306 North Restaurant — Restaurant in Valdosta

I had the worst dining experience of my life last night. I made reservations for valentine's day for myself and my fiancee. We got there on time, and it was very busy. Our waitress came over and gave us a wine list. she then immediately disappeared, and was not seen for over 15 minutes. I finally had to flag down who I assume was the owner to beg for a drink. He delivered drinks to us, and then we sat for another 20 minutes before our order was taken. I exagerate not even a little when I tell you that we had waited a total of 1 hour and 35 minutes before I finally had enough. I watched as other people were being fed who walked in 30 minutes after we did. The waitress finally came over and told us out food would be out in a minute or two. 20 minutes later, she comes by to tell us that our ticket got lost and sorry, it will be a while longer. The entire time this is happening, my drink has been empty, and I am watching the ice cubes actually melt in my glass.

We have now been there going on an hour and 40 minutes when I finally just ask for my check. It is nearly 840 and we are starving. The manager comes over and announces out loud that we dont have to pay for our check. This of course further embarrasses my fiance. If you are going to comp a check, you do it quietly, not out loud for the benefit of all those now watching this unfold. This was the single worst dining experience I have had in my life. Denny's has better service than this restaurant. I should mention that this is not a cheapo place to eat either. The prices that are charged are in NO WAY comparable to the level of service offered by this establishment. Needless to say, I will NEVER come back to eat here, and I will also do my best to make sure that everyone I know does the same. I strongly advise that if you are looking for a fine dining experience in Valdosta, Georgia, that you do NOT consider this place. I should add also, that I have never in my life had to walk out of a restaurant like that, and have never felt the need to write a negative complaint about any...

Strange experience here. Sat at the bar at 7:45 on a Friday, it was busy so my first question to the bartender is How is the kitchen running? She says OK, they should be caught up. Bartender is knowledgeable of the menu. The couple next to me ends up getting their food to go, and free, because they waited so long. Well... my salad took a bit, no big deal. But my entree was over an hour. Great sides, fish had flavor but was so dry I'd normally send it back. Scarfed it down out of hunger, had to ask for the bill after my plate was empty for quite a while.... it was obvious I was displeased by my face. No apology ever arrived... I'm not from the area, it seemed they didn't care about my wait as a tourist. The worst part: I had to sit there hungry, listening to the two bartenders talk four feet away from me about the drama with the couple next to me who had their dinner comped for taking over an hour. Uh... hello... 2 stars because the bartender told me after 45 minutes of waiting that my food was being plated, but it still didn't arrive for more than 20 minutes, which means it probably sat in the window overcooking, and the bartender ignored me after my food arrived as if avoiding the problem. **Changed review from 2 to 3 stars after professional response...

The food was decent, but not great.

The fried green tomatoes say they come with a spicy ranch, but it's literally a ramekin of ranch with a small squirt of Sriracha in the middle. Hardly an actual sauce, more of an afterthought. It's a shame, beci the tomatoes themselves were actually quite nice, as was the crepe dish.

When ordering the pork chop, it mentions that it comes with a marsala gravy. The "gravy" is a watery brown juice that seems like a mix of beef base and maybe a dash of marsala. But it's definitely not a gravy, which requires a roux to even be considered.

The pork was cook longer than necessary. Keep an eye on cooking times and standardization to avoid drying out of the proteins. The cabbage was seasoned with caraway and little else, but they do have salt and pepper at the table.

The grits were scooped and it very much looked like it. Grits that stiff and solid had obviously lost much of their moisture and was rendered tight and gluey.

The service was slow at best and inattentive at worst. I've heard about this place before visiting, and perhaps had elevated expectations, but the decor outmatched the actual experience. The menu does look impressive, with a cadre of excellent looking offerings. If I visit again, I hope they will have mastered...