Sylvania Social - HAWLEY

This place is a complete joke, and the owner is incredibly rude. I won't be returning.

I must say, the restaurant had a charming atmosphere that felt very inviting, almost like home. We sat down and ordered our drinks, which were absolutely superb—thanks to the bartender, I believe his name was Rich. However, our waitress didn’t smile or seem particularly enthusiastic about being there. We ordered our food, but unfortunately, it wasn’t very tasty at all. Nevertheless, I'll definitely return for those delightful drinks and the music. Hopefully, the food will be better next time.

We ordered a few appetizers: fried pork belly, calamari, and short rib sandwiches. Unfortunately, the pork belly arrived with tiny pieces of an unidentifiable meat drenched in sauce and served on a bed of lettuce. It was served cold and looked quite unappealing. The calamari, also cold, contained only about six pieces and was accompanied by a single cold French fry. The only item that was somewhat edible was the short rib sandwich, served at room temperature. After sending the appetizers back, that was the only food we had left to eat. Our server, a young woman, was apologetic about the cold dishes. While I understand that this isn't fine dining like you'd find in New York City, I believe that for the prices being charged, there should be a decent effort put into preparing the food. The place has the potential to be great if only they could learn to cook and serve better.

Warning!! Avoid this restaurant at all costs! First, let's talk about the terrible service. We had to seat ourselves, and after waiting for 10 minutes without being acknowledged, I had to wave someone over. The waitress was unfriendly! When we ordered iced tea, she failed to mention that only flavored teas were available. I asked for unsweetened tea and ended up with green tea instead. To make matters worse, a couple was seated about 15 minutes after us, but they received their food five minutes before we did. Our meals were cold, which made me suspect they had been sitting in the back while she prioritized bringing out the other customers' orders. I can't even give this place one star, but unfortunately, Yelp doesn't allow that. I'm giving them ZERO stars!

Great atmosphere, friendly staff, and excellent service. The food was very good, although several menu items were unavailable on Saturday night.