Lavomatic Cafe: User Reviews

After the disappointment of J.R. no longer overseeing the fare, we reluctantly tried Lavomatic again. (2010) Upon our return, we were surprised to see such a massive menu change. We came to terms with our choices and decided to order a round of appetizers and a cup of soup and an entree. They were out of two of the appetizers and the soup was lukewarm, not hot and the burger, overcooked. It was a very disappointing. So, after a recent recommendation that the food had gotten better, we decided to try it...AGAIN...yikes! We arrived on a Friday evening around 9:30, sat at the empty bar and looked at he menu. Not overly excited with the choices, we decided on three appetizers, maybe a soup and a Jamaican jerk chicken sandwich. Boohoo, out of the goat cheese dumpling! The pesto mac and cheese was a bit runny and the crab cake was tasty. Not interested in the potato soup available, so we waited for the sandwich. 15 more minuted passed and the server and manager assured us our sandwich be right out. 5 minutes later, we were handed a platter with the sandwich. The sandwich was quite tall, so in half, it was cut...OMG, 1 inch of the chicken was still RAW! Apparently, the first chicken had been charred in the process. The server comped our entire bill and was mortified. Sadly, I will not be 'trying' this restaurant ever again.

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I've had plenty of bad servers at restaurants and don't bother to write a negative review simply because of a bad server. They might be inexperienced or new to the restaurant; they might just be having a bad day. My experience at Lavomatic was due to far more than a bad server.

For example, they ran out of one of their beers at 6:30 on the Saturday of Valentine's Day weekend. One would think that whoever manages their orders would plan ahead a bit.

The server was certainly inexperienced and probably new to the restaurant. We had to pull aside another server to find out more information about some of the dishes. I had to eat my cake with a spoon. The food came out at different times.

The most shocking element of the meal however was their reaction when they brought out the wrong meal for one of the diners in our party. She had ordered a sea trout special that they had that evening. It was supposed to be on a bed of corn and zucchini. They brought her out a piece of fish on rice, which is the way that they serve their salmon. When she pointed this out and said that she thought the fish might be salmon (which is quit like sea trout). They just brought out an extra plate with the corn and zucchini and a message from the chef saying that the fish was not salmon. Perhaps it wasn't, but there was enough uncertainty that they should have brought her out a new plate with the meal that she had actually ordered.

I had heard that Lavomatic was "unexceptional," but this is not the case. It is actually exceptionally poor.

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Though hesitant after reading some of these awful reviews, I dined at Lavomatic recently with some friends and had a delightful time! The menu has some unique and delicious items. I loved my salmon entree and my friends really enjoyed the smoked pork and shrimp orzotto. Our wine was excellent and the service was very nice. Just my two cents, but I wouldn't hesitate to go back.

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I have never written an online review before but my January 23, 2010 has prompted me to action. I went in expecting the food to be really good. My husband arrived at 12:50 p.m. for lunch to secure a table. The rest of us got there at 1:05. We waited until 1:35 to get seated. We could have been seated earlier - the table was empty but not clean. Did not get our meals until 1:55. I ordered a croissant with bacon, cheese and egg with fruit and greens. The bacon, cheese and fruit never made it to the plate that had an over soggy croissant.Neverless it cost me $9.95. Everyone else's meal was right but french toast's cinnamon flavor was overkill and the soup /sandwhich combo was, as my husband said "just OK". Not worth the money, sad to say. If you have 1.5 to 2 hrs. to eat and very low expectations this could be the place for you.

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Lavomatic used to have great food. Maybe they will again someday. But recently, the food and service have been so atrocious that I kick myself in the rear every time I decide to give them another chance. They can't seem to keep their best staff (FOH and kitchen), and the decline in quality is apparent. I recently ordered the strip steak, and it was one of the worst cuts of meat I have ever been served. Not only was it a cheap cut of meat, it wasn't even properly seared. I've seen better steaks at the Waffle House. (I am not saying this for hyperbolic effect.) Other items from the new menu have been equally disappointing. Top that with being served a glass of wine that tasted like it was a week old, and I question how much longer the Wades can keep the doors open on this place. I used to be a huge cheerleader for Lavomatic. I used to think that bringing my friends there was a great way to introduce them to my neighborhood. But I won't be doing that any longer.

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Guess if tater tots is your idea of good cusine its ok. We have been dining at Lavomatic for a couple years. Change in menu was extremely disappointing, Average pub fare that can be found anywhere. Bring back eclectic menu of the past.

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