Rose E.
Yelp
I had a hard time deciding on the number here... I wish I could have rated 3.5 stars to be more accurate?
Many years ago, I used to go to 131 Main in Blakeney frequently since it was my ex-friend's favorite restaurant. I remember liking the restaurant, but not quite loving it. Anyway, guess I got bored with their foods in that I haven't returned in years. Fast forward to now, and I felt that my husband would like the place, so thought I'd give this newer (?) South Park location a try.
The place itself looked quite nice. Usually I prefer high ceilings, but this place with its low ceiling (yet very, very spacious!) had this cool, underground vibe.
The thing that was greatly lacking in ambiance was the overhead music was playing so low that you could barely hear it. Yet you could hear every little thing said by folks around us. Somewhat created a crude ambiance...not "nice" at all!
Then the menu...surprisingly very small, with only a handful of options. I could be wrong, but I thought they had an extensive menu long time ago? Anyway, they did have a few appetizing items. My husband decided on Rotisserie Chicken, and I got their Blackened Chicken Pasta. We also added this special side of the day, this sweet curry corn. We also tried their Key Lime Pie. Well, we both thought the entrees were good (though I thought my dish was a tad too thick and greasy in its cream sauce?), and the corn was especially delish...but the key lime pie was really, really bad (the only good part was the graham crackers).
Some disappointments definitely included the presentation. Basically the foods looked as if they were just slapped unto the plates, with no effort made in presentation. Also, despite the hefty pricing, they didn't even offer complimentary bread. For these reasons, I can't drop 4 stars.
BTW, I tried Aperol Spritz for the first time, and absolutely loved it!! This is where I wanted to go up half stars (to a 3.5 rating!).
Service was very friendly, and did fine overall. However, the place was so big, the waitresses were hard to spot (vice versa), so just a tad less attentive than it could have been.
Just as in the distant past, I liked, but didn't quite love the place and its foods. I remember thinking that it was very similar to Firebirds. We may try the new Firebirds in South Charlotte soon, and see how they compare. Though not blown over, we DID like the foods enough to return. Hopefully next time, the ambiance and presentation improves at least...so I can bump them up to 4 stars.