The Coffee Shop — Restaurant in Sylva

I’ve been here twice now and unfortunately the experience was about the same.

I sat at the counter which was cluttered with all of their set up items (glassware, silverware, saucers, creamers, etc). It just makes it look unkempt.

I was one of three customers, there were two wait staff, it took 10 minutes for someone to actually come and help me even though they were passing back and forth in front of my behind the counter.

They asked what I wanted but I didn’t have an answer, they never gave me a menu. I finally got the menu and ordered a special which came with “mashed potatoes”. I used air quotes there because they weren’t real mashed potatoes. When ordering, I asked if the potatoes were real, they said yes. I asked because they didn’t look real, they appeared to be instant. Well, they didn’t taste very good. Why? Because they weren’t real mashed potatoes. I’ll get back to this in a second….to be continued.

So I also noticed the place wasn’t very clean. The fryers and grill had caked on old grease which is both disgusting and a huge fire hazard.

The other issue is that the server NEVER came back and checked on me. The only other time I saw her was when she gave me my check. Again, there were a total of three customers including myself.

Ok, so back to the mashed potatoes….so when I went to pay my check, a lady who I think was either the owner or manager, asked how the food was. The food was mediocre at best and the mashed potatoes weren’t very good. I asked, are those real mashed potatoes, she said yes…but she then corrected herself and said they’re 50/50 mashed potatoes. Ok, so what are 50/50 mashed potatoes? Yep, you guessed it, 50% instant/50% real. I asked if that qualifies as real mashed potatoes, she said yes.

Who serves instant mashed potatoes at a down home cooking restaurant. The next thing you know they’ll be serving Kraft Mac & Cheese and call it a gourmet pasta and serve Spam and call it a pork chop.

I know that finding employees has been difficult especially in the restaurant business, but this doesn’t explain the complacency, the unkept kitchen, and the lack of good food.

I give every place two tries before deciding to not dine there again, this was my second try, the quality was poor each time.

While it can be very challenging to be GREAT, it doesn’t take a...

I have a weakness for diners. It's true. There's something about that "salt-of-the-earth" honesty that I fall for every time. Maybe it's having watched Alice when I was a kid. Who knows.

Regardless, when a diner is an option - I'll opt for a diner.

So - on this special day, I lunched at The Coffee Shop (check out the history - it's pretty cool). sizes on the inside are diminutive - much like a 737-300. It's readily apparent when visiting the men's room that people in the mid-fifties were still human-sized. My 2XL self was having difficulties navigating the pathway to/from the toilets.

Another proclivity of mine is sitting at the bar - right behind the short-order cook. On this day, I had the pleasure of watching the action in real time.

I ordered a rib-eye medium rare, but soon learned they were out of ribeye so I changed it up to the river trout. I should have ordered the trout from the get-go. Absolutely fantastic. It came with O.K. fries (I didn't eat them). the trout was perfectly fried with no hint of oily taste. that means they change the oil out regularly.

The decor is honest and true...

I heard they had good pie from my father. Stopped by and parked at the mostly empty parking lot and noticed the parking signs for CoffeeShop customers only. I went with my nephew across the street to order a pizza to take to home to my father, planning on stopping by for pie and coffee next. I ordered across the street and waited outside for my pizza where I could see my car. During the time I took to order, they put a boot on my car. It was literally 5-10 minutes. I never had a chance to go and order from them next. The manager took my $50 and said it was the owner that made him do it. I’m not a tourist. They took the time out of their day to be awful to me, rather than to attempt to get my business, which they could have had repeatedly. Now, I will never go back, and I will make sure everyone I meet that is visiting Sylva will know that the owner of The Coffee Shop is not someone who is worth supporting. Absolutely dreadful to treat customers that way. They obviously know they can’t compete with the...