A night that started off with 4-star promise unfortunately ended up with a 2-star let down.

Seating is limited, so our group of 4 couldn't be seated right away at 5:30 on a Saturday evening. However, we were welcomed to the bar/patio side to order drinks and appetizers while we waited for a table. The atmosphere on the bar side was great and our waiter super friendly. We got a round of drinks (my first time having Japanese beer!) and three appetizers: gyoza, okonomiyaki, and hot chicken buns. All were good but the chicken buns were standout and I would happily order them again.

When the table was ready we moved back to the restaurant side to order our ramen. I ordered the Shio and was not impressed. The broth was not particularly flavorful and the pork super fatty. It could have used some extra sauce or seasoning, but unfortunately those cost an extra $1-2, which just personally annoys me. The others in my group seemed to like their dishes more so perhaps I just ordered the wrong one.

But here's the real kicker. Not 2 minutes after we had all paid and gotten receipts back, a host or manager (not really sure which) brusquely came and removed all of our water glasses and the water jug. It was very obvious that she was trying to passive-aggressively get us to leave, despite the fact that one of us still hadn't finished her drink. Another 2 to 3 minutes later, the same woman came back and told us that there was an hour wait and they needed our table. Now I totally understand that, but I was shocked at the way she handled it. She did not ask us to leave or recommend us to move back to the bar, she just told us to go. This lack of very basic customer service skills was a poor way to end the evening.

My first experience with Donatos was a very positive one.

I had received a coupon code for a free pizza by signing up for their email alerts and free food is my all time favorite thing so I had to check it out. You order at the counter before finding the table. The woman was very kind, gave us an overview of the menu, and had no problem activating the code.

We waited 10-15 minutes for our pizza and were not disappointed. It's thin, but not too thin, and loaded with toppings. It's a round pizza, but cut into small rectangle pieces, which makes it good for sharing or for eating half a pizza but somehow feeling like it's less.

Not something I would necessarily go out of my way for - no free, easy parking (that I'm aware of) nearby is a deterrent, but would be happy to come back if I was in the neighborhood. Or if they gave me another free coupon code.

Perfect place to spend a Friday afternoon.

Wasn't busy at all and we were able to get a booth with a tv and game console. There was some confusion over which console went with which table and a controller with no batteries, but the staff was happy to help get things situated.

Can't beat $3 Yazoo happy hour drafts and a playlist full of 90s music.

Will hopefully be back soon to check out the food and/or late night scene and will be able to update to speak to those things.

There seems to be an organizational issue at the Woodbine branch. I called yesterday asking if my package arrived yet and was told it had not. Received a call back this morning stating that the package had arrived and was ready for me to pick up. Was feeling optimistic seeing as I had received a personal call, but when I arrived to the branch, I was told it had gone out for delivery, despite the fact that I had spoken to someone about picking it up in person and them knowing that my apartment mailbox is too small for it to be delivered. Not pleased that I took a 30 minute round trip for nothing. Had to drive back again this evening after work to get it.

The reason I'm really writing this though is to give a shoutout to the service I received at the desk. Everyone I spoke too was very kind and knowledgable about the new mail situation at my apartment complex. Donna even gave me her personal contact info so I could let her know if the package arrived during the day. When I walked back in tonight, she knew exactly who I was and had everything ready to go. The desk workers often take a lot of the grief for issues they didn't cause, so I was very impressed with the grace and kindness they showed.