Adam F.
Yelp
Used to be amazing, but service has become a real problem.
I remember when Irie opened at this location--I'd guess I stopped in for the first time within a week of the restaurant first having opened. At that time, it was still very quiet and Chef Omar was regularly at the counter or at least visible. I quickly became a regular, and when family or friends were nearby I'd recommend Irie. My mom was also very sick--in the final months of her life, she became an especially finicky eater. Often when going to see her, I'd stop by Irie for takeout and bring her and my dad something to eat. When my wife and I started dating, we'd often grab takeout and go to the lake with her dog, have dinner, and watch the sunset. It was in a convenient spot, the prices were good, we liked the food, etc.
As the restaurant become more popular, the service definitely became less reliable. Long "lines," sometimes being waited on after other folks who'd come in after me, less consistent quality, etc. Still, it was right in the neighborhood, and I felt a sort of pride in it because I'd been a very early customer and had seen it blossom.
However, with some sadness my wife and I have agreed never to go back. The past three times we've gone for food we've come up empty-handed. The first time was a walk-in, around 6 PM on a weeknight. The restaurant was out of vegetables. The second time, which was several weeks or maybe a month or two later, we placed our order online ahead of time. But when we went to pick it up, we were told that there were no vegetables. Two times in a row--what are the odds! Finally, this past Saturday we decided to grab something to eat and go down by the lake like we've done so many times. I placed an order online around 6:30, and the website said it would be ready in 5-10 minutes. We arrived 20 minutes later and, after standing for a few minutes waiting to be recognized, I gave the gentleman at the counter my name. He looked at two takeout bags, which weren't ours, and then said they'd just run out of rice and that he needed to make more, and that it would take 25 minutes. Reluctantly, we canceled the order--though for some reason instead of refunding the card I'd used to pay for it, he gave me cash.
For a restaurant, this is just unacceptably poor and unreliable service. Three times in a row, over the course of the past several months, we've gone in to get dinner and have literally been unable to get any food, even when ordering in advance. It's also frustrating that in two of those instances, we'd placed our order online in advance.
As I said, this place used to be one of my favorite local spots. I've ordered food here dozens and dozens of times over the years, but we're never going back. The increasingly poor/unreliable service has now three times forced us to alter our plans, and I don't see any reason why we'd even bother to risk it a fourth straight time.
So, as I said, this place used to be amazing but we've scratched it off of our list.