Sylvain K.
Yelp
TL;DR: SLC Eatery was a disappointment; the service wasn't good. Too bad, the food was interesting.
We booked for 8:15 PM Sunday. We arrived at 8:10 PM and were promptly seated. We all went to the bathroom to wash our hands and therefore did not have the time to check out the menu. We were informed that the kitchen was closing at 9 PM. We did our best to make our choice as soon as possible and passed our order.
The waitress came 2 or 3 times after that as she had forgotten a part of the order and ordered two items when we ordered one. Not a big deal. Part of the order was drinks. We got out appetizers but no drinks. Fine. We got served our starters, but no drinks. Mid-starter my friend got his wine served, but not my cocktail. I personally like my cocktail before a meal, prefer wine when eating, but ok, I decided to wait. The rest of the table had finished their starters, I was waiting to receive the cocktail to start eating mine. I asked the waitress to make sure the cocktail order had passed; she said that the drink was most likely ready and she was getting it.
No news... At this point, it was a good 20minutes, still nothing. Got served our main dishes, the waitress (another employee) switched my untouched starter to place the main dish. I switched it back, and she got surprised. I explained I was waiting for my drink, she just acknowledged... After some time, I got annoyed and started eating as I had a two dishes in front of me, getting cold. Finally the cocktail came. No excuse were offered.
While all of this happened, we could feel the "kitchen closing at 9 PM, we need to rush to close as soon as possible" vibe. Waitresses were running everywhere and were agitated. Which could be why half of our order had to be confirmed and it took 30minutes to do a cocktail?
As I was eating my meal and was having a conversation with my spouse, the waitress came, interrupted me and asked if I wanted a box. I had a fork in my hand... I saw her going to another table, dropping the check. The customer asked for desert, it seems she got it. She wanted us out.
Few minutes later the check was brought to us. We did not ask for desert as we understood they wanted us out asap.
I understand that businesses have to close on time, no problem. But plan your reservation cut-off time so that a regular experience can be provided to customers. Especially for a restaurant of this standing, we are not at Burger King are we?
I was annoyed by this drink situation. The rest of the table wasn't happy with the rush aspect. We left disappointed.
Other than this the restaurant has a nice atmosphere. My friend had a glass of wine that was quite interesting. The food was good, not excellent but everything was well prepared. We paid $200 for 3 people. The restaurant has a potential as the menu is creative, but our experience was unpleasant.