Gabe's Downtown — Restaurant in Villa Rica

I usually have great meals at Gabe’s. Tonight service and food were WAAAY off! We were seated upstairs where we seemed to be forgotten by our server. Our water glasses were left unfilled frequently until we waved someone down. Our party of four ordered alcoholic drinks, four appetizers, and entrees. My friend’s sangria was full of ice almost to the rim. My Moscow mule didn’t seem to have much alcohol in it at all. I’ve had better ones in the past. Appetizers were served warm not hot and one was missing. My vegan friend asked that all toppings for the fried green tomatoes be served on the side which did not happen. The server told us that she caught the mistake on the way to the table and sent it back. Our entrees were subpar to say the least. My shrimp platter was over fried, the fries were burnt. When I mentioned it to the waitress, she replied “are they too crispy for you”? Ah no they’re burnt was my reply. She brought me more fries. My friend’s grilled shrimp were tiny and her hush puppies were just crispy burnt greasy ends leftover in the fryer. Oh yeah, neither of us had 10 shrimp either. My vegan friend ordered the beet salad with no cheese, it was served with cheese and had to be sent back. It was served the second time with no dressing. She had to ask for dressing. She also ordered salt and vinegar chips that were never served. We finally called the manager to the table to inform her about our experience. She offered to bring us something else which she did but she did not offer to comp or discount anything. In fact she made sure to upcharge two of us for the new $20 meals, that is until I brought it to her attention. She then adjusted our meals. Out of four meals only one was served with no issues and that was the chicken pasta. Hopefully it was just an off night, but it will definitely be a while...

I've lived in villa rica a long time and have never visited this restaurant. However, a lot of people i know have raved about it. So on our date night I thought we would try it. Especially as they had just reopened a few days ago.

It's a nice looking restaurant. We got there shortly after they opened for dinner, but had about an hour wait. No big deal. When we were seated we ordered an appetizer and a salad. The waitress brought our drinks and then took our entree orders. The entrees were delivered way before the appetizer or salad. That irritated us. I like to eat in order. Then the restaurant is so arrogant as to not put salt and pepper on the table. You are not going to please everyone's salt and pepper preferences. So, why do you think you're food is going to be so great no one will need it? Put salt and pepper on tje table. If no one needs it, great. But if they do, now they've go to wait on someone to bring it. I ordered the blackened salmon. I love sushi. However, that's not what I ordered. The fish was way undercooked. The crab cake it came with was absolute mush on the inside. Not good. You couldnt tell there was even crab meat in it because it had been mixed to death. My husband ordered jambalaya. It looked like it had been sitting for a while. Rice was mushy. Then we ordered a dessert hoping we could finish on a high note. I ordered the white chocolate bread pudding. You could not tell it was made of bread. No texture except like a dense cheesecake. It tasted ok, but it was cold in the middle.

So, for as much as we paid, it was absolutely not worth it. I doubt we will return. 5/10 if I'm being generous.

Oh, and they put balsamic vinegarette...

This is an honest review, the food just didn’t live up to the hype. We went Saturday and were in line at 4:40 before they opened at 5. We were told about a 30 min wait. We waited 1.5 hrs for a table for a party of 3 but didn’t mind since we were excited to try the food. I got Atlantic Salmon with crab cake and risotto, other members of my party ordered shrimp and grits and the ribeye. We got boudin balls for appetizer. The boudin balls were delicious. While my plate was good, it wasn’t excellent as expected. The risotto was bland, and while risotto usually is, the menu stated seasoned. The salmon and crab cake were also pretty tasteless. Just not enough seasoning for a Louisiana bistro. I was told while good, the shrimp and grits weren’t as good as our local steak place, nor the ribeye. Our service was very good and the atmosphere was good. I guess I was just expecting more flavor in the food which made the wait time for it something I wouldn’t want...