The Rustic Spoon — Restaurant in Virginia Beach

We stopped by to try this place out since we found it on tiktok and apparently it was good. As soon as we were sat the server looked like she didnt want to be there, and just looked annoyed. We placed our orders and it came out promptly. I ordered the Nashville Hot chicken Sandwhich which I was excited to try. However as soon as I received it I took a bite of it, and the chicken was rubbery and pink. I spat the bite out,and just pushed the plate to the side. I have worked at restaurants for 7 years, so obviously ik that sometimes there's bound to be issues in the kitchen, and ik what its like to deal with difficult customers. Ive never been one to be confrontational, but the fact that it took getting the attention of a different server just so our server would come over to us just speaks volumes about the customer service. The other girl took my plate back to the kitchen and told me she would let the chef know. I felt so bad asking her to do that, but obviously I couldn't eat undercooked chicken. I just asked her to have them cook it a Lil longer, that i was ok with eating the same one. About 2 mins pass by and they send one of the runners to our table with the sandwich now cut in half, and placed it infront of me and literally had the audacity to tell me that the chef had said the chicken was cooked at a proper temperature that they had cut the sandwich in half for me to see, and that it was normal. They told me If I liked that they would WARM it up for me. I told him it wasn't that the chicken was cold, it was that it was raw and rubbery. And they tried to gaslight me by telling me it was cooked. Like no, working in the kitchen for 7 years ik that pink chicken is a no no. The runner asked if there was something different I wanted to get, to which I responded that it was okay, I was fine with not eating. He told me that they would void the chicken sandwhich. When we finally got our server to come to our table we asked for the check, and she had no clue about the whole sandwich situation bc she hadnt been checking on us at all. When we told her that our sandwich wasn't gonna be charged bc the chicken was undercooked she just looked confused. Anyway I knew I wasn't tripping when I asked my friends and family if the chicken looked cooked to them to which they all said no. I even asked ChatGPT so yall know I wasn't being a Karen, and was...

TL;DR; Overpriced (Almost $50 for two Benedicts and two coffees). The waiter/waitress and atmosphere were not the best. Don't go for the Benedict, maybe try something else. Yes, it's 2023, but the food price doesn't match the quality and service, it just doesn't.

Want to read?

Google searched for good Benedict, came across this place, never been and decided to have brunch.

Came here on a weekday around 1230pm, seated immediately, good job! Noticed the floor had a soft spot and plank boards were cracked, right where the chair couldn't move closer to the table, had to sit at an awkward angle. I could see this being a trip hazard for someone not paying attention. Should address this!

As my test everywhere I go, I ordered crab cake Benedict, and received mushy crab (not at all a crab cake) on an English muffin that wasn't toasted well. The hollandaise was almost non-existent. Some positives, the flavors were decent with the green tomato and capers, and the home fries were excellent, portion was good.

The guest I was with ordered a Benedict as well, she had zero hollandaise (picture attached). When we asked for hollandaise (because it had none), we received an ample amount, but later found out we were charged for it.... It was only a dollar, the principal is what's important here.

The coffee was...coffee, however please get real half and half singles, your nestle creamer "milk derivative" doesn't match your vibe or price! I expect this at a cafeteria or hospital, not your establishment. Also, some natural sugar and stevia sweetener would be good to see.

The restaurant needs to update some furniture, could use some paint touch ups, and fix the floor where you sit guests!

The waiter was ok, not the friendliest, but satisfactory.

The bathroom was clean, however one toilet could be a nightmare at times. Consider making the two bathrooms unisex.

Of all the things mentioned, the only thing that will really keep me from going back was the price vs the quality of food. Charge less, or step...

We went for brunch on a Sunday. Had about a 30 minute wait, but we got there a little after 10 on a Sunday, so that's to be expected. We got the crab cake bites, the Bay Burger, the ved velvet pancakes (seasonal special), and two drinks. One was a spiked coffee that was a little strong for me, I prefer sweeter and milder drinks, where as with this one, the alcohol dominated the other flavors. The other was a Christmas mule or something like that. It was definitely ginger forward, but pretty good. The crab cake bites were delicious, though a little expensive for the portion. The Bay burger (burger with a crab cake on it) was fantastic as well. The red velvet pancakes fell a little flat for me. I had wanted to try the souffle pancakes, but they aren't available on the weekend because of the cook time. Given the rave reviews on those, though, I figured their other pancakes would at least be decent. Maybe their regular pancakes are good, but these were thin and rubbery. The flavor was bland and pretty one note. I was wanting fluffy, buttery goodness, but these were just not it. The cream cheese icing was tasty, but not enough to bring the whole dish up to anything more than ok. Finally, we had a hot chocolate flight. I really liked them, but they were very rich and quite sweet, so we sipped them throughout our meal. The salted caramel was our favorite. The server was friendly and we didn't feel ignored, even though she was quite busy. We will return, because I still want to try the stuffed french toast and the souffle pancakes, but if those aren't amazing, I doubt we will come back after that. There are just lots of places to get great crabcakes and burgers in...