Cafe Strudel

300 State Street, West Columbia
Website: cafestrudel.com
Phone: +1 803-794-6634

Categories: Cafe  Establishment  Food  Restaurant 

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Reviews

1
Mar 15, 2018

Samuel Cockrell

Took my girlfriend here for Sunday brunch on 6-4-17. I had only been here one other time with my brother but we didn't have any complaints. Walked in, and the place is packed. Hostess asks us if we were comfortable sitting outside; it being 90 degrees, I politely declined and asked for an inside table. We were seated about 10-15 minutes later, which wasn't too bad. My girlfriend was curious about some of the different coffees on the menu and asked our server some basic questions. The server gave a simple recommendation about one of the drinks but made a strange comment about how, "oh this one's good but I wouldn't share that.." It just seemed out of place, like she was making some veiled reference to me. Anyway, I ignored it and we both ordered. About 15-20 minutes later our food arrives. My girlfriend ordered the Tex Med Omelette and I ordered the two-egg breakfast with hash browns, bacon, and toast. Had no complaints about the eggs or my girlfriend's omelette, but my hash browns were not even cooked. There was literally a pile of lukewarm slimy shredded potatoes on my plate. The toast was also extremely dark; basically charred. I HATE sending food back at restaurants because it's just an awkward experience regardless of where you are, but I really did want the hash browns to be fully cooked. I politely asked for them to be taken back and cooked more thoroughly. The server tried to backtalk me about how there wasn't enough "oil" in the pan and "that's just how they cook them sometimes." Needless to say this was very alarming... The server took my plate back and returned a few minutes later with, new hash browns? I'm not completely sure if they were new but they had definitely been on the grill longer the second time around because they had now been overcooked. It was obvious the hash browns were being cooked at much too high of a temperature; with one side being burnt and the top/middle still raw. Another issue was that I was only given two pieces of bacon and the menu said the standard order was for three. I very politely explained to the server that I was not trying to be pedantic, and I "was not trying to be 'that' person." The server responded with, "oh there's a good $10 word for you.." I also ignored this rather blatant comment and simply requested another piece of bacon so I would have the 3. A few minutes later they come back with some extra bacon. It was more than the one piece like I was expecting which was nice and all seemed well. My girlfriend and I finish eating about 20-30 minutes later. I also ended up eating the hash browns as I hoped they were cooked "enough." The server never came back to our table to check on us even one time. There was a period of about 15 minutes where they seemed to disappear from the dining room entirely. About 30 minutes after we had finished eating, I was finally able to get the check. $37.12 for brunch for only two people. Later that afternoon I was visiting my girlfriend's house and started having some severe intestinal distress. I was in the bathroom for almost an hour with extreme diarrhea. I was very uncomfortable for the rest of the day and it has continued into Monday while I'm at work. I am very displeased with my experience. The service being poor and the fact I got food poisoning from the suspect hash browns. We will not be returning.


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