The Sanctuary on 25th — Restaurant in Tuscaloosa

OK, so basically this was my order two wedge salads one with the steak which turned into a $22 salad ridiculous the lobster mac & cheese could kinda taste the lobster but couldn’t find the lobster the skewers which were like baby food. It’s very small baby skewers. They were adorable as a matter fact all the food was very small portion size, including the tacos very much misrepresented the appetizers were a serious joke. I could’ve went to Publix and bought all the same stuff for a very small fraction of the Price. The Chicharron’s were pork grinds with pimento cheese. The French onion dip was nothing special. It was potato chips and dip for like $10. The naan bread was really none bread it was more like folded soft tacos with hummus out of a can or something just first experience just not impressed. I was really hoping to be impressed by this place and it was just not the music was way too loud. You couldn’t even converse eight I mean it wasn’t bad. It was good music. It was just way too freaking loud. The service was a was spot on. They were very polite. Very good checked on us quite a bit of times I mean, I tipped them very well. Total price for the meal was like almost $200. I guess that would be average, but I just found it very lacking. I really hope they do better and by the way chicharron, our meat pork belly to be specific that is baked crispy not deep fried with a little bit of lemon juice. It’s a Spanish dish not pork rinds. I just feel like it’s lacking identity. Some of it feels Greek some of it feels Italian. Some of the feels Mediterranean Hawaiian and Middle Eastern. The only thing that really came out that was perfect. Was the salads if you like salad man, get salad $13 salad. It’s like a half a salad of lettuce instead of a wedge but everything else is adorable size like bar size very strange bar size food, full price. unfortunately, will not return. I’ll wait for this place to bomb in the new place to take its place....

I’ve visited for both dinner and brunch, and while I appreciate the atmosphere, the live solo performances on stage were consistently too loud. As someone with experience performing music myself, I understand the importance of ambiance, but in this particular space—designed to carry sound—I think the speakers should be dialed down by at least half. The volume truly made it difficult for my friends and i to have a conversation without raising our voices, which took away from the overall dining experience. A lower volume would create a more enjoyable and relaxed environment.

On the food side, the brussel sprouts were well-cooked, but the addition of chilled Granny Smith apples felt unnecessary. The classic preparation stands well on its own—sometimes simple is best!

The sliders were excellent, and I really enjoyed the pimento cheese, but a $4.50 upcharge for what amounted to about a dozen fries felt excessive, no matter how unique the cut of fry.

For brunch, I had the steak and eggs, which had great flavor, but at $19, the portion left me still feeling hungry, which was a bit disappointing for the price. But i understand costs are higher for everyone in food and bev right now, so I guess I get it.

With all of that being said, I can tell a LOT of time, effort, and creativity went into this place, particularly the interior design, and I really respect that. I don’t want this to come off as overly critical because there’s a lot to like here—I just found the music volume to be a significant barrier to fully enjoying it and that's coming from a fan of live music. If that were adjusted, I think it would make a big difference in the...

This place has such a great atmosphere but the service sucks! We’ve booked it when visiting our daughter and both times we’ve come here we’ve been treated like trash and either put at a table by the back door in the sun or sitting 3 of us with 1 in a folding chair or 3 of us at a 6 too instead of the numerous 4 top options available. Then we see you make tables for others as they come in. So we sit at this massive 6 too and it’s impossible to hear our daughter and was not a nice experience. Our waitress was awful! (At least last time we had a fabulous waitress). The drink she recommended tasted horrible and she could tell bc I didn’t drink it. She asked if I wanted something else and I asked her again what someone else’s drinks were and this time she actually knew, and it was the chocolate martini so I ordered that. As she brought it over, she came up behind me and spilled half the drink all over myself, the table and my other horrible drink and left. She didn’t offer to remake the drink or clean up the mess. I wish I took a photo of the mess and the half empty drink. The entertainment was fabulous but the service is the worst I’ve ever seen any where in the world! The hostess’s were...