Innovation Restaurant — Restaurant in Wauwatosa

One, you may want to contact Open Table because they have brunch at $18.95 per person, not $34.95 per person. I almost fainted at the sticker shock, especially when I was told I had to pay in advance including an 18% gratuity.

Two, I just gave you a one-star rating on Open Table. For the price, the service was shockingly bad. When we arrived, I tried to check in at what appeared to be the hostess station. She (snottily) directed us to the hotel front desk where we had to pay IN ADVANCE including the 18% gratuity for a buffet. We saw "our server" twice who didn't bother to even introduce herself or say welcome. She just asked, "What do you want to drink?"

Despite it being Mother's Day and a children's menu, there was no milk according to the server and no root beer. She also didn't make any suggestions, like maybe the mimosas that we saw other tables enjoying later. When she brought our drink order (sodas, coffee) much of my coffee was on the saucer and not in the cup. Later I flagged down a manager (I think, he never introduced himself) about the milk and he did find some for my daughter. However, "our server" never returned and I had to wave down another server to get refills. She was handing out something but we'll never know what it was.

Oh, you served crab legs, but we were told you didn't have enough seafood forks for everyone and you had nothing to crack open the crab legs. Perfectly good crab was being thrown away because you don't know what you're doing. You may think it was because you were crowded, but half the tables were empty (should've been a warning). Our little group of five was seated at a table for ten. What a mistake. If it had just been my wife and me, I would've demanded a refund of the 18% gratuity.

Your "award winning" brunch must've been a participation award. I will strongly recommend against anyone ever...

Checked out the menu online and it looked ok, with a few interesting items (I was excited to check out the braised beef ravioli). My friend and I went on a Monday night and there were only a few other tables. We should have left when we noticed the menu inside the restaurant did not match the one online. The food listed was pretty average and so we went with creamy shrimp pasta and short ribs. My friend ordered an Old Fashioned (for tourists, this is the official drink of WI and every bartender worth their salt should know how to make one). The cocktail took about 15 min and didn't have bitters in it. We got lost in conversation, so we didn't realize that the food still hadn't arrived after a half hour. We asked the (very nice) waitress for an update and she sent the manager over to tell us that the short ribs were still in the oven. She asked us if we needed anything, but didn't offer anything else. After 45 min, we get our food.

The "short ribs" were a gristly block of dry roast beef. The gnocchi was delicious, but not enough to make up for the short ribs. My pasta was very bland and only had 4 "jumbo" (normal-sized) pieces of shrimp. We sent the short ribs back in exchange for average buffalo wings and more-mayo-than-blue-cheese dip. The coleslaw was swimming in mayo so we didn't touch it. The waitress then came back and offered us cookies (that had been sitting out) for our troubles and told us that my friend's meal had been comped. After telling her it was my birthday, she tried to give us a free dessert, but after the lackluster meals we had, we were ready to go. The check came with only the short ribs and wings removed from the check. For our wait, we should have had most of the meal for free. The service was good, so we didn't punish the waitress, but I would not advise anyone...

We went to Innovation for the Easter Buffet. we had a reservation for 12 Noon. There was one woman at a podium with the Buffett sign advertising the Easter event. As the crowd grew the doorway was blocked by families gathering. They had no staff upfront to reign the crowd in. After some confusion we checked in with the podium woman. She said you would be called to be taken to pay and seated. We waited and waited and then some. After some apologies we were taken at 12:45. Once seated we had a gal take drink orders but not explain the system. After asking the setup we were pretty much told to go for it! The Buffett was beautifully displayed. Breakfast and luncheon menu provided. The cold vegetables in one area were healthy. The seafood included boiled shrimp, smoked salmon, and crab legs all delicious. The rib roast was made to order and ham looked wonderful. The warm food selections sautéed mixed veggies, a green bean mix and some dishes I myself did not recognize.(a sign would be helpful) After all that, the dessert menu was lacking. Apparently the cherry cheesecake is a hit because after seeing people come with this dessert, I ventured out to get a piece but it was not to be. Most of all, the servers were wonderful! Very friendly and hard working. Appreciated them all being there on a Glorious Easter...