Briarpatch Restaurant — Restaurant in Winter Park

A MESSAGE TO OWNERSHIP AND UPPER MANAGEMENT:

Preface: I tipped our server generously despite her attitude changing once issues arose, because she had provided excellent service initially and may have been following management’s lead. This review addresses management decisions and policies, and my generous tip demonstrated this was never about money.

WHAT WE EXPECTED VS. WHAT WE RECEIVED:

Based on positive reviews, we expected quality food and professional service. Instead, we encountered food safety issues causing immediate health problems and dismissive management prioritizing protecting a $20 charge over customer wellbeing.

THE HEALTH ISSUE:

We ordered four dishes. Three were excellent, but the Raspberry Brie French Toast ($20) was problematic. After consuming one-quarter of the dish, I experienced:

Severe nausea Acute indigestion Persistent burping (my body rejecting the food) Sharp abdominal pain

We had eaten nothing else that day except at your establishment, so the cause was clear. I suspect the dairy products used in the French toast were past expiration.

THE SERVICE FAILURE:

When I explained the situation and returned the barely-touched dish, I requested our check. The French toast remained on our $87 bill.

Our server’s demeanor shifted after I raised the issue—from attentive to impatient and dismissive. I suspect she was following management protocols or felt pressure to minimize the complaint.

Management offered a small dessert (~$8 value) as compensation for a $20 dish that made me ill. Beyond the mathematical inequity, I had no desire to consume additional food from an establishment that had just caused health issues.

MANAGEMENT’S RESPONSE:

When I requested the manager, her approach was dismissive and unprofessional:

“We don’t know if it was our food that made you sick.” This ignored obvious facts: we had consumed nothing else that entire day except food from their establishment.

“Food poisoning takes hours to happen.” This suggested I was lying and is factually incorrect. Food-related illness symptoms can begin within 30 minutes, particularly with dairy products.

“All of these dishes were made from the same ingredients.” This was absurd. How could one tiny egg be used to make four separate dishes? My French toast was the only dish containing brie cheese, making identical ingredients impossible. Even shared ingredients like milk could vary in freshness—perhaps spoiled milk was used for my dish while fresh milk was used for others. This confirmed she was questioning my honesty rather than addressing the health concern.

“We’re very strict about this policy.” This rigid stance prioritized policy over customer care.

Initially, she offered “25% off your meal” (~$22, covering the problematic dish). However, she returned with only 25% off the single French toast order—a mere $4.88 discount.

When I pointed out this discrepancy, she clarified: “I meant 25% off your plate, not your meal.”

THE FINAL INSULT:

Exhausted, I accepted the minimal discount plus the dessert to conclude our visit. The manager then withdrew the dessert offer: “I am not offering you the dessert anymore. You need to pay your bill and leave.”

When I asked whether protecting $20 was worth potential lost business from negative reviews, she repeated her “very strict policy” stance with visible impatience.

THE BIGGER PICTURE:

As a business owner, I understand restaurant challenges. However, this revealed: 1) Food safety issues causing illness, 2) Policies prioritizing revenue over health, 3) Poor management training, 4) Short-sighted thinking valuing $20 over reputation.

That evening, my daughter also felt unwell, confirming our suspicions about food quality.

Your establishment has potential, but management needs attention: implement health complaint protocols, train managers in service recovery, and review food safety procedures. Losing customers and negative publicity costs far more than removing one problematic dish.

This reflects our genuine experience as...

I am continuing my conquest of all the best restaurants that Orlando has to offer. I've heard of the Briarpatch for quite some time now, and since the readers of Orlando Weekly voted it as one of the best places to get breakfast/brunch in 2020. So of course I had to check it out. I wanted to check it out earlier, honestly, but I had to wait for the NFL season to end first so I could have a nice Sunday brunch.

Walking up to this place, it sticks out like a beautiful sore thumb with its giant yellow canopy. I got seated promptly and admired my simply Southern with a touch of modern decor until my server arrived. She was literally the best. She asked key questions that felt very important at the time, "Have you had our French toast before" "Do you really like bourbon?" Great questions that guide you to the right decisions. I was exceptionally happy with my server.

I always ask if a place has fancy coffee, because I like PSL's, but don't know the different between various ice coffees and lattes. Luckily they had an iced peppermint mocha that was excellent. Not too sweet, a good amount of peppermint, and enough of a caffeine kick to get me going.

I ordered three things that my table split.

Firstly, I got the Breakfast Carnitas (guajillo-braised pork shoulder, two corn tortillas, two sunny-side-up eggs, white cheddar, avocado tomatillo salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream). This was amazing. The shredded pork was super moist and had a nice, subtle guajillo taste permeating throughout. Not spicy at all, no worries. The eggs made this an exquisite brunch dish with that runny yolk getting all over everything. And the pico and guac and stuff really made every bite a delight. Big fan.

Then, I got the Pecan Pie French Toast (pain perdu european style, apple compote). I want to make sure that I tell you to get this. You must get this. The slices of toast are SO thick that the interior of them is the consistency of bread pudding. Mushy and ooey and gooey mixed in with the very crisp exterior of the toast. My Lord. Drizzle those sugary pecans and those delicious baked apples all over everything, and this was a dream come true.

My main event was the best brunch dish I've ever encountered. You've head of chicken and waffles, but have you heard of Pork Belly Waffle (bourbon-braised kurobuta pork belly, brown butter belgian waffle, two sunny-side-up eggs, maple bourbon glaze). Four HUGE rectangles of pork belly. You know those chunk of pork belly you run into occasionally and it's got a perfect crust on the outside and unctuous fatty goodness on the inside? Imagine four blocks of that on those of a perfect Belgian waffle. Get that runny yolk from the eggs running over everything and wow, I hope you're following me here. This was the best thing. I will dream of this thing for the rest of my life

Overall, this was the best brunch I've had in Orlando. There are some chain places around that like to try and do it like this place, but no, don't waste your time. This was wow. The two non-French toast items I got were on their Brunch Specials menu, so they're only there on the weekends. Plan accordingly and go have yourself a...

Our Server, Lucy, is model gorgeous & was super smily & friendly which was nice… unfortunately the service wasn’t too good. Took way too long for our orders to be taken- even after we’d been addressed & served drinks with our Server constantly being nearby. We had a fly that kept us company while anxiously waiting to order… he insisted on swarming our table & perching itself on top of each cup on the table. Our coffee was forgotten & took too long to arrive even after reminding. The sticky bun we wanted to try didn’t arrive bf the food & most my latte was gone even if it had arrived… so I cancelled it after the food had gotten there first. The latte was probably the most burnt & harsh tasting that I’ve had in a very long time- disappointed with that since we’re coffee lovers. Ordering was odd in that we wanted to swap out Colby Jack cheese for Cheddar since my daughter prefers that over the spicy version on the turkey sandwich & our son didn’t want any remoulade or veggies on his Po Boy but these requests to hold some items or swap spicy for mild seemed to be too much. Instead our son just ordered a waffle bc the reaction to holding some things proved to short circuit our server… We were celebrating a bday today & this just made it awkward for those in our party that just wanted to enjoy their food. Our Server had to depart from our table to see if she was allowed to ask if items on a sandwich could be left off. What do ppl with special diets or actual allergies have to go thru when ordering here- our few requests were simple!!! And ranch for fries that “will be an up charge” (which is fine) but it didn’t arrive- until we had to request it again… I don’t know, overall, this just seemed like a very subpar experience for a meal. We’d had a reservation for 5 & mentioned it was a bday… but there wasn’t anything mentioned even after I reminded our server. The worst part was- feeling like we’d been passed over multiple times, not getting numerous items we’d ordered… it just felt off, possibly intentional? And overall the food was tasty- but we all considered leaving bf we ordered just due to how long it took for our orders to be taken & how loud/echo-y it was inside. I don’t imagine we’ll make an attempt to come back here bc the service was just awful… some of the worst we’ve had in a long while. And while a smile & being friendly is So important- forgetting to take orders & get drinks/food to the table is really bad & makes for a...