Briarpatch Restaurant

First off, Food was great at Briarpatch. I've taken clients, and family members to this restaurant and several others on Park Ave. \r \r I'm giving it bad review only due to the unprofessional and disrespect experienced at Briarpatch by the manager Megan. \r \r As always there was a very long wait 20< min going outside the door to sit. Once we got seated our food was given to us late. Due to our food being given to us late, I asked the waiter due to our wait if one of our other guests could have a biscuit. They stated yes and brought us one. On the omelet I ordered, I asked for tomato to be placed on the omelet. When receiving the check, the waiter charged us for not only Tomato, but also for the biscuit. Both the biscuit and tomato created a charge over $5. I did not mind paying the $5, but the principle of not specifying a charge before ordering by the waiter, or not placing it within your menu that there would be a additional charge etc. causes a issue. \r \r Spoke to the manager Megan, who seemed quite young, that stated every restaurant charges for these items, and questioned me. Not did she do this, but when asking for her name, she walked off without stating it. In which I had to speak with another employee in asking what was her name. I had waited almost 30 minutes to solve this issue, but then Megan approached our table stating if I would like to speak with her manager, in which a gentleman who looked like a cook approached our table stating if there was a problem. This will be the last time, I or any of my clients come here to eat due to the mistreatment and disrespect encountered at Briarpatch restaurant. more

I went to The Briarpatch on Park Ave for lunch and it was\r wonderful! I had the chunky chicken salad with the zucchini bread sandwiches and fresh fruit salad. It was fresh and delicious...and I can't wait to go back!! Yes, the servers appeared to be in their own little world at times, but my waiter was friendly and for me, it's all about the food anyway. more

I'm very confused by the negative reviews. I've eaten at Briarpatch at least a dozen times and the food is always excellent. The service ranges from average to veru good depending on your server, but I've NEVER had below average service. If you want more restrooms, go to Cheesecake Factory like all the other sheep. more

Food was GREAT.... STAFF... another issue. First problem only ONE BATHROOM. The place is too busy for one girl and one boy restroom. When I finally got into the bathroom 15 min. wait. There is a waiting area inside the bathroom. Upon coming out of the stall I encountered to waitress' standing there, both texting on their phones. As I washed my hands, I kind of took an extra long time to see if anyone of the texting staff would go into the stall. Neither on did. As I left the bathroom, about 3 minutes later both staff exited restroom, phones out of site and went right to their tables to check on their customers. All this at 9:30 am. on a Saturday, it was REALLY busy. This is not the worse....o told a manager.... I went to the manager on staff (brown hair lady behind the register) and when I told here everything stated above, she apologized with a smirk on her face like as if to say; ""so-what"". AND the 4 wait staff standing around listening just stared me down (literally one actually looked me up and down) and another rolled her eyes. Again, the food was great, BUT there are plenty of places to go without attitudes. I will be hitting one of the golf courses next weekend. more

THE PLACE IS FILTHY! I went to Briarpatch this morning for the first and LAST TIME! Starting off with the set up of the restaurant. It is tiny, cramped, and the tables are filthy! I walked into the restaurant and saw dirty tables outside with a couple of flies hanging out as the servers hung out behind the register. Next, the quality of the service. The server looked miserable and overworked. They then proceeded to share with me how management is horrible and that the owner is this anorexic looking old woman doesn't care about her employees. I felt sorry for the server but I was there to eat not to be her therapist. The main course. DISGUSTING! I had the ham and apple omelet with homefriend and toast. The omelet tasted like chewy and savorless oil. ZERO FLAVOR! Those cooks should get their training from Keke's since THOSE chefs know what they are doing. Overall, I will never step foot in this awful and overpriced restaurant and I will be sure to LET EVERYONE KNOW! more

My sister and I decided to try out the Briarpatch for lunch one day, and needless to say we did not have the best experience. First off there are way too many tables in that place, I had to get out of the way for the wait staff because the route to the bathroom was basically only one lane. Second although our server wasn't rude, she never smiled once. We got to noticing the rest of the staff which were about a half dozen college students just standing around talking about their personal lives, and one conversation they were talking about how much of a tip one of them got and how it wasn't big enough, then went on to talking about some people at another table and the way they were eating. I'm in customer service and I think a genuine smile is key, saying hello how are you, and thank you for coming in are all things that one in this line of work should be taught by their manager. According to other reviews I've read about this place we aren't the only ones shocked by the lack of friendliness. I would give this place just one star but we actually liked our food so you get 2! more

in winter park that is more

We were one of only two other tables in the place, at lunch time, which should have set off warning bells. Our server(no name tag) was an older gentleman, with glasses and a heavy accent. He argued with two of our party about how they wanted they're meal prepared, trying to change their minds to what he wanted them to order. Three of us ordered the grouper sandwich, one blackened with onion, one grilled and one fried (the last two are the ones he argued about). Finally, he put in our order. The other two in our party ordered breakfast food. While waiting for our food our server brought over pitchers of tea and water and placed them on the table behind us and then disappeared. We had to self-serve for our refills apparently, which we did throughout our time there. Our lunch took 30 minutes to come out and there was NO one in the restaurant! When our food finally arrived two of the three groupers were bloody raw. One of us asked for something else, a plate of plain scrambled eggs (nothing else) and I sent back for another grouper. The eggs came out fairly quick, but I had to wait another 15-20 minutes for my grouper and no onion. I was too hungry to bother asking for more onion. Everyone else in our party was long since done! Now for the service: Our server was barely visible the entire 2 hours we had to suffer this place. When we complained about raw fish there was no apology, just a curt, "" We'll make another one."" We had to self-serve our drinks. We had to steal rolled silverware off another table to get extra napkins. Those drinking coffee were left empty and cold most of the time. There was a young black man who was a server/busser ( no name tag) who noticed our displeasure and was so super sweet and tried to smooth things over and hoped we would not hold this experience against the restaurant. Right! I truly hope he can find a job at an establishment that is worthy of him! When the bill arrived the groupers had not been removed. The plate of eggs, with no toast, bacon or anything was $9.50. When we pointed this out the server he said he forgot to remove the sent back grouper, but any decent restaurant would have taken them off the bill completely and not charged for the eggs, out of sheer embarrassment. When the bill arrived again I noticed they had charged 50 cents for onion on my sandwich (really! I could get a whole onion for that!) When my Mom asked that be removed, since I did not get the onion on the second sandwich our server very rudely said, ""Well you got it on the first!"" True, but I couldn't eat it because the fish was RAW! He refused to remove that charge. At this point we'd all bee pushed to the limit and my Mom demanded to speak to a manager. And guess what RUDE sever man says he's the manager! Of course, he is! At that point we just paid and left, we knew we'd get no where with him. On our way out we were loudly complaining about the food, service, treatment and a gentleman standing outside next door said to us, ""I hope you're not talking about my favorite restaurant?"" We said,"" The Briar Patch?"" and he said ""Noooooo, that place is awful and the kitchen is filthy! Never eat there!"" Well, where were you 2 hours ago? On the way home I started having stomach pains and by the time I got home vomited everything up. I was the only to get ill, so maybe it was because I had eaten some of the undercooked grouper. It was the perfect ending to a perfect Briar Patch meal. Our party consisted of a couple who had owned there own restaurant and two previous servers. We were dumbfounded that this place can keep it's doors open, with such abysmal food and service. Since this experience I have made sure to spread the word of how awful this place is and have been repeatedly told how filthy and gross the kitchen is. I hope this saves someone else from an awful experience too! more

If I could give this restaurant no stars, I would. While their food is okay, they are CROOKS. When we dined there on a Sunday for brunch, there was a slight billing error where we were undercharged. I called the restaurant back to have them correct the charges, and they overcharged my credit card afterwards. Since I didn't see the receipt, I couldn't sign for it and they could charge me whatever they wish. I will never dine there again, it's pathetic. more

The Briarpatch used to be ""the Best"" cafe on Park Avenue....low and behold, over the years the services has gotten worse. The servers are young, college students and the owner cares nothing about them. She actually takes their tips, no wonder they don't work hard. The food, used to be superb...actually there are certain meals that are fabulous. But, if I can say to the diners of this retsuarant...the kitchen is filthy! I have been in the back, see how the food is made and the cooks are so unsanitary, the area where the food is kept is horribly discusting and filthy. Pros: Certain meals are GREAT! Cons: service, management/owners, unsanitary more

I always head to the Briarpatch when I come to town and I have yet to be disappointed with the food. Pros: Different twists on regular meals Cons: Lack of seating more

Once a good place but no longer. Rickety tables, no silverware, way too young and inexperienced staff, no manager on duty, and the worst omelet ever!!! Our meals did arrive timely; however, the omelet was a disaster - Overcooked from too high heat, too fast, to the point that it was burned and smelled of sulfur. The plate upon which the omelet ?floated? was filled with a brown watery liquid. As I cut into the omelet, another ? cup of liquid flowed out from the mushrooms. It was gross and inedible. Furthermore, no fruit accompanied the dish as stated on the menu. If they can?t find a chef, or teach a chef, to saute mushrooms correctly (until they?re cooked) and cook an omelet correctly (slowly over low heat), then the item should not be offered on the menu. My guest's ""Ultimate grilled cheese and ham"" was not much better. Lousy hot cocoa - powered with no whipped cream or marshmallows. It's Park Ave, come on, dress it up. more

The $8 fruit bowl was very small with just strawberries and grapes. They were out of the cottage cheese that comes with it so they offered cream cheese instead. What? Then still charged us full price. The tuna wrap had to be the most boring sandwich I've ever had. The special said cranberries and walnuts. Mine came with onion and cheese. No tomato, no mustard or lettuce, nothing. $12. We waited over 20 minutes for these two dishes and nothing was even cooked! The table next to us sent back their meals for being wrong too. For these prices I'll never return. Pros: location, homemade ice cream Cons: high prices, boring food, long wait more

Being a life long resident of Winter Park Ive seen my share of restaurants that start off great but over the years decline not only in food quality but service as well. The Briarpatch is no exception to this. The last couple times I have gone there, both the food quality and server has just plain been bad. Usually I can count on good food even is the service is slightly slow, but not lately. It is a shame it has come to this maybe you will have better luck than me here, as I can no longer dine here. Pros: Quaint Cons: Slow Service, Inconsistent Food, Crowded more

Their breakfast is great, their lunch/dinners are great! The desserts - AWESOME! I mean people are complaining because they cost so much - give it up - have they seen the size --- you can feed a small army with those things...try making one of those and see what happens and how much it costs. Small in size compared to other establishments, but still worth at least one dining experience! LOVE IT! (Try the pancakes!!!) Pros: dessert, taste, area Cons: size more

I visiteded Sunday morning after reading the review in the Sentinal, I was looking forward to a good dining experience. I was very disapointed in everything from the service to the food. I went knowing it would be busy and even settled for a seat outside. After being seated for about fifteen minutes and still no sgn of drinks for the table Iwent looking for the waiter. Breakfast was eventually served in about fifty minutes. People aronnd me where all complaining. Food was just o.k,I don't think I'll be going back to give it another try. Pros: inexpensive Cons: crowded, poor service more