Pleasantly surprised by Toothsome

[perditax]

Had no intention of eating here--I usually skip theme restaurants that don't take reservations. And I'd read about the service problems and the disappointing milkshakes. But we had friends in who wanted to go there, and we were seated without a wait at about 5:40 tonight (Monday).

Service was still a little slow/sketchy; about 20 minutes to get our chocolate bread (which was very good). The waitress was nice enough but kept having problems--trouble finding us some Splenda, then they were out of tea, then they were out of clean glasses--so the seams are still showing. You can tell the servers are stressed, and I would not want to run food up and down those stairs all night.

That said, the food was quite good. We had the duck flatbreads, a fettuccine carbonara, and some kind of grilled veggie sandwich at the table. Desserts were triple chocolate bread pudding (to die for), a chocolate torte, and a chocolate crime brûlée. I don't think we had a bad dish at the table, and we all overate.

And once we let our server know we were on a tightish timeline, service sped up a bit.

We also got time with Penelope and Jacques, neither of whom broke character at all and seemed to be having a good time. Jacques in particular was on point.

Mostly just wanted to post because I was extremely (and outspokenly) skeptical of this place--it seemed like all hype--but they're actually putting out some good food, and bill with tip for four adults was only about $130. (No booze.)

 

[sherlockmiles]

Thank you for the post and information

 

[perditax]

We actually went again today for lunch (no wait for party of 2 at around 12:45), and got the scoop on the "glasses shortage". Apparently the ornate drinking glasses they use break really easily, like during the washing process. Mgmt refuses to switch to plastic glasses, so I guess they're waiting on more matching glasses.

We had a fantastic server named Gabby today, and more face time with the characters. I am the least character-y person on this forum, I'm sure, and I still had a good time.

I will say that you really have to strategize if you want to make it to dessert--the chocolate almond bread is a dessert itself.

Edited to add: when the hostess and then our server found out it was our second visit, they each (separately) queried us on our favorite dishes. They're obviously polling for feedback, maybe wanting to trim or change the menu around.

I will say we've seen a lot of unfinished milkshakes. The triple chocolate bread pudding was just as good today, though.

 

[Parker Clan]

Thank you for posting!
We are planning on trying it on our trip in August and hope they've worked out the kinks by then but still looking forward to the food, which by the sounds of it, is very good

 

[JayDubs]

Even though the milkshakes are "famous," I think you're realized the same the we did when we visited (twice in our one week vacation): the desserts on that back page are the way to go! We didn't have a bad one either time from that page... my favorite was the creme brûlée!

 

[cbsnyber1]

and bill with tip for four adults was only about $130. (No booze.)

I know it's a personal choice (drink or no drink with dinner) but I wanted to mention that they have some really interesting cocktails on the menu - many involving chocolate.

 

[perditax]

I know it's a personal choice (drink or no drink with dinner) but I wanted to mention that they have some really interesting cocktails on the menu - many involving chocolate.

(Believe me, wish I could, my body is just a total wimp about alcohol, even in small amounts. The crappiness I feel the next day is never worth it, and sometimes I have weird reactions the same night. It sucks! I've thought about trying to build up a tolerance or something but I'm too lazy. )

 

[AngiTN]

I will say we've seen a lot of unfinished milkshakes. The triple chocolate bread pudding was just as good today, though.

Do you think that could simply be because gets too full? I know we loved ours but after dinner there was just no room to finish the milkshake too. I knew it going in but still had to try one. I'm guessing we'd do it again too

I know it's a personal choice (drink or no drink with dinner) but I wanted to mention that they have some really interesting cocktails on the menu - many involving chocolate.

Indeed they do. I got one, a mule of some sort and it was divine.

 

[Chuckers]

I'm sad it's not on the dining plan (at least it doesn't say it is on the website)

 

[FlipHipster]

We enjoyed it too. So nice we ate there twice. Thought the food was pretty good, but the shakes were too much. I don't know how anybody can finish one of those after a meal, I would probably struggle to finish one by itself. Our server brought out my shake with 4 straws like she had seen it before and knew what was coming. I had the brownie shake, it was good but it was like drinking cold brownie batter through a straw. It was so rich I couldn't put a dent in it. My 7yr old daughter eagerly accepted the challenge and she did an impressive job but it whipped us both. The sundaes are rather large as well, definitely something to split among friends.

We didn't have any issues with service but we ate at early times for lunch and dinner and it was basically empty. I feel like we will probably hit it every trip just to try everything.

 

[soniam]

Can't wait to try this in May. Unfortunately, it's just DS and myself, so we won't get to sample as much as we wanted. He's a picky eater, and we are both lightweights when it comes to food quantity. I am thinking that the chocolate bread would make a great breakfast for a few days. DS probably won't eat any; he doesn't like nuts. Thanks for the reviews.

 

[perditax]

Can't wait to try this in May. Unfortunately, it's just DS and myself, so we won't get to sample as much as we wanted. He's a picky eater, and we are both lightweights when it comes to food quantity. I am thinking that the chocolate bread would make a great breakfast for a few days. DS probably won't eat any; he doesn't like nuts. Thanks for the reviews.

I don't actually recall any noticeable almonds or even almond flavor in the chocolate bread. Just some melty chocolate chunks. If you've ever had that sweet-ish brown bread they used to have at outback, imagine that with more sugar, some cocoa powder and scattered chocolate chunks throughout. It's pretty subtle but very good, especially with the caramel butter.

Maybe they were just out of almonds when I was there, or maybe they're just using a tiny bit of almond extract.

 

[quandrea]

We loved it too. One day I had the banana praline waffles and they were exceptional. Excellent with dd's allergies. No desserts for us though. Peanut allergy.