We went to Michaels Genuine as a group of six on a busy night – I hope our experience was unusual. Right away the tone was set when the hostess acted annoyed that we showed up five minutes early for our reservation – somehow we were putting her out. After 15 minutes we were seated at a table right at the entrance – which was too large for the space and in the middle of the flow of traffic, meaning everyone bumped our chairs as they filed past, staff and patron alike.

The food was excellent – everyone at the table, everyone was quite satisfied with the taste. Certainly the menu was not run of the mill – the combinations and the ingredients were un-usual, but absolutely perfect. I found the prices atypical and quite reasonable – about $50/person with a glass of wine each. Im not a fan of loud restaurants – but if you like them loud and having to yell your “conversation” and order to the wait staff, this is the place for you.

The service mirrored our initial experience – one grade above dismal. The waiter was absent most of the time and accounted for a lingering dinner. The wait for everything from a cocktail to the check was unusually long. At least three ordered drinks never made it to the table (luckily they didn’t show up on the check). When the appetizers and entrées were delivered they were correct, just that the waiter and the staff had no idea which one us was to receive which dish – normally something that can be overlooked, if it wasn’t the case with EVERY dish and cocktail, not to mention the logistics of yelling over the “cheerful din” – hey that’s mine!!! The bus staff had the unusual habit of selecting specific items they wanted to remove from the table – while ignoring other items that clearly were finished. Finally to insult to injury – our mostly absent waiter pointed out as he delivered the check the restaurant policy of adding an automatic 20 percent gratuity to tables of six or more. The lesson being; keep your table to five or less if you want good service – though I wouldn’t hold my breath. After a long wait, we finally resorted to having the busboy locate the waiter to process our check – about 3 past the last straw in my book.

The food truly is great – the experience is not. Our experience may have been unusual – and its clearly a popular restaurant. I have no plans to return, but am keeping an open mind that its possible to fix the service problems.

Plus: Food preparation and ingenuity, wine list, décor
Neutral: Price
Minus: Noise, Service