Gem State Grill - St Maries

Our server was brand new—it was her first day, and it showed. She struggled to spell "pancake" and was unsure if they served soup at two in the afternoon. After taking our order, we barely saw her again. The reason for my three-star rating primarily relates to the poor service. We waited 45 minutes for our food to arrive, despite being the only table in the restaurant. I suspect it was because the chips had to be made from scratch, but this should have been communicated to us. Fortunately, we weren’t in a hurry, but the prolonged waiting felt unnecessary. While waiting, a man walked in to drop off his resume, and the cook decided to interview him right there at the table next to ours! There was a separate office or at least a table farther away that would have been more appropriate for that. Finally, our food arrived, and everything was great. My omelet included two types of cheese, the patty melts were served on the right bread, and the pancakes were not only huge but came in a pair. However, they forgot my side of gravy, and after I had to get up and yell into the kitchen for it, it arrived cold. We started to eat without anyone checking in to ask how everything was or offer condiments like ketchup and mustard. After the interview ended, I noticed our waitress sitting two tables away, engrossed in her phone, while another cook/server counted out tips. Really? It’s disappointing that no one seems to recognize the importance of good service—bringing food to the table isn’t the entirety of service! My friends didn’t seem as bothered as I was and left what I thought was an overly generous tip for simply taking our order. New girl, consider yourself lucky. I wouldn’t have left a thing.