Delivery
No
Payment
Credit Cards Accepted
Parking
Parking Lot
Good for Kids
Yes
Attire
Casual
Alcohol
Full Bar
Reservations
Yes
Cuisines:
Comfort Food,
American
Price Point
$$$
$ - Cheap Eats (Under $10)
$$ - Moderate ($11-$25)
$$$ - Expensive ($25-$50)
$$$$ - Very Pricey (Over $50)
WiFi
No
Outdoor Seats
Yes
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11/24/2021 - MenuPix User
We came to celebrate my mother's birthday and experienced the WORST SERVICE OF MY LIFE. The manager was unbelievably rude.
My brother flew in from Denver and I drove in 8 hours from Nashville to meet my parents and grandmother for a very special birthday for my mother. We've been coming to Big Cedar every year for 30+ years (years before our annual trips began, my Dad actually still remembers his fraternity formal at the Woman House––back when the chandeliers were made from wagon wheels).
To start, our service was unbelievably slow. I was a food writer for years and have never had a meal take so long (including an 11 course Italian feast). And all we ordered were 5 entrees and 4 desserts. It took over half an hour to receive drinks (2 glasses of wine, one cocktail, and water for the rest). We were repeatedly told bread would be out shortly (it never came). While the food was delicious (Chef is wonderful, the problem is clearly management), it took FOREVER to come out. We even ordered our desserts before our meal (because we all know soufflé takes about an hour), and still we waited more than an hour after we finished our meal for dessert. Also our glasses––water, wine, etc.––were left empty for far too long. Honestly, it often felt like we had been forgotten about. I almost got up and picked up a pitcher from the service table in the corner because I was so thirsty. Our waitress was very sweet, kind, great at guiding us through a menu, it was just very clearly her first job in fine dining and she was not properly trained or managed. We really liked her!
After an hour had passed since finishing our entrees, our sweet waitress came out and told us one of the soufflés fell and the chef had to start from scratch, but that the soufflé would be on the house. She assured us that she ordered it in plenty of time, just one of them fell. So we continued to wait for the two soufflés and two apple crisps.
I can understand the soufflé falling, however a meal of entrees and dessert should never take MORE THAN 3 HOURS, as ours did.
When the manager came over to ask how our meal was, my mother, the Birthday Girl, kindly said everything was great but everything took much longer than expected. I've never seen a colder stare in my life than the look this manager gave my mother. She narrowed her eyes and through tight lips "explained" that they time their meals to be 2 1/2 hours long (apparently even for only mains and dessert) and that that's a normal standard. Every member of our party has eaten at some of the top restaurants in the country––that's not standard. When my mother informed her that this was not our first rodeo, this woman got colder. Her jaw set and she launched into a brief lecture then promptly left our table. My mother found her later on in the night and asked her why she was so rude to her in front of our entire family. The woman began to lecture again that this was "standard" and that nothing was wrong with the service we received. . .
When the bill finally came, the soufflé was still on it. After pointing this out it was eventually removed.
We LOVE Big Cedar. We LOVE the staff. We know their stories, how long they've been there, we ask to see pictures of their grand babies. However, something has gone wrong at the Worman House. . . this was not the Big Cedar standard we have known for the past 30 years.
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