Emmercelle D.
Yelp
I ate at their brunch place two doors down this morning with my coworkers. We were excited, but left disappointed for several reasons:
1. Strong Sage Smell: As soon as we walked in, we were hit with a strong sage scent. They burn sage throughout the space, which is fine in theory--but it's not common practice in restaurants, and we had no idea it would be part of the experience. The smell was overwhelming. When we asked to air out the space by opening the door, staff gave us attitude.
2. No Menu Flexibility: One coworker is allergic to cheese, and we ordered the avocado toast to share. We asked for the cheese on the side so I could still enjoy it, but the waitress refused and pointed to a no-substitutions policy on the back of the menu. I understand restaurants setting rules, but it felt inflexible and inconsiderate of dietary needs.
3. Sweet Latte Miscommunication: I ordered the hot honey lavender latte and asked if it was sweet. The waitress said no, but it ended up being very sweet--just something to note if you're trying to limit sugar.
4. Billing Issues with the Mujer Divina Plate: When it came time to pay, the waitress read the items aloud to one person in our group who was covering the bill (we all Venmoed her). No printed check was provided until after payment. When we reviewed the receipt, we noticed we were charged $22 for each Mujer Divina plate, even though the menu listed it at $20 (see picture). We were also charged a large party fee, even though there were only five of us (most places count six or more as a large party).
The waitress said the price difference was due to tax, but that didn't make sense since tax was already added at the end of the receipt. We spoke with an owner who apologized, explained that their system hadn't been updated with new pricing, and refunded us the $10 overcharge. When we brought up the large party fee, he first said it applied to groups of five or more, then checked and confirmed it was actually six or more. He refunded the tip we had added, since we'd unknowingly tipped on top of the auto-gratuity. We told them to keep the large party fee since it matched what we would have tipped anyway. We appreciated the resolution but couldn't help but wonder how often others are overcharged without realizing.
5. Only Bottled Water: We were surprised to learn they don't offer tap water--only bottled. It's a small thing, but it added to the overall sense that the customer experience wasn't prioritized.
The food--including the Mujer Divina plate--was really good, but the service and experience didn't match. I wouldn't return or recommend this place. Good food matters, but so does good service--and that was lacking here.
UPDATE: I previously mentioned a concern about a deleted social media post. I've since learned it was removed due to group policies, not by the owners or management of the business, so I removed that portion of this review to reflect that.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Adding a star to my rating, as I appreciate the owners taking the time to address concerns stated on my Google review.