My 1st Post on Yelp - (Review of Larkin's)

(Photo by Rick P.)

Larkin's
1496 Colorado Blvd
Eagle Rock, CA 90041
(323) 254-0934
www.larkinsjoint.com

Below is my review of Larkin's (a new soul food restaurant in Eagle Rock, CA), that I posted on yelp.com.

07/22/2007
1 star rating

My husband and I went to Larkin's on 6/29/07 for dinner. It was the WORST restaurant experience we've ever had. Hence the one star.

We were both really looking forward to having dinner here, as we're locals and it's the highly anticipated new Eagle Rock restaurant, so I made reservations ahead of time.

We walked in and no one greeted us. It was like walking into someones house uninvited. We waited and waited, and finally when one employee walked towards us I thought "ok this must be it", but nope...she kept on walking right past us without saying a word. After more waiting we were approached by a second employee who took my name but never came back. Still more waiting.

After all this waiting, one of the owners (Josh) approached us only to tell us, "I'm sorry guys but we're not serving anymore tables."

What? Even though we have a reservation?

The guy gave us major attitude and made us feel awful by falsely accusing us of being over 15 minutes late.

Josh: "Oh you're Rose? Well, it'll probably be around 40 minutes until a table becomes available. We didn't think you were coming and gave your table away. Typically we only hold your table for 15 minutes. That's our policy. Just wait outside and we'll call you when a table opens up."

We looked at or watches and saw that it was only 9:14 and our reservation was for 9:00. It was at least 10 minutes of waiting. Who gives tables away after 4 minutes? Obviously they had overbooked. And furthermore what restaurant waitstaff (or owner) blames their customers? So unprofessional and rude!

Instead of being apologetic, the owner said that he didn't see us. Well maybe that's because NO ONE is manning the entrance so customers are left waiting there. He kept calling my husband "buddy" and told him to "go outside and chill".

Then he told us, "You guys have to understand this is our first weekend that we've been open. We're not ready for this. We're still figuring stuff out. No hard feelings."

We get that, but why not say that in the first place? Why makes us feel like we were to blame, when the restaurant messed up? And what's with the attitude? Then he went back inside to leave us waiting some more on the front porch. No chairs to sit on - so we had to stand. No complimentary drinks. No reassurances. Nada.

Come on guys - I took the time to make a reservation ahead of time. I didn't just show up as a last minute thought. And I got terrible treatment. Not a good first impression - especially for a restaurant where service (that generates good experiences) is of the utmost importance.

We waited for a bit but when no one came back outside after another 10 minutes we decided to go somewhere else for dinner and went to Mia's Sushi instead.

I really hope that Larkin's gets their act together. It could be a really nice restaurant - there's a lot of outdoor space that could be used for extra tables - that isn't being used.

After our horrible experience I refuse to go back for dinner - and I've stayed away on purpose choosing other restaurants along Colorado Blvd. every weekend. I still haven't even tried the food, so I may go back for breakfast if other reviewers say that the service has improved. Until then - Larkin's isn't even on my radar.

Yelp Changed My Life

I'm serious. You can look up reviews for everything from cheap Korean massage with ambiance, to restaurants, bars, night clubs, arts & entertainment, and shopping - whatever you're looking for. Great thing about it is that the reviews are written by real people - Average Joe's who write about their experiences and tell it like it is- so you get the real scoop. Also unlike some user review websites like chowhound, which can be outdated, this one has recent reviews. Reviews from the current month & year - who woulda thought? Just about every hole in the wall is listed in their database.

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It's peaked my interest in a lot of cool bars in LA that are off the beaten path -(like "The Prince" in K-town - I am so there!), not to mention all of the old & new establishments in my neck of the woods. Tonight for instance I'm going to check out 2 new bars within walking distance of one another on York Avenue in Highland Park that I found through Yelp (prior to going to dinner at the new southern restaurant "Larkin's" in Eagle Rock). One is called "Johnny's Bar" and the other is "Marty's." (Marty's is by the same owner of "Mia's" the sushi restaurant in Eagle Rock. The restaurant is named after his daughter Mia, and the bar is named after his son Marty.)

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