Andrew Fichter
Google
My wife and I visited Tulips on one of the first warm days of the spring. We went there specifically because we wanted to be outdoors, and knew there was a large patio.
I'm not sure if our experience was out of the norm, but it was unacceptable. I'm very patient and willing to give the benefit of the doubt, but I was pushed beyond my limits. I thought my experience justified being captured in a review.
We showed up around 6:40 PM, and the patio was full, save for one table that hadn't yet been cleared. No big deal, we knew it would get cleared eventually - so we made sure to snag it. About five minutes later, a server came out to clear the table. He seemed overwhelmed, and we told him to take his time.
We knew that happy hour ended at 7 PM. At this point it was 6:45. With 15 minutes to go, we figured it was plenty of time for our server to return and take our order (despite still not even having menus at this point).
Not so. Ten minutes went by, with no server. Remaining patient, we actually felt somewhat sorry for him. I decided to go in to put in our drink orders at the bar so that we could get happy hour prices.
I stood at the bar for 5 to 10 minutes, which doesn't sound like much. But the bartender didn't so much as make eye contact, and was leisurely pouring a glass of wine and making a mixed drink. No joke - in the time I was standing there, two drinks were handed out. Others were standing waiting to be served too.
At this point, I noticed our server head back out to the patio. I followed him out and got back to the table just as he stopped by to hand us menus. That's right, after being at a table for 20 minutes, we finally had a menu.
Our server assured us that even though it was now after 7, we would get the happy our prices since we had been waiting so long. We said we could make our minds up fast and put an order in. Before we could do so, though, after glancing at the menus for maybe 5 seconds, he disappeared to another table on the patio. We thought he'd be right back after tending to it. But he went back inside instead, no gesture or indication he'd come back our way to get our order. No communication whatsoever.
We waited another five minutes, and....nothing. Honestly, most people would have been gone by this point. It was now ten after 7. We arrived at 6:40. That's right...we were there a full half hour, patiently waiting and giving the place a chance. A half hour.
We finally got up and left at this point. I honestly want to like this place, it's a nice location with a nice vibe and a great patio. But there's no excuse for service like this.
I get it, it was busy. But it's also a prime location, with prime patio seating, on the first 80 degree day of the year. Honestly, what do you expect? You all weren't prepared to handle this? What a joke.
