I've been to Old Ephraim's a total of 4 times, and will make this a short list based simply on my own experiences:
1) The food is decent-to-good. I haven't had anything there that I would consider ""bad"", and have been there with a variety of people eating a variety of things. So I won't list individual items, but can say that at least concerning food, it's ok (though I don't like their sweet tea - tastes ""made from yesterday"" old).
2) Service is usually horrible. They are always understaffed and when larger events are happening in the square, management/owners do not bring in extra help. On one trip once we were sat we waited 15 minutes before anyone came to our table to greet us. On another we went 10 minutes with empty glasses before getting refills. On yet another it was close to 45 minutes from the time we placed a simple order until we got our food which was cold, meaning most likely it was sitting in the window in the kitchen a while before the server brought it out. The host seemed ho-hum about his job, taking his time to look for available tables, but also bussing/cleaning tables as well. A little bit of this can be blamed on a few staff who aren't the best picks for food servers,but the bigger blame can be made toward the management and/or owners - with one server on one visit even telling us flat-out ""they have no idea what they're doing"".
3) Thing that urks me: The servers clean/clear tables patrons have left, then go back and bring out your food. I've been told they DO supposedly wash their hands in-between handling the dirty dinner/glassware and holding your food plates, however, I'm a firm believer in a restaurant hiring dedicated ""bussers"" to clean the tables so those who handle your food do not touch plates people have been sneezing/drooling on.
4) It's just not a comfortable place: At first glance the wood/stone decor is decent, but once you get to the oddly formed booths that are VERY hard to sit on (think ""old punishing church seating""), you slide into a table that is much lower than standard - almost hugging the tops of your legs. You feel like an adult who's been asked to sit at the kiddie table. The bathroom wasn't the cleanest on my last visit, and they were out of paper towels as well. Boo.
It's a shame to see a place in a PRIME location be owned/run by invisible owners who don't seem to really care. Just having that prime location isn't enough - if it's an uncomfortable place with poor service, eventually, you're still going to fail. Let's hope the invisible owners realize this before it's too late.
*** ADDED (6/19/2011) *** I received a direct private message from someone who suggests they are one of the owners of this establishment regarding a review for this restaurant I wrote elsewere, (""John W"") who said the following to me... quote.... : ""Shut up and pull your foot out of your ying yang. Don't make comments thinking you know what is best when you don't. Leave my restaurant alone and don't come back."".... end of quote.
I emailed the supposed real owner via the restaurant web site to inform him of someone claiming to be the owner making comments to reviewers and instead of being concerned, his response was basically, ""get a life"", in the same style of writing as the John W. alias above.
Conclusion: My personal opinion is that the ownership of Old Ephraim's is not at all concerned about poor experiences that patrons have there, nor do they care about comments or suggestions that might help them to improve their place. Obviously I won't be back and those I know say they feel the same. It's a shame to see a place with such potential be allegedly run with such a bad attitude, but rejoice city searchers - we have thousands of OTHER choices in the metro area to dine at. Let's try them, shall we?
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