My family had stopped by 5 Loaves and 2 Fish before for cake and coffee and sang its praises, so I was curious to try it.
The ambiance was pleasant enough, particularly with the Christmas decor still up and the flat screen tv playing footage of choirs singing Christmas carols.
Having grown up in a Christian household, I got the reference of the restaurant's name fairly quickly, and the big sign over the door with the relevant bible verse would have made it clear to anyone else for that matter.
Since it was the 26th, the day after Christmas, it appeared they were severely understaffed, with only one waitress to tend to all diners' needs.
When we first arrived, we had to stand around for 2-3 minutes looking a little lost, because the lone waitress was busy responding to another diner's questions, before she seated us. Besides us, there was one other party dining there, celebrating a birthday, so the waitress focused most of her attention on them, which sadly meant we had to put up with very long wait times.
We ordered beef pot roast and my brother ordered the mexicali lavash pizza bread, because they only had that or the pepperoni available. We requested water and were given glasses without ice, and bottles of water that weren't even chilled.
We were told it would be a wait of 20 minutes, but it was past that, that they served my brother the lavash, and it wasn't until another 15 minutes later my mother and I got our order of pot roast. It was a decent portion for the amount charged, tender and flavorful, but what I did not appreciate was that it only came with a side of mashed potatoes, that while well seasoned, was cold and slightly grainy, and nothing to brighten up the plate. A spoonful of carrots and green beans would have done wonders.
We decided to have some dessert, I opted for the mango cheesecake, while the rest of the family had the dulce de leche cake. I didn't want any coffee, due to my issues with insomnia, and really wanted tea, unfortunately they only had one type of tea available, which was turmeric, which I don't like to pair with cake. The waitress recommended the hot chocolate, while my mother had the tea. It took 20 minutes for the cake to be sliced and served, and another 15-20 before the drinks arrived, by which time I'd already eaten my cake.
The cheesecake was lovely, and the fresh cuts of mango balanced the flavors well, and the cake itself had a soft creamy texture, whilst being firm enough to retain its shape.
The dulce de leche I found too sweet and was not impressed by, my mother complained about the buttercream being too salty and made me eat the rest of hers. The salt content was fine to my tastes, but honestly, the dulce de leche was nothing to rave about and I wouldn't order it again.
The hot chocolate was huge and I struggled to finish it, and even though I am a fan of dark chocolate, it was too bitter to my tastes (this was after I'd had water and cleansed my palate) and I didn't bother asking for sugar, as it would have likely taken the waitress another 10 minutes to provide some.
We asked for the bill while we were still eating the cake, because of how long everything was taking, and even after we finished, we didn't get it until yet another 15 minute wait.
I understand that they were understaffed, but there wasn't even any apology for the long wait times, and apart from the people celebrating one table over, we were the only other customers, and most waitstaff is usually trained to tend more than one table...
Perhaps the experience next time, if there is one, will be better.
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