Fourth Street Filling Station Restaurant Review - Winston Salem, NC

871 West 4th Street

Winston Salem, NC 27101

(336) 724-7600

Shrimp & Grits - $12.00

Chicken Salad Melt - $8.00

This is a review of a restaurant located in downtown Winston Salem, North Carolina called Forth Street Filling Station. We visited around noon on a Tuesday.  Parallel parking is available on 4th Street and the parking meter requires a quarter for each hour and it has a two hour limit. They have a tiny parking lot but it's only about eight spaces and it's difficult to turn around after not finding a parking space. They have lots of outdoor seating which was completely full when we arrived and some indoor seating which was mostly empty. Their sanitation grade was 95 which is very good. We were seated right away.

We waited quite some time for the waitress to take our order and she wasn't smiling or friendly. Our drinks came out promptly, but my Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi, not sure which, tasted off. We then waited forty-five minutes for our entrees to arrive! Normally I wouldn't wait that long for food, but I was in such disbelief since the restaurant was not full of customers and it was lunchtime after all. The waitress never came to refill our drinks nor check on us. We had an awful time trying to flag her down. We asked how much longer it would be because we were ready to leave. She said just another minute which turned out to be eight! When the food arrived my french fries were just warm which meant my food was sitting there waiting for the waitress to pick it up. After waiting forty-five minutes, I expect hot food to be hot and cold food to be cold. I've never had a chicken salad sandwich that I didn't love until this meal. It was sour! It tasted like the mayo was bad for sure and I didn't eat another bite. I was so disappointed! I love chicken salad especially on a croissant! The cheese was suppose to be melted, but it was not yet the chicken salad wasn't cold. So all I had to eat were the fries which were good. 

Hubby ordered the Shrimp & Grits and really enjoyed it a lot. He said it was hot, but I was wondering how that was possible since the cheese on top wasn't melting! Later in the day he had a horrible stomach ache and we thought maybe the cream sauce was bad. We finally got the waitresses attention, but she just stood by the register waiting her turn since someone else was using it. They really need another register and management needs to tell the wait staff to tend to their customers rather than waiting in line to use the register! Finally she came over and Hubby told her that my sandwich was sour. She turned it back on him and told him "you should have let me know". Seriously?! She was never available and she should have checked on us at least once to see if we were enjoying our meal. If she had taken a moment to glance at our table, she would have seen that I wasn't eating my sandwich. She was going to argue with us and she was making us even angrier, so Hubby said to just bring the check. Instead, someone showed up asking how I was without introducing herself. I was quite stunned and was wondering who she was since she wasn't wearing a name tag or uniform. She told us she had heard I didn't like my sandwich and we wouldn't have to pay for it. She also said we wouldn't have to pay for anything we ordered. That was appreciated, but something should have been done when we were waiting forty-five minutes. Her excuse for that was that they had a large party before us. According to the reviews I read, it's quite common for them to have large groups. I'm guessing this is due to the many offices that are located nearby. She should have brought out a appetizer or soup for free while we were starving waiting for the food to show up! Don't wait till the customer is so fed up they will never return. They did offer me something to go, but they were crazy to think I would yet again wait for them to cook me some food! I also found it awful how the other waitress, who was tending to her customers quite often, never smiled at me when she walked past our table. It appeared to me that the staff doesn't enjoy working there.

I'd also like to note that the windows and the mirror on the wall were filthy. That alone is reason for me not to return to a restaurant. It shows a lack of caring and cleanliness. The ceiling was painted white, but there was black dirt all over it. Hubby says it's probably from their gas heat. The blue walls were also in serious need of repainting. The tables are very worn out with scratches and discoloration. They should close down the restaurant for a day to take care of these issues. Needless to say we will not be returning. 

What's the longest you have waited for a meal? Be sure to check out the other reviews I have posted for the Triad area:

Amigos Mexican Grill - King, NC

Atelier on Trade Bakery & Café - Winston Salem, NC

Chef Samir Shaltout - Greensboro, NC

Dairi-O - King, NC

Green Valley Grill - Greensboro, NC

Hakka Chow - Winston Salem, NC

Jolo Winery - Pilot Mountain, NC

Le Kebab - Charlotte, NC

Little Italy - King, NC

Mary's Gourmet Diner - Winston Salem, NC

Mooney's Mediterranean Cafe - Winston Salem, NC

Mizu Japanese Cuisine - Winston Salem, NC

Thai Cafe - King, NC

The Marshall Free House - Greensboro, NC

The Porch Kitchen & Cantina - Winston, NC

The Tavern in Old Salem - Winston Salem, NC

Village Tavern - Winston Salem, NC

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