We had a disappointing visit this past weekend. We had been visiting Joe's since they reopened from COVID to try to help some of our favorite restaurants stay open and for us to get out for a change. We had last visited on a Sunday...about three - four weeks ago. They have modified the floor plan to limit the number of people in the restaurant. On prior visits they were practicing social distancing, proper masking, etc. We were all comfortable dining there. This past weekend was not typical as to what we had seen before. Maybe all of our prior visits were on Sunday and Saturday night protocols are different.
Anyway we started off on a bad note since we made reservations for 6:15 for 10 (table for 6 and table for 4) (we're all neighbors in Gardendale that have been surviving COVID together). We drive from Gardendale to Pelham to find out the party before us did not show up for their reservation until they were 30 minutes late, therefore delaying all the reservations. We got there (early) at 6 so that just made out wait longer. We waited outside for about 45 minutes and it was hot. I understand the reservation thing. You cannot control what other people do. It happens sometime. I think the staff handled it as well as they could. About 6:45 we were offered two other tables (5 tops) and we all agreed to that.
We had a waiter with no mask and service was slow to start off. We did mention to other staff he was not wearing a mask and it did not seem to matter. They were other restaurant staff not wearing masks or wearing masks on their chin, not covering their nose and mouth. Maybe that's not a requirement but I thought it was. They seem to be real strong about social distancing their tables and parties so not wearing masks was a surprise.
We got our drinks and bread but no dipping oil for about 20 minutes after we ordered. Most of our group opted for pizza. I ordered the spaghetti. My Caesar salad was delivered to the table about ten minutes after the oil and was fresh and perfect. About 20 minutes after that, my food and one entree on our other table was delivered (by someone other than our waiter). We waited for our other parties to get their food before we started. They came back and took the spaghetti I had not touched and said that was not our order. I was a little surprised because that food that had sat in front of me for about 3-4 minutes was then delivered to someone else. The other party in my group had stuck a fork in his to stir so that entree stayed with him until the rest of our order arrived about 15 minutes later. His was sent back to be reheated.
Once food was delivered, service was fine. Drinks were filled. More bread was delivered. My spaghetti was really good. I hate going to an Italian restaurant and ordering spaghetti. The last few times I had the daily special or pizza. I started years ago with spaghetti and theirs is one of my favorites. I find myself drifting back to it every now and then. They use thin spaghetti compared to other places. Their meat sauce has a little spice to it and their meatballs are really good too. (also something I am not a fan of at other places). I really enjoyed my meal as always. Everyone at my table loved their pizzas and could not wait for dessert. Dessert is something we all have to have at Joes.
This time, dessert was disappointing. Most ordered the peach Italian creme cake. When it arrived the peaches were brown and unappealing. It tasted OK but I kept wondering if the cake was fresh. The peaches did taste old and we should have opted for another choice. The cake and frosting part was fine so I ate around the peaches. We took half the cake home with us. The others commented something was wrong with the peaches and we should have fought over the last piece of strawberry. We let it go. The waiter did a good job of separating our checks since our parties were split up. It was already after 8:15 by this time and we still had a good drive home.
We have had better experiences at this place and I know its tough to have an "A game" every night. If we had not driven so far for dinner, it probably would not have mattered. I think we will need to wait awhile before going back. Maybe this COVID thing will get better sooner rather than later.More
