Disappointed with Limestone

Why can’t independent restaurants be consistent? I started a dinner club not too long ago to bring business to independent restaurants in Louisville. When I chose a restaurant, I would have done my homework. I would have read the menu and all the reviews and I would have personally gone to the restaurant to make the arrangements. We've gone to 21 restaurants and I can count the number of good experiences on one hand. I really don’t think I’m being too picky. I would just like my food to be served hot. I would like the waiter/waitress to provide good service. I would like bread to be served in a basket instead of having to ask for more bread like I’m Oliver Twist (“Please sir, I want some more.”) I would like the restaurant to honor my reservation. I would like the restaurant to be clean. And, lastly, when I bring a large group to the restaurant, it would be a nice touch for the manager or owner to follow up the next day and thank me for bringing business to their restaurant and to make sure everything went well.

My most recent disappointment is with Limestone. Going by what others had to say and going by the reviews, I was very excited to eat there. I ended up being very disappointed. When I ordered a glass of wine, the waiter poured less than a ¼ cup. I thought he was giving a tasting! When they put one roll on my plate (bread basket non-existent), the roasted garlic that you spread on the roll, was cold. We both ordered salads. The Caesar Salad was mediocre at best. The salad dressing tasted like it was out of a bottle. Therefore, it did not warrant an $11 price. Both entrées were served luke warm. The flavor of my stuffed sole entree was so offensively spicy, I couldn’t finish eating it. The other entrée of seared diver scallops looked like four bay scallops, which had very little flavor. And, the service was poor. The waiter never checked on us after our food was served so I was never given an opportunity to express my disappointment. And, he took so long to give us our check, we had to get up and walk to the exit to request our check from the host. This wasn’t an “off night.” This was a Saturday night, so you’d think they would be on top of their game. With tip, we spent over $100 on dinner for two. This experience was definitely not worth $100.

I hate to say it, but I’m beginning to favor chain restaurants. In today’s economy, it’s a treat to be able to eat out so why should I continue to gamble with inconsistency?

I hate that you were disappointed with Limestone. I hope you will give them another try. We just had our Christmas Eve dinner there. There were only 6 of us, so not a large party but we could not have been more pleased with our service. The dishes were all good, not all off the charts wonderful but we were definately pleased. Not sure if you and I had the same dish, but I had the crabbed stuffed sole and it was not at all spicey. Chef Gerhardt even brought my daughter's salmon to her and explained that the board had been holding bourbon just a couple of weeks before.

I've been there lunch and dinner and it's one of my favorite places. My concern is that on the few weekend nights we've been they have not been very busy at all.

I don't blame you for being disappointed, but I would encourage you to try Limestone again.

Welcome to the forum, love!

Don't take this the wrong way, because I don't mean it as such.

But, 21 independents- 5 good experiences (that would be one hand.)

Really? You should probably come see me- we'll fix that right up. The beauty of the independent restaurant is the fluidity that the experience offers. For better or worse. When it's bad it's 'blah' but when it's good it's one for the books, so to speak...

Welcome to the forum Catherine. Nice post, with some legitimate concerns. I don't think you sound "picky" at all, you just want value for your money and it appears you haven't been getting it. We have also had some disappointing experiences with a couple of "fine dining" establishments in the area, so I feel your pain.

What were the 5 places you liked and what did you like about them? Not a thing wrong with chains if the food is more to your liking. Life's too short not to eat and drink what you like. Welcome aboard.

Welcome to the forum Catherine I see you are fairly new. Kudos to you for starting a dinner club!

I agree with you on the importance of consistancy, when I first moved here my favorite place turned out to be wildly erratic and I stopped going after a while. Evidently many patrons did the same as it closed a few years ago.

It sounds like you had an unhappy experience for sure. There really is no excuse for not being checked on. Food issues should be handled on the spot.

I would think that some of these issues could have been brought up with the manager- if not that night certainly the next business day. Independent restaurants count on happy patrons and usually go out of their way to make turn around a bad experience . I almost always do this before naming a restaurant on the forum- it only seems fair to ask them to try and make it right.

At least one of your issues is a personal perference- I'm positive that at any restaurant if you indicate at the beginning of your meal that you like bread served in a basket they will accomodate you. Unless, of course, there is Dickensian theme to the evening.

Please keep trying the Louisville Independents- they really are worth it.

I look forward to more of your thoughts.

Thank you for all your replies. I'll attempt to answer the questions that were posed.

To Gary F: Normally, I would have talked to the manager but I wanted to use this Forum to find out if other people had a similar bad experience or if it was just a bad night for them. If it was just a bad night, I'll go back. I would like these independent restaurants to figure out how to deliver consistent quality like the chains. They have it down to a science.

To Mark Head: My top 5 restaurants are:

* The Irish Rover-the owner of this restaurant was the only owner who called me to follow up after our dinner and the food / service has always been good
* Varanese-been there a few times and each meal has been memorable - Chef Varanese came to our table each time to see if we were happy with our meal
* North End Cafe-I like the flexibility of the menu (you can order breakfast for dinner) & the food / service has always been good
* Gary's on Spring-nice atmosphere, innovative menu, delicious food, good service
* Napa River Grill-I'll never forget the Sea Bass I had at this restaurant - I really like the atmosphere and the food / service has always been good

Funny how most of these are on Frankfort Avenue. If I have a good experience, I'll always let the manager / owner know.

Stephen D: What restaurant are you recommending?

Majid's.

You can go the anonymous route and enjoy a table-visit from the owner and perhaps an accoutrement from the chefs or myself (if someone wants something different.)

Or you can announce yourself and let us fawn over you...

We like to let the people that want to be left alone- to be left alone. We are hospitalliers and pride ourselves on making people feel at home.

So it's your call, really- you'll get the smile at the door and the standard of service that we do regardless.

It is really much funner when you announce yourself so we can show you the 'behind the scenes' stuff for free!

For instance: A foodie bretheren has brought me paddlefish caviar as a XMas present. Don't know what I'm gonna do with it, but I'm not gonna charge anyone for it! Call it an amuse bouche, call it what you want- I call it 'community.' Come in within the next week and I'll have some poke-in-the-dark application for it. Six months down the road, you'll recognize your opinion in a certain cocktail or food menu item.

You'll never see this from a chain and it's worth the price of admission, IMO



PS. And these are REALLY good eggs, locally-sourced- la creme de la creme...

Catherine - I'm so sorry to hear of your bad experience at Limestone. We've been there many times for lunch, brunch and dinner and really enjoy it. (Nice bar too). I will agree, the salads always seem overpriced. I've yet to meet a non-entree salad that's worth $11.

I'm so surprised at your wine pour, it's been my experience that the pours there are average to large. As for the bread basket, I guess most of the upscale restaurants we frequent do not have bread baskets but servers who bring additional bread to the table. I don't know why. The roasted garlic has always been room temp at Limestone.

If you want to give them another try, maybe lunch or brunch is the way to go? The brunch is only served now on special occasions like Mother's Day, but lunch is weekdays (and maybe Saturday?). I love the roasted salmon or the chicken with black rice. (Honestly, the chicken dish was so good I had to put down my fork and comment - and I don't usually get chicken out).

We've always had adequate to good service, but it sounds like you got the bum end there.

I'll second Stephen's plug for Majid's. Great food with warm service. I always let Stephen know when I'm there!

I usually end up being the Limestone promoter/defender here, so I'll certainly encourage the OP to give them another try.

As to service at Limestone: I've posted before about the experiences (positive) I've had there, in particular when I was with a client who was in a wheelchair, and Robert (our server) brought a casual chair out of the bar with extra cushions so that my client could comfortably sit at the table. It was perhaps the most above-the-standard act of kindness I've ever seen in a restaurant.

Admittedly, I'm a regular, especially for lunches, but I do hope you'll give them another go.

TP - I think Robert is a fantastic server!

I had a bad experience at Limestone, but it was years ago. We took it to the management and were completely blown off. (I can't remember the details anymore, but the story is on the old board's forum.) It wasn't related to the food, which was good. It was purely a service issue.

Anywho, we've never been back. There are many other great restaurants in Louisville where we can spend our money.

Catherine,

I don't know if you are available during the day, but on the second Friday of each month Limestone hosts a "Lunch Lesson." It costs $24 including tax and tip and includes a three course lunch plus a mini cooking class conducted by Chef Gerhardt. A wonderful mix of great food and great banter. It's been one of my musts for years. The theme for this coming Friday is "Foods for Good Fortune." If you are able to come, send me a PM so I may add you to my table.

No disrespect to the OP, but IMO you either ARE very picky or have the worst luck or have selected some poor indy restaurants. 16 bad experiences out of 21 seems inordinantly high. I eat out frequently, and I haven't had 16 poor experiences in the past few years. It would be interesting to know the places that let you down, and why?

I prefer locals, but sometimes eat at chains and I have had great, good, mediocre and poor experiences at all. For example, just this past Monday, I had one of the best servers ever at Tumbleweed...food was just OK. Last night at Simply Thai, the food wowed me (won me back over after a 45 min wait carry-out experience), and on Sunday night, impressed some friends with my Zaytun selection. The food there is always great and affordable, and service from Matthew was stellar!

FWIW, the last time I was at Limestone, everything really clicked and we had a great time...Bison Short Ribs...YUM. The time before, food seemed just OK, but service has never been an issue for me at Limestone.

DD

Why can’t independent restaurants be consistent? ... We've gone to 21 restaurants and I can count the number of good experiences on one hand. I really don’t think I’m being too picky.

No disrespect to the OP, but IMO you either ARE very picky or have the worst luck or have selected some poor indy restaurants. 16 bad experiences out of 21 seems inordinantly high. I eat out frequently, and I haven't had 16 poor experiences in the past few years. It would be interesting to know the places that let you down, and why?

Some folks are just pickier than others. We eat at local places all the time, and off the top of my head I can think of one truly bad experience. A few more small annoyances, but nothing that would make me post about it here or talk to management. I just chalk those up to people being human.