1425 West First Street
Winston Salem, NC 27101
(336) 999-8413
Plain Jane Salad (click on photos to enlarge)
Burger Creation with Flapper Fries - $14 ($9 + $1 Brioche Bread + $1 Cherrywood Bacon + $1 Gruyere Cheese + $1 Mushrooms + $1 Caramelized Onions)
Flapper Chicken & Waffles - $11
This is a review for a new restaurant called Cin Cin Burger Bar located in downtown Winston Salem, North Carolina. Hubby & I visited on Black Friday around 2:30 pm. They offer free parking on the right side of the restaurant. The restaurant is located right next to West First Street only a sidewalk separates it. When we entered the restaurant we were immediately greeted at the reception area by a greeter and taken to a booth. On the way we had to stop and wait for a waiter to get by in the hallway and then we had to wait for a busboy to get out of the way so that we could make our way to the table. The greeter had to ask him to move so that we could get by. Normally, restaurant staff gives way to customers, so that was a red flag. We found it annoying and unwelcoming. The retro decor is lovely and they have many booths.
While deciding what to order we were greeted by a friendly waitress who blamed her lateness on it being busy which it was not. It was 2:30 pm not the busy lunch hour several hours prior! There were several empty tables, so it wasn't a believable excuse. She brought out our beverages shorty thereafter and we placed our order. I decided to try the Flapper Chicken & Waffles. It's described as "dry rubbed fried chicken strips on a Belgium waffle with powdered sugar and maple syrup". Hubby ordered a Creation Burger with Flapper Fries. He chose an angus beef burger on brioche bread with arugula, tomato, gruyere cheese, caramelized onions, cherrywood bacon and mushrooms. Creation Burgers start at $9. The bread and most toppings are an additional dollar each, so his burger landed up costing a whopping $14! Charging for bread is so odd, certainly the bun should be included in the cost of a burger! My entree cost $11 and it included a Plain Jane Salad or a Caesar Salad. I ordered the Plain Jane Salad with Thai Chili Vinaigrette dressing on the side. It took twenty minutes for my salad to show up and she brought a Caesar Salad with dressing on it rather than the Plain Jane Salad I ordered with dressing on the side. So I waited again for her to return with the correct salad. I didn't care for the Thai Chili Vinaigrette, but the salad itself was very tasty especially since I waited so long and I was overly hungry. Eight minutes later our entrees arrived, that's thirty-five minutes after we arrived, a very long wait indeed! I'm really surprised we waited that long for food, normally we would have walked. We really wanted to give this new restaurant a try and we were hoping for a good experience. Unfortunately, the unpleasant experience continued. My husband asked for his burger to be cooked medium and when he cut into the burger it was raw inside and cool to the touch! Wow, shocking especially after such a long wait! It was seared on the outside, but cool and raw in the inside. He told the waitress and she acted quite awkward about the situation and asked him to hand the burger to her! She then realized that wasn't a good idea and said "hold on" and came back with a carry out box. She placed the burger in the carry out box and then returned it to the kitchen. How bizarre. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes! Several minutes later someone else brought out a plate with another burger and fries and the second burger while not raw was cooked rare not medium. We were in total disbelief they couldn't get it right the second time. The fries were tasty yet not plentiful and the burger was cooked without salt or pepper and it was quite bland. My fried chicken was also not plentiful and it had too much batter which was very greasy. My entree was brought out with the syrup already poured all over the chicken and waffle which I found to be so odd. I've never ever in my entire life been to a restaurant that pours the syrup on your pancakes or waffles for you, it's always on the side. The syrup softened the crispy batter which I did not appreciate. The waffle was ok, but it was not brought out hot, it was just warm and it was cold before I was done eating. Getting our bill was another long, agonizing wait. After asking for it, she passed our table four times prior to bringing it to our table. She even had the nerve to ask the table of four next to us that had separate bills to share two pens. Certainly, they had more pens in the restaurant! She was very loud, so I couldn't help but overhear her conversation with them. Throughout the meal she was overly attentive so much so that our conversation was interrupted over and over again just be asked the same questions. We would have appreciated it if she had brought our food and bill to the table in a timely manner rather than visiting our table with idle chatter interrupting our conversation. It was another long wait to have our check returned after my husband gave her his credit card.
It was not a peaceful meal at all, in fact it was quite stressful and the worst restaurant experience I can remember in a long time. Needless to say we will not be returning. While I do not enjoy writing a negative review, you have come to expect honest reviews from me and that's what I provide. I do not recommend this restaurant. I can not believe that a manager didn't come out, introduce themselves, apologize and take that improperly cooked burger off our bill. We are customers who rarely complain, but receiving a raw burger was inexcusable. The entire experience was really shocking to say the least. Comment below what your worst restaurant experience was like. Taking recommendations for restaurant reviews. If there is a restaurant you have been meaning to try in the Triad and want a review on it, please comment below and I'll give it a try.
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