The Vanguard

1 Reviews on “The Vanguard”

• Kari McElroy

  I was so excited to try this place out, and my husband and I decided Valentines Day was the time to do it. What a disappointment! We spent a little over $300 (the fixed priced Valentines menu was $100/person, so that plus wine, tip, etc. added up). Not only did the level of food and service not match that price, its actively insulting that they charged us so much for what we got. When we first arrived, no one was at the host stand, which is totally fine because hosts have other duties. However, the two bartenders were talking behind the bar. They turned and saw us, then immediately turned back to talking without any acknowledgement. They werent even making drinks at the time. They just didnt want to deal with us. Our server was very nice but really didnt understand the menu or some basics about food service. He asked if I wanted pepper on my salad. I said no. He went ahead to pepper it. We had a couple questions about the menu. He didnt know the answers (not everyone knows everything, but he was consistent in lacking familiarity with the menu/bar). He brought our courses out at the wrong time. Both he and a person I assume were the house manager were very sweaty. Sweat happens, were human, but in the food service industry, it feels like it might be prudent not to show up dripping to a table. Not only that, but the house manager was running around the room like crazy. Its a little tricky to kick back to a romantic meal with a damp stranger dashing around the table. Now, I get it: the restaurant industry is intense! Theres something to be said, though, for still cultivating an air of calm even while keeping everything running. Now, most important part of a restaurant: the food. Right? I could forgive a lot if they knocked the food out of the park. Alas! Their crab cakes were weirdly mayonnaise-d. I suspect their oven roasted beets came from a can. My husband and I both ordered the sea bass. Mine was dry and overdone. His was cooked right, but still not as good as it could have been, so the food wasnt even consistent. I wouldnt mind so much if the price hadnt been so high, but as much as they were charging, I expected a lot more. I also might understand more of this if the restaurant had been crazy-busy, but it wasnt. In fact, my husband and I were both surprised at how quiet it was on Valentines Day. Maybe that should have been our clue. I think the real nail in the coffin is that I tried to privately reach out to the restaurant about this. I emailed their info address and was given an email to reach out to for customer concerns. I messaged there with my concerns and didnt hear back. A week later, I tried again. I never got an answer. A couple days ago, I tried the info email to see if there was someone else I could talk to. They havent replied either. Evidently The Vanguard cares so little for their customers experience, they will actively ignore you if you try to tell them.So: poor service, mediocre food, exorbitant prices, poor management. I wanted to like this place, especially for a romantic dinner splurge, but all across the board, you could do a lot better at a lot more places around town.

  June 6, 2019, 9:27 pm

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