Griddle 145 — Restaurant in Whitehall

This place has some things going for it… but also some real negatives. Upon first entering the place, I was pleasantly surprised by the vibe and the decor; it was clean and trendy. The hostess was perfect, but the host had sloppy hair and a sloppy tee, and was talking rather loudly about how his mom used to “exploit” a local thrift shop for clothes, which immediately turned me off.

The waitress, Lisa, was very friendly, informative, and very attentive (although she twice touched me, which I didn’t like).

The food: The was alright. Not great; not terrible. My girlfriends lemon ricotta pancake was cooked perfectly, though there was no hint of any lemon flavor to balance out the blueberries. She also had a “breakfast melt” sandwich. The bread was insufficient to all of the ingredients, causing an otherwise tasty dish to become messy and left her ultimately unable to finish it. I ordered a Benedict, which came with bacon instead of Canadian bacon; not a good choice; the potatoes were bland and dry. My daughters bananas foster french toast was very good; not too sweet, which can quickly ruin such a dish.

So at this point in the meal, things are “so so”. While the ambiance and service stood out; the food was lackluster. This brings us to the clientele eating around us…

As we dined, a slew of young men entered (among several different groups), all wearing short shorts that allowed their hairy legs to be exposed. I consider this gross when sitting in proximity to others, especially when food is present. But this offense was easily forgotten when we noticed the woman behind me, and in direct eyesight of my daughter and girlfriend, who was brazenly breastfeeding at the table. The family was generally what you’d expect (the gentleman had “bedhead”, so hygiene was out the window). When I dine, I expect the diners around me to have some measure of respect for the others in the room who are trying to enjoy their meal. Tank tops and ball caps on men are a mini disservice to that end; but a woman breast, with no effort whatsoever to conceal herself, is disgusting. We are not animals living in the jungle, we are civilized people, and this behavior is uncivilized. Whatever third world island she was born on may promote such disrespectful nonchalance, but it wasn’t long ago that here in the First World, in America, we concerned ourselves with the affect our choices and behavior have on others.

While I cannot fault Griddle 145 for this woman’s behavior, nobody did anything to rectify the situation, and at best, it is indicative of the type of people who frequent it. So despite the hostess, the excellent service, and the decent food, we will not be returning.

On the bright side, I didn’t see any dogs. The only animals were seated at the...

All of my prior experiences at the Griddle have been outstanding; food was amazing, staff always very accommodating, and the wait time was minimal to none. However, my latest dining experience was not so pleasant. My boyfriend and I went for a late brunch (1230ish) on a Tuesday. We were sat promptly with approximately 4 other tables around us. Given that we had been to the Griddle numerous times before, we had entered the restaurant already having in mind what we would like to order. As our server (Trish) greeted us and asked for our beverage order, we informed her that we were prepared to order our food as well. She quickly, and quite arrogantly, stated that there was a table ahead of us who was sat first and still had yet to order. As I glanced over to the table in which she was referring to, the two gentleman were still reading over the menu...meaning they were not yet ready to order in the first place. I have never dined at a restaurant that refused to allow you to order simply because another table had not yet made up their mind. In fact, I watched her stop at their table several times in an attempt to get the gentlemen to place their order, all the while coming up unsuccessful because they weren't ready yet! She quickly delivered our drinks and began to walk away as my boyfriend yet again stated, "We're ready to order then.." to which her response was, "I know, I heard you the first time". At this point, I'm not sure how I kept my composure after being so blatantly disrespected. Being a former waitress myself, I can't understand why someone would want to prolong the ordering phase which in turn increases your table times, leaving less opportunities for more tables..AKA less tip money for you in the long run. Either way, after nearly ten minutes of waiting to order, she finally asked us what we would like. Our food was quickly delivered by the owner who apologized for her behavior and assured us they have no such policy regarding which table may order first, second, etc..Meanwhile our waitress stood at the bar, clearly complaining about us to another co-worker as I watched her roll her eyes and point. Anyways, the experience overall was god awful. It's a shame because they have great food and I have had amazing service there in the past, but her behavior was unacceptable. I'm not sure who pissed in her corn flakes this morning (as my mom would say), but she needs to learn a thing or two about...

I recently visited Grille 145 with my boyfriend for breakfast, expecting a pleasant dining experience. However, our visit turned out to be extremely disappointing. Despite having been to the restaurant before with friends, family, and by myself without incident, this particular experience was marred by poor service. Our server, Samantha, was notably rude and took an inordinate amount of time to attend to us. I initially gave her the benefit of the doubt, considering the possibility that she might be busy, given my own experience as a server. However, when she finally did arrive, her demeanor was hasty and rude. When my boyfriend inquired about a menu item that lacked a clear description, merely listing ingredients, Samantha's response was abrupt, telling him to "READ THE DESCRIPTION." This reply was not only unhelpful but also dismissive. As a server myself, I was taken aback by her behavior, knowing that treating customers with disrespect is unacceptable. We requested to speak with a manager, but were informed that he was unavailable, attending to personal matters outside the restaurant. Furthermore, when we posed the same question to another server we had encountered previously, she seemed slightly rude, directing her response solely to me while ignoring my boyfriend. The food, when it arrived, was subpar, with the sole exception being the courteous food runner who ensured we had everything we needed. Upon beginning my meal, I realized that syrup was missing, and despite waiting patiently for 10 minutes, attempting to discreetly flag down our server without appearing rude, she failed to attend to our needs. Samantha's only subsequent interaction with us was to present the bill, without checking in or addressing our concerns. I couldn't help but feel that we were discriminated against, having done nothing to warrant such poor treatment. While it's possible that the restaurant was simply having an off day, this experience has led me to decide that I will not be returning, despite having previously enjoyed dining there at least three times a month. I hope that this feedback will prompt the restaurant to reevaluate their service standards and ensure that their staff understands the importance of valuing...