking him out, we do have other guests and we try to keep a more quiet atmosphere.” ALSO, she could have thanked us for our business, which at the time we were visiting seemed to triple their brunch business.

We eat out a lot and I believe are pretty good at being aware when we are being a disturbance.

My wife sent the restaurant an email right afterwards and Danielle responded, which is how we found out who she was. Her response to the email was to apologize that I “felt” that way, and that our child was “in distress” for over an hour which 1) is a crummy apology and 2) was simply NOT true. He was never in distress and my whole family agreed he was not loud until the end.

I usually love to recommend restaurant 17 to friends and family, such wonderful and unique food, beautiful surroundings, without being too pretentious. I would caution anyone going with small children though. Danielle was so unkind, I wouldn’t want her dealing with any of my friends or family.

We also have some friends who had recently said that since new management took over they’ve felt the restaurant has become less welcoming/more stuffy. Very disappointed that our brunch ended on such a sour note. Very disappointed for this whole experience which could have been avoided if Danielle could have acted with a little compassion...

We took my husband to Domestique 17 to celebrate his 61st birthday, hoping for a special and memorable evening. When we arrived, the restaurant was still empty, and we were seated promptly. At one point, I took a birthday call on speaker.

Shortly after, the dining coordinator, Meghan Greene, came over and reprimanded me, saying speakerphone use was not allowed and that I was being too loud—just as a group of seven guests were seated at the table next to us. Ironically, that group quickly became quite lively, cheering, laughing, and speaking in full voices, yet Meghan never once approached their table to address the noise level.

I understand that restaurants may have policies about volume or phone use, but what was frustrating was the inconsistent enforcement and the public nature of the correction. If Meghan believed I was being disruptive, it would have been far more respectful to address it privately rather than scold me in front of my family—especially on a special occasion.

From that point forward, the tone at our table changed. We all went quiet, and the celebratory feeling was gone. Conversations are a natural part of dining out, and to be singled out while others were clearly louder felt unfair and disappointing.

For a $250 dinner for three, we expected not just great food, but also a welcoming and considerate environment. Unfortunately, the experience left us feeling uncomfortable and unwelcome. We will not...

My wife and I went to Restaurant 17 to celebrate a special occasion, and I have to say that to-date it’s one of the best dining experiences we’ve had in the Greenville area. Everything about our evening here was great.

The service was phenomenal. All the wait staff and the hostesses were very accommodating and helpful. They were ready to answer any questions we had. I made the reservations over a month ago when it was much warmer, so not thinking about how cold it would be I requested patio seating. Even with the heaters it was much too cold for my wife, but the staff noticed and moved us to a great table inside. It was our first time dining here so we had a couple menu questions and they were happy to answer. All the servers were knowledgeable and came with recommendations.

The food was to die for. There wasn’t a bad course, only great ones! I don’t think you could go wrong with anything on this menu - seriously. We tried a couple of the signature cocktails and they were also very good.

The atmosphere was very nice. It was nearly dark when we were there and they have a tent over the patio, but I know when we go back (which we certainly will) the views from the outdoor seating will be great! Inside the decor is classy and modern. Very comfortable and well laid out.

I think it’s safe to say we highly recommend Restaurant 17 to anyone celebrating a special occasion or even just looking to treat themselves to...