I have been to Cafe Murrayhill many times for weekend brunch and have always been pleased. It's great to have a non-chain option on the west side and I've always been very happy with the food and service for brunch. My absolute fave is the bacon waffle. Yum!
With that being said, we have tried Cafe Murrayhill for dinner and although the food has been equally good, the evening servers need a refresher course in basic waiting skills. I hope that the manager reads this review and will address these issues with his/her staff. These were the main issues at our most recent visit:
* Waitstaff was chatting loudly behind the bar about stories of drunken antics.
* Our server asked whether we would be wanting dessert before we were even finished with our meal. When told ""no"" (mainly due to the irritation of being asked before we were even done with our entrees), she delivered the check, again before we had even finished eating.
* When she delivered the check, she looked directly at my husband and thanked him for coming. Not both of us, just him. But I am the one paying for the meal. Oh brother..........
* The change given back was only in $5 bills, which is a peeve of mine because it is basically a way that the server is trying to ensure that they get a larger tip than if the patron could choose to leave some $1's instead. This did not work in her favor this time as I left even less than I would have were she to have given me some $1's.
This all occurred on a Monday night when the restaurant was very slow. I could almost understand the whole rushing with the dessert and check if there were people waiting for tables, but there was not. Some of this may seem nit-picky, but when I am paying an average of $20 per entree, I expect better service than this.
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