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| - My 21-year-old daughter and I went here for a late breakfast today (around 10:30) as the place we would usually go had a long wait. The Gilbert House was almost empty, with only one other table with diners aside from the hostess and two men chatting at a table and drinking coffee.
We were promptly greeted and seated at a small table in the front room. I took the chair next to the wall and my daughter's chair was out a bit into the doorway to the next room, but since it was not crowded it was not an issue. The waitress quickly took our drink orders (coffee & water for both) and brought them back fast. She then took our breakfast orders -- an omelette with hash browns and toast for my daughter and the berry pancakes with a side of sausage for me.
In the meantime, a couple had come in and been seated across the same room, also at a small table. Shortly thereafter, another couple came in and were seated at a larger table directly behind that couple; the poor man at the first table had to squeeze in really close to his table as the woman just seated at the other table kept bumping her chair into his (not a lot of room here.)
Our food was then brought out, but my daughter's wheat toast was not as they had run out of wheat, so she opted for sourdough. When it was brought to her, it was only 1 piece of bread sliced in half - not the usually two slices of bread that every other restaurant serves as toast. (The menu says "toast" so one would assume it would be two slices, even if the bread is thickly sliced.) The waitress would deliver items to our table and run away so fast we could not ask for refills or anything else; my daughter tried to tell the waitress as she was running away that she needed ketchup but the waitress talked over her and said "sure" but never brought the ketchup until having to be asked a second time.
The food was very tasty. The berry pancakes with berry syrup were big and sweet, exactly what I wanted. The sausages were good - they gave me four links as my side order - but we would have gladly exchanged two of them for another slice of toast.
The other couple across the room at the small table were experiencing the same service issues as we were (i.e., the waitress running off so fast they could not ask her for anything they needed.) The man was also bemused by the one slice of toast and ordered a second order; he was also told he had to pick another bread because they were out of wheat. They laughed when we were finally given a bottle of ketchup as they had been trying to get one every time the waitress ran off, so my daughter took them ours when she was finished. That man also wanted salsa and was offered pico de gallo instead; then the waitress kept forgetting it. He called after her after one of the times she bolted away from their table and she did not acknowledge him; she did show up shortly after with the pico de gallo but it was not what was described to him as being the same as salsa (pico de gallo is a chopped up tomatoes, onions, and other vegetables such as jalapenos or other peppers; salsa is more liquid, tomato-based, and typically less spicy, for those not familiar.)
What was frustrating during all of this was that we could hear the hostess's conversation at the table in the next room with the two men at her table, with the waitress often joining in the conversation instead of focusing on serving the three tables in our little room. Also, a couple had come in that were obviously "regulars" who were seated in that room and, judging by the conversation, were treated like royalty compared to those of us practically being ignored in the other room.
After all of this, to get a bill of $25 for our two meals -- this place is way overpriced for what we received. Five of us just spent the past weekend (Labor Day) in Redondo Beach, California, and ate breakfast at the marina on the waterfront for less than $10 per person. And those were full breakfasts too, with freshly-baked muffins and fantastic service.
Bottom line here: food was good (except for the one slice of toast deal), coffee was great, service was marginal. Now I know why this place was empty and the one up the street had a line waiting outside. Save your money and go someplace else.
(Funny how the pictures they are asking me to rate as helpful show an omelette with TWO pieces of toast! LOL)
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