I went to Sullivan's for lunch today. The food was pretty good- but the service had a lot of room for improvement. I went in at about 12:30 PM and sat at the bar. There were a few other patrons in the restaurant. The bartender was friendly enough, but not overly engaging. But it was clear that the servers did not have their collective act together today. Here are a few examples:
1. Although sitting at the bar, the food always came in on the side with someone literally scaring me the first time they presented food at the table.
2. The bartender, from approximately ten or so feet away, called at me "do you want bread and butter?"
3. The phone must have rang ten times before anyone answered it even though there was someone at the door (where the phone was located) who welcomed persons in.
4. Even though I saw a bunch of other servers and the place was not really very busy, the bartender was serving and busing other tables instead of taking care of customers at the bar.
Don't get me wrong...everyone was friendly, but the service was below what you would expect of a restaurant of this caliber, and with fairly high prices.
The food itself was good. I had a Caesar salad, salmon and mashed potatoes. Portions were adequate, but not overwhelming in size. But it all tasted quite good and I felt I got my money's worth.
My "go-to" high caliber, high-price steakhouse in Charlotte continues to be Capital Grille. Sullivan's could learn a lesson or two from them.