E.J. F.
Yelp
I was super excited to try this restaurant because of the many years worth of good reviews but I'm never going back sad to say. The experience was disappointing. They served me undercooked bacon, refused to take it back and cook it properly and, instead, placed it in a to-go box and charged me for it.
I am giving two stars purely based on the biscuits and gravy which were delicious. However, the situation devolved quickly from there.
The service was friendly at first, but slow because it was very busy. I went by myself first thing in the morning on a Sunday. There was a mix of people there, some of whom came based on the word of mouth and some of whom were regulars. The ambience was boisterous inside but reasonable conversational level, not sure how it was outside.
I ordered the vegan soup, the famous pecan bacon, their biscuits and gravy that were featured on The Best Thing I Ever Ate, and a Reuben featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
The vegan soup never came, and when I asked to have it removed from my bill, I was shot an evil look, no apology.
I took one bite of the bacon and, as you can see in the picture, it was flabby, chewy and undercooked. I spit it out in my napkin. When I asked to send it back, they said, "Well, since you already bit into it we can't take it back." Huh?
They not only didn't apologize, they refused to take it back and cook it properly. The woman then said it's cooked in an oven and if I wanted it crispy, I have to tell them I want crispy bacon in advance. Could the server have shared that with me when I was ordering?
I said OK, just take it off my check then. She goes, "The manager will not let you return it."
Instead of cooking it correctly, the woman actually took the bacon, put it in a to-go box and brought me the check. It was as if they were saying, "Hey, you're not the first person who has complained we undercook the bacon and we have a plan in place for people like you."
I've been dining and working in restaurants, all my life, and I've never, ever been told that someone wouldn't refire an order that was undercooked.
When I got home, I tried the Reuben and potato salad. The bread was crispy, the corned beef sliced thick and meaty but there were only two slices of corned beef on the sandwich. Clearly, it's not the sandwich Guy recommended.
My advice to people ordering (which I will follow from now on): always ask for well done or crispy bacon. Consuming undercooked bacon can be dangerous and it can cause problems like salmonella or tapeworms. Google "Florida bacon tapeworms" for a recent example if you're curious.
I'm sure the bacon they serve is high-quality but when I ask for bacon, I personally want it to be cooked through and not flabby.
From a place that has so much popularity and so many people waiting, why is this the experience that they would want any customer to have and be vehemently unapologetic about?
I don't like posting a negative review, but you earned it.
If you like slightly undercooked bacon and service that says "the customer is always wrong", Lucky's is your spot and you should enjoy it. Bon appétit.