Genesis A.
Yelp
Coming from a loyal customer who has had a good experience with Francesca's in the past, we decided to dine with their Mother's Day Brunch. With high expectations from our past dining experiences, my family left the restaurant feeling empty, hungry, and unsatisfied. The only redeeming qualities of the brunch were the attentive bus-boy who refilled our waters upon wait and call and the unknown orange dessert which tasted vaguely like coffee pudding.
For one, we had chosen Francesca's based on their menu provided where many of our family members were looking forward to the "Sea Bass Acqua Pazza". Especially since the person we were celebrated loved Francesca's fish dishes, we were stoked. Doing our first round, we noticed that the dish was not present on any sign or chafing dish. So, we asked our waiter if they were going to refill the dish. Our waiter proceeded to disappear. Upon asking a second time from a different waiter, we were told that the dish was going to be refilled shortly. Towards the end of our brunch, we asked our original waiter once again. He proceeded to finally check the back, where he then told us that the dish would only be available after 3pm. Not only is this a reflection on the bad service that we had experienced throughout the meal, but also a lack of transparency from the menu we were given. Having known that one of the dishes was not going to be served, we would've chosen another restaurant. On the same vein, an additional dish was offered during brunch that was not on the menu. However, it was an additional rigatoni dish that only differed from the Rigatoni Vodka through the lack of cheese on top.
Second, outside of the previously mentioned dishes, the Bagels and Salmon were one of the only redeemable foods that contributed to the value of our meal. Other than that, all of the food was very bland, cold, and even texturally questionable. Starting off with the eggs option, we were pleasantly surprised that the kitchen offered to cook our eggs the way we wished. We ordered a combination of omelets and fried eggs. The fried eggs were fine (as messing up fried eggs would have been another disaster). But upon receiving our omelets, though they were "fresh" from the kitchen, they somehow still tasted cold and old. We're not sure how that can be considering we ordered custom omelets but again, we were severely disappointed in the one custom thing we had requested. Additionally, the carving station was subpar as well. The beef tenderloin servings were small and dry where the porchetta was also dry even after putting on the sorry excuse of a sauce they called "gravy." As the rest of the dishes resembled the bland, cold, unsatisfying vibe, the other notable error was the salads. Each of the salads was drenched in its sauce and by the time we had gotten to them, it was almost like eating water on a plate with some wilted leaves. This was all a surprise from us considering that we love Francesca's food and have dined at their brunch before. But having to pay the price of 5 adults, it was not worth not only waiting time for our waiter to finally show up with the bill, but definitely not worth the feeling of us wanting to go out tonight and spend even more money.
Last but not least, the ambiance of our experience felt not only cramped and uncomfortable, but also leaving us to wonder if the space was designed to offer a buffet in the first place. Though we have dined at their buffet before, our past experience didn't come near to the bad (almost claustrophobic) feeling that today's experience had. The buffet runs along bar-side with a few stations situated at booths near there. Not only did each and every time trying to get food feel like a rat race to get food (which I should add, some of the food was not refilled even after 20 minutes of the tray being empty) but felt like we were packed in a sardine can almost being able to touch and smell the person next to us. Yes, we acknowledge that a buffet may come with that risk of being over-crowded. However, when the food wasn't even refilled every single time we went up, while everyone else is trying to wait around for those very foods to be refilled, it made for a buffet experience that made Golden Corral seem like paradise.
Overall, the price we paid for 5 adults was not at all the value we got after eating at the Mother's Day Brunch. The person we were celebrating today not only did not eat at all what they wanted, but also felt disappointed in an establishment that she has enjoyed for the past 20 years. Additionally, without the mandatory service tax/tip, we would've tipped our waiter less than 15% due to the lack of service at all (we didn't know our waiter's name and we should've just given the tip to our bus-boy). Again, as customers who have loved Francesca's, we are deeply disappointed (and almost appalled) by the experience that we had today. Might as well go to Golden Corral. You'll get what you expect there with your money.
