Horrible execution of an amazing concept. This place epitomizes the concept of when you try to do too much you end up doing too little. It's basically a giant cafeteria that has all different options everything from Sushi to barbecue, pizza to salad. But none of what I tried was any better then just ok. The place is also really confusing, when I first walked in I was literally walking around in a circle staring up at the walls trying to figure out what they had and where to order what I wanted for about a half an hour, unfortunately for me nobody try to help me. As I was eating my food somebody from their staff greeted another group that came in and kind of walk them through the concept and how to manage all of the different options and Order what you want. I'm not 100% sure why that didn't happen for me.
There's a lot of better options in this town. My suggestion is pick the type of food that you want and go to a place that specializes in it because this is basically just a big cafeteria that's got a really good variety of very average food, and it's extremely expensive for what you get.
REPLY TO MESSAGES FROM OWNER
My visit was on 2/2/19 @ 3:30 PM.
However, I think you missed the point of my review. Yes, the menus and ordering process were confusing, and yes it was disappointing to se others get a more welcoming experience then I did. BUT none of this would have made up for the fact that the food was just not that good. I got the chicken lo mein Bowl, it was $16 before tax and gratuity. It wasn't good, I had 3 or 4 bites of it and pushed it aside because it was bland, the chicken tasted processed and premade and the noodles were a big glob of mush. I can get better lo mein from the Chinese takeout place by my house for less than half the price. My girlfriend got bahn mi which the buns were obviously old and almost stale. We also got a $7.00 order of French fries, which was very disappointing for the price, they were just regular pre packaged premade fries that were under seasoned and had tasted like they had been sitting out under a heat lamp for a while. At the end of the day it cost us over $40 for lunch for the two of us, and the quality of the food for that price point was unacceptable. I don't mind spending money on good things, but you guys spread yourselves so thin trying to do too much that nothing we tried was any good, and then when you charge a premium on top of that my expectations are elevated. I basically feel like a paid 2 to 3 times more than I would have at a typical cafeteria or food court and got lower quality than I could have else where. If the food had been good I probably would have overlooked the...
Read moreDriving in the area and decided to stop into this food hall because it looked like there would be plenty of nice options for our family of 4. Parking is street meter parking and it was right up front. I don't know where you would park if there isn't street parking though. There didn't seem to be any public lots nearby.
Upon entering, this is not the food hall that I am used to. You have a server with a menu, and you order from the server. There were different types of food like in a food hall though - a mix of poke, sushi, burgers, American finger foods and pasta. There's also a full bar, up front and the focus of the place. There are no actual counters serving the different kinds of food.
The menu is a tablet, and you each get one. I thought that was overkill, maybe one per table would suffice, but it's because you cannot use it to order. It's really just an electronic menu. Seems excessive to me, but makes the experience seem fancier, and there are lots of great pictures.
There was 1 server, 1 bartender and a manager. Though it wasn't crowded or even half full, the server was very busy. She was excellent though!! On top of every table, refilling water and pre-bussing tables. Saw the bartender come out and help seat tables as well. Good team work here.
We ordered a bibimbop, Mac and cheese bites, puff dog, mozzarella donuts, baked ziti, turkey sandwich, and skillet clam chowder. The ziti was amazing and kept warm by the skillet. Finger foods were all great. The bibimbop was different but still good (no meat though). Sandwich was fresh. The one thing that was horrible was the skillet clam chowder. It tastes like the insides of an old pot pie and it was not hot at all, despite it being in a skillet. It didn't even look like a clam chowder -- it had tons of peas and carrots. It was really not good at all.
The server caught on to this when she saw that we barely ate it, and took it off our bill without us asking. She said they may have mistakenly given us the pot pie mix since they look similar and apologized.
Restrooms are gender neutral single rooms and clean, though dark. The atmosphere of the restaurant is warm and bright and inviting. I would recommend if you're looking for a restaurant with a little...
Read moreCame in late last week after hearing about the unique items on the menu. I ordered the crab cake app, the mac and cheese donuts and as my entree the pistachio and goat cheese / honey pizza. Yes, I realize this is a wild array. As far as the crab cake app. I wouldn’t say it’s anything to write home about or travel far to but then again, we were in New York not the Chesapeake. You can’t really mess up a crab cake so as far as crab cakes go, don’t come in expecting something fresh out of the bay but it was tasty. The mac and cheese donut: some foods should be left to the state fair. Basically a fried breaded shell with an oddly formed noodle. The variation of texture was unique but the dip was a southwestern dip. When a unique dish is mixed with the safe ol’ southwest dip (think “southwestern egg roll”) I tend to realize the creativity in the dish stopped there and you add southwest sauce as a catch all cover all. I would of taken a bolder route and added a spicy jelly.
The pistachio goat cheese honey pizza: this is where you go when you want those exact 3 ingredients. The pizza structure it’s self was soggy in the middle, I assume due to the amount of goat cheese. Goat cheese should be a nice addition but never an overpowering flavor especially when using a unique ingredient in a pizza like pistachio. Like I said, unique options but none to go out of the way for. Now as for their use of a tablet to see their menu items: 10/10. Great idea more places should follow suit, also was relieved to see I didn’t have to order from the tablet. Lots of places now like to do that so it’s an appreciated addition to have a tablet to view options yet not have to be a techie to order, this helps the older folks. The service: unless a server goes out of their way to be rude I’ll never go after a server. The job is hard enough as it is and we don’t appreciate wait staff the way we should already. They were friendly,...
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