We have been to Alison many times now over the years… our doggy daycare center is across the street and we love the atmosphere…. Usually.
Today we came into Alison at a weird hour admittedly, around 3pm. The sole waitress was outside tending to one table on the patio. As we walked in, we noticed that several people were inside without any food or drink and were also waiting for the waitress to order their initial drink orders. We sat at the bar. And Waited. The bar was a mess with used glasses and just … a dirty bar. Waitress came inside, prepared an iced-tea-based cocktail for 5 mins while adding ice directly from the freezer tray in front of us. No eye contact once. No “Welcome folks”, no acknowledgement. My wife and I were amused and disappointed at the same time. “What the hell? We have been here many times and we have never seen this.” Waitress came back to prepare another drink, and after finished, brought two menus and said “just in case you want to see.” We said “Hello!” and “Thank you so much!” To accentuate that we haven’t been greeted, acknowledged, and that her attitude sucked. She said nothing and again gave no eye contact and walked away. We waited another 4 minutes while she was gone, yet again, and decided to get the hell out of there. We wanted food and to have a bunch of drinks after a long week of work. We went to another local place that is independently owned called Bar Goyana and were treated SO well. AS WE LEFT WITHOUT BEING SERVED, we did not say a word- just left, and the waitress decided this was her moment- on the patio without serving us- to be unprofessional and sarcastically hark “BYEEEEEEE GUYSSSSS!!!” happily, as we passed her on the outdoor patio. Ownership needs to either staff correctly or hire people that are able to offer hospitality while executing the functions of the job. We will not be back again- ever. And if the ownership would like to keep repeat business who spent $175 at Bar Goyana today at 3:30pm- get rid of any staff representing the style of hospitality that we were “treated to” today. We didn’t know if it was her first day or not, but if it wasn’t, judging by her unfounded confidence - she is costing you a lot of money in efficiency, labor, and lack of representing any form of hospitality while failing at service.
Good luck to the ownership, and “BYEEEEEEEEE GUYSSSSSS!”
Atmosphere: 2
Service: 2
Kathryn B
Bartender and waiter (same guy) wore a shirt with holes in it with long hair down, not pulled back. Thankfully there he didnt deliver our food but I didnt want him making my drinks so I just had water. There was also a table of people passing around a dog at the table. This wasnt a service dog.
Chicken and fried eggs had no flavor and rubbery. Steak was overcooked and undercooked at the same time. Tasted like a microwave grilled steak. The potatoes had no flavor.
Overpriced bad food.
O'Dena Nelson Gorgeous ONe1
We sat outside
David Hanzal
A loyal customer, but no longer I've visited this establishment many times over the years, and the staff have always been wonderful — genuinely kind, hardworking people who made every visit enjoyable. Sadly, they're the only reason I kept coming back. I've since come to learn troubling things about how ownership treats its employees. Based on what I've heard directly, staff are not being paid fairly or treated with the respect they deserve, and some of these practices may not even comply with labor laws. That's not something I can support with my money. I won't be returning, and I want other customers to know what their dollars may be supporting. The employees deserve better. Diner beware.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
steven Portera
Great fun place, nice menu, great food and friendly staff
Mohammad Y. Ibrahim
Best Avocado toast in the city
Audrey
Stumbled upon this place just looking for a late lunch and sip and was pleasantly surprised! Many vegetarian options. Good wine menu. Amazing service!
ichiro
I used to like this place and had much better experiences here before, but this recent visit was extremely disappointing.
We made a reservation for 8 people at 5:30 pm. A few of us arrived around 5:15 pm, and although there were open seats, the staff would not seat us because it was not yet the exact reservation time.
During happy hour, we ordered several items before 6 pm. However, before 6 pm, the server started saying that happy hour was already over. We had also ordered oysters during happy hour, but after about an hour they still had not arrived. When we asked what happened, we were told that the order had not gone through. Then they tried to charge us the regular price instead of the happy hour price, even though we had ordered them during happy hour.
The billing process was also very frustrating and not transparent. When we tried to pay, they did not provide a printed receipt. When we asked for one, the server blamed us and claimed that we had chosen not to print it, even though no one had asked us anything about that. Once we finally saw the printed receipt, we noticed an additional 20% “large party” charge and a 3% credit card charge.
This place used to be good, but the service has clearly declined. The newer male server who handled our group was extremely unprofessional, disorganized, and dismissive. The food may be fine, but the service and billing experience were unacceptable. I would not recommend this place for a group reservation.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
L Garcia
Chilaquiles are the best in town! Friendly service, never pushy. Also great chicken sandwich.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Peter Koloff
The salmon bowl is delicious. I also highly recommend that hibiscus mule .
My favorite neighborhood spot! Food is incredible. So yummy. And, impeccable bathroom!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Maurizio Zotti
Lovely place and lovely are the guys running it. On top of it, good food!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Catherine Berry
Great place for happy hour! I would highly recommend! The drinks are tasty and the people are great. It’s also quiet in there for a happy hour so you can hear yourself think. This is a seafood focus restaurant, but they do offer an assortment! I recommend to check it out
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Carly Pisarri
Every aspect of this place was terrible. When we arrived and checked in, the hostess pointed outside, your table is out there, and she walked away. I was unclear if we were supposed to go find it outside or she was going to walk us to it with menus. It was so unwelcoming.
It took 25 mins to get table service. I had to ask a few times. The steak was over cooked. We got overcharged on the bill. My chicken sandwich was missing ingredients listed on the menu.
Even if you’re busy, you can still be friendly. It’s a no from me dawg.
We have been to Alison many times now over the years… our doggy daycare center is across the street and we love the atmosphere…. Usually.
Today we came into Alison at a weird hour admittedly, around 3pm. The sole waitress was outside tending to one table on the patio. As we walked in, we noticed that several people were inside without any food or drink and were also waiting for the waitress to order their initial drink orders. We sat at the bar. And Waited. The bar was a mess with used glasses and just … a dirty bar. Waitress came inside, prepared an iced-tea-based cocktail for 5 mins while adding ice directly from the freezer tray in front of us. No eye contact once. No “Welcome folks”, no acknowledgement. My wife and I were amused and disappointed at the same time. “What the hell? We have been here many times and we have never seen this.”
Waitress came back to prepare another drink, and after finished, brought two menus and said “just in case you want to see.” We said “Hello!” and “Thank you so much!” To accentuate that we haven’t been greeted, acknowledged, and that her attitude sucked. She said nothing and again gave no eye contact and walked away. We waited another 4 minutes while she was gone, yet again, and decided to get the hell out of there. We wanted food and to have a bunch of drinks after a long week of work. We went to another local place that is independently owned called Bar Goyana and were treated SO well.
AS WE LEFT WITHOUT BEING SERVED, we did not say a word- just left, and the waitress decided this was her moment- on the patio without serving us- to be unprofessional and sarcastically hark “BYEEEEEEE GUYSSSSS!!!” happily, as we passed her on the outdoor patio.
Ownership needs to either staff correctly or hire people that are able to offer hospitality while executing the functions of the job. We will not be back again- ever.
And if the ownership would like to keep repeat business who spent $175 at Bar Goyana today at 3:30pm- get rid of any staff representing the style of hospitality that we were “treated to” today. We didn’t know if it was her first day or not, but if it wasn’t, judging by her unfounded confidence - she is costing you a lot of money in efficiency, labor, and lack of representing any form of hospitality while failing at service.
Good luck to the ownership, and “BYEEEEEEEEE GUYSSSSSS!”
Atmosphere: 2
Service: 2
Bartender and waiter (same guy) wore a shirt with holes in it with long hair down, not pulled back. Thankfully there he didnt deliver our food but I didnt want him making my drinks so I just had water. There was also a table of people passing around a dog at the table. This wasnt a service dog.
Chicken and fried eggs had no flavor and rubbery. Steak was overcooked and undercooked at the same time. Tasted like a microwave grilled steak. The potatoes had no flavor.
Overpriced bad food.
We sat outside
A loyal customer, but no longer
I've visited this establishment many times over the years, and the staff have always been wonderful — genuinely kind, hardworking people who made every visit enjoyable. Sadly, they're the only reason I kept coming back.
I've since come to learn troubling things about how ownership treats its employees. Based on what I've heard directly, staff are not being paid fairly or treated with the respect they deserve, and some of these practices may not even comply with labor laws. That's not something I can support with my money.
I won't be returning, and I want other customers to know what their dollars may be supporting. The employees deserve better. Diner beware.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Great fun place, nice menu, great food and friendly staff
Best Avocado toast in the city
Stumbled upon this place just looking for a late lunch and sip and was pleasantly surprised! Many vegetarian options. Good wine menu. Amazing service!
I used to like this place and had much better experiences here before, but this recent visit was extremely disappointing.
We made a reservation for 8 people at 5:30 pm. A few of us arrived around 5:15 pm, and although there were open seats, the staff would not seat us because it was not yet the exact reservation time.
During happy hour, we ordered several items before 6 pm. However, before 6 pm, the server started saying that happy hour was already over. We had also ordered oysters during happy hour, but after about an hour they still had not arrived. When we asked what happened, we were told that the order had not gone through. Then they tried to charge us the regular price instead of the happy hour price, even though we had ordered them during happy hour.
The billing process was also very frustrating and not transparent. When we tried to pay, they did not provide a printed receipt. When we asked for one, the server blamed us and claimed that we had chosen not to print it, even though no one had asked us anything about that. Once we finally saw the printed receipt, we noticed an additional 20% “large party” charge and a 3% credit card charge.
This place used to be good, but the service has clearly declined. The newer male server who handled our group was extremely unprofessional, disorganized, and dismissive. The food may be fine, but the service and billing experience were unacceptable. I would not recommend this place for a group reservation.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Chilaquiles are the best in town! Friendly service, never pushy. Also great chicken sandwich.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The salmon bowl is delicious. I also highly recommend that hibiscus mule .
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Really good food and super friendly staff.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
My favorite neighborhood spot! Food is incredible. So yummy. And, impeccable bathroom!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lovely place and lovely are the guys running it. On top of it, good food!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great place for happy hour! I would highly recommend! The drinks are tasty and the people are great. It’s also quiet in there for a happy hour so you can hear yourself think. This is a seafood focus restaurant, but they do offer an assortment! I recommend to check it out
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Every aspect of this place was terrible. When we arrived and checked in, the hostess pointed outside, your table is out there, and she walked away. I was unclear if we were supposed to go find it outside or she was going to walk us to it with menus. It was so unwelcoming.
It took 25 mins to get table service. I had to ask a few times. The steak was over cooked. We got overcharged on the bill. My chicken sandwich was missing ingredients listed on the menu.
Even if you’re busy, you can still be friendly. It’s a no from me dawg.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Loading...