I was very surprisingly underwhelmed by Chelsea's Kitchen.
We walked in and the restaurant smells amazing with the open kitchen and I really dig the atmosphere. Our first impression was that our server- Katie McD- seemed kind of flighty and not very attentive, so that is never a good start. She wasn't very friendly and didn't even attempt to build a rapport with the table. She kept forgetting small things that should be second nature for servers. I ordered my iced tea, and had to wait until she came back with our appetizer to get a straw. (The same happened later to my cousin after she finished her sangria and ordered another drink) I then asked for sweetener and she turned around, grabbed it from another table and then put it in front of me saying 'They weren't using it.".. kind of awkward.
It has been my experience that great food can really overshadow bad service. Unfortunately, I was again disappointed once our meals came out. Maybe I had too high of hopes for Chelsea's Kitchen, after all I have had an ongoing love affair with La Grande Orange for years. I had the Dixie Pan Fried Chicken and it was just okay. The first thing I sampled was my mashed potatoes.. which were very lukewarm. Same for the mixed veggies (which were otherwise quite tasty)/ We waited about 5 minutes for Katie to come back and check so I could let her know, but got bored of it, and finished eating my now even colder plate.
They have a good portion size, not too much and the price would have been okay if my food had been served correctly (or even corrected). My meal came with a cinnamon roll which was really yummy and so was the red velvet cake we had for dessert. Definitely the best parts of my meal. (Dessert probably would have been better with coffee... if our server had been around to take our order..)
I kind of go back and forth between 2 and 3 stars, but I feel like 3 stars would be saying I'd go back and give it another go... and I doubt I will. The stars say it all: Meh, I've experienced better.