Spyro's Restaurant in Willowick, Ohio
On Sunday, April 13, 2008 at about 5:30 PM we decided to go to this little place, that has just recently opened, in the Unique Thrift Store Plaza on Lakeshore Boulevard. W#e had made the attempt a few weeks ago, but they were not yet doing business. The first thing I noticed was how large and almost cavernous the place seemed. I appeared to have been some type of party center or other large open floor type of entity. This large open floor plan was nice to look at BUT it made the experience entirely too loud. I would suggest more furniture and/or decorations to alleviate the echo.
We walked in and, has happened a couple of times lately, there was no one there to tell us whether or not to wait to be seated. There was a sign but it was not immediately noticeable. We were seen by our soon-to-be sever who happily asked us whether we preferred a booth or table. That was a very nice change from many places about whom I have already written. Tracey was very friendly and nice acting without seeming to be in any way fake. Again, that was quite a decent change of pace in this day and age of unfriendly as well as incompetent service.
The menu was interesting in its eclectic feel. They had everything from seafood, to prime rib to various other fare, including an all day breakfast, I love that in a place. They even had a full service bar, hummm?
I wanted the Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs, but the gravy was a sausage gravy which I was not feeling at that particular moment, besides which, I was interested in the supposed, "best soup in town, " that was advertised as an accompaniment to every dinner. I ended up getting spaghetti and meatballs with a salad and the soup while my companion ordered pancakes and eggs. It was then that we noticed how incredibly loud the dining room was. For each second we did not speak to one another, and even when we were talking, we could hear most every thing being said around us, especially by a family to west side of the room. Two small boys and woman and man, talked, continually as if they were the only folks there.
Our food came out and was quite good regarding quantity, factually we both brought home more than half of what we ordered. My salad had cheese, onions, tomatoes, and croutons which was nice (I've used that term way too much during this, but it somehow just fits this time). I tried both of the soups of the day. Since they were offered with each entree they were in a central location in steam pans which was yet another "nice" touch (meaning no one would have to wait for the "bottomless" bowl of soup). There was a potato and cabbage with mushrooms that was very tasty and a chicken noodle with, I believe she said dumplings. The dumplings, if that's what they really were, tasted more like bits of flour mixture dumped into a pot in small pieces. The consistency was off and the flavor was almost non-existent. The pancakes were huge and flavorful according to my companion.
Now we have to talk of the ambiance, or lack there of. The first thing we both noticed, other than the fact that it was echo-ie, was that there was a voice way over all others. This voice belonged in a bar or bowling alley or the like but not in a restaurant. We found that it was Kimberly, another server. Although she was in no way rude except in one instance, she was way too fucking loud. She also was seen doing one of the things that absolutely boils my blood with wait staff. While taking an order she pulled up a chair and sat next to the table. Sorry, but if you can't take standing on your feet get another damned job. You might think it denotes friendliness; I think it denotes audacity.
Another thing she did, though not completely her fault, happened to the family right behind my partner. They, too had two young sons and got an order that was done incorrectly. One of the boys had ordered a burger (see that I did NOT say CHEESEburger) which came out with cheese. Well, when asked to fix it, the sandwich came back in a minute or less to which the family commented on the speed. Kimberly, in her brilliance, stated something on the lines of that being what they do. The family was not amused. Upon examination of the burger it was seen that the kitchen had only scraped off the cheese. That is a litigatable offense. What if that kid had been allergic to cheese. AND what fucking MORON would think it OK to just scrape it off anyway???
You had better think about what you are doing. I talked with the man at the register and mentioned Kim's behavior and he said that people seemed to like her as a "pick me up." My suggestion is that she could be the "pick me up" girl without being overbearing and honestly not too observant (regarding the cheese scrape incident).
Tracey, you rock! Keep up the good work.
We walked in and, has happened a couple of times lately, there was no one there to tell us whether or not to wait to be seated. There was a sign but it was not immediately noticeable. We were seen by our soon-to-be sever who happily asked us whether we preferred a booth or table. That was a very nice change from many places about whom I have already written. Tracey was very friendly and nice acting without seeming to be in any way fake. Again, that was quite a decent change of pace in this day and age of unfriendly as well as incompetent service.
The menu was interesting in its eclectic feel. They had everything from seafood, to prime rib to various other fare, including an all day breakfast, I love that in a place. They even had a full service bar, hummm?
I wanted the Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs, but the gravy was a sausage gravy which I was not feeling at that particular moment, besides which, I was interested in the supposed, "best soup in town, " that was advertised as an accompaniment to every dinner. I ended up getting spaghetti and meatballs with a salad and the soup while my companion ordered pancakes and eggs. It was then that we noticed how incredibly loud the dining room was. For each second we did not speak to one another, and even when we were talking, we could hear most every thing being said around us, especially by a family to west side of the room. Two small boys and woman and man, talked, continually as if they were the only folks there.
Our food came out and was quite good regarding quantity, factually we both brought home more than half of what we ordered. My salad had cheese, onions, tomatoes, and croutons which was nice (I've used that term way too much during this, but it somehow just fits this time). I tried both of the soups of the day. Since they were offered with each entree they were in a central location in steam pans which was yet another "nice" touch (meaning no one would have to wait for the "bottomless" bowl of soup). There was a potato and cabbage with mushrooms that was very tasty and a chicken noodle with, I believe she said dumplings. The dumplings, if that's what they really were, tasted more like bits of flour mixture dumped into a pot in small pieces. The consistency was off and the flavor was almost non-existent. The pancakes were huge and flavorful according to my companion.
Now we have to talk of the ambiance, or lack there of. The first thing we both noticed, other than the fact that it was echo-ie, was that there was a voice way over all others. This voice belonged in a bar or bowling alley or the like but not in a restaurant. We found that it was Kimberly, another server. Although she was in no way rude except in one instance, she was way too fucking loud. She also was seen doing one of the things that absolutely boils my blood with wait staff. While taking an order she pulled up a chair and sat next to the table. Sorry, but if you can't take standing on your feet get another damned job. You might think it denotes friendliness; I think it denotes audacity.
Another thing she did, though not completely her fault, happened to the family right behind my partner. They, too had two young sons and got an order that was done incorrectly. One of the boys had ordered a burger (see that I did NOT say CHEESEburger) which came out with cheese. Well, when asked to fix it, the sandwich came back in a minute or less to which the family commented on the speed. Kimberly, in her brilliance, stated something on the lines of that being what they do. The family was not amused. Upon examination of the burger it was seen that the kitchen had only scraped off the cheese. That is a litigatable offense. What if that kid had been allergic to cheese. AND what fucking MORON would think it OK to just scrape it off anyway???
You had better think about what you are doing. I talked with the man at the register and mentioned Kim's behavior and he said that people seemed to like her as a "pick me up." My suggestion is that she could be the "pick me up" girl without being overbearing and honestly not too observant (regarding the cheese scrape incident).
Tracey, you rock! Keep up the good work.
posted by johnathan e at 10:50 AM
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