NORMS Restaurant

The food was ok.
Gumbo needs more meat, I literally got 1 small sasuage chunk and 0 chicken, it was all just onions and okra, it also should include a scoop of white rice, IMHO, my sandwich was as good as a simple homemade sandwich.
The salad was ok, but they should come with croutons for that crunch.
The kiddo' pancakes were par, eggs were simple and sausage tasted like the refrigerator cheap ones.
My wife's Alfredo was big and tasted well cooked.
I shan't be returning, I don't think the food was good for the price.
I liked the hostess, but the server was not very good.
There are too many contrasting good and bads.

Norms is so different now compared to 15 years ago.
I would only go here if it's the last resort and no other options available now.
Service is so terrible every time, so I don't even know why I even bother still.
Whenever I was here, I would always have to replace/change my order 15-20 minutes (at least twice) AFTER it was placed because they're either "out of stock/ran out" that item or "the person that cooks that's isn't here to make that now;" said the waitress. Why couldn't they just let customers know what is available or not beforehand? If you can't make the items you have on your menu; honestly, it's better to just take it off if it's never available instead of substituting someone's order with a different item without their acknowledgement or consistent first (whenever one been there multiple times before; at least 12 times since it opened.) The food at Norms used to be great, and service was always quick, neat, and organized; with employees being respectful, but it's seems like quality and service just hit rock bottom these days. The last time I went will be the last time I will ever go to Norms.
I never had to wait over 20 minutes for a server to show up and then just disappear for another 20 minutes without taking our drink orders after saying "what would you like to drink" (was said as a statement instead of asked as a question); without taking our order and just disappearing to another table.
We waited over 40 minutes (yes, it was 40 minutes; I have a watch and I use it) just to get water after the second time the waitress showed up when she remembered about us. We also had plastic utensils given to us without even requesting it.
What kind of sit-in diner/restaurant gives customers plastic utensils? I'm surprised our food didn't come on paper plates to go with it too. Also, the syrup they have for their pancakes have water in it!!! Either they mix their syrup from a concentrated liquid to serve to their customers or someone child was playing or tampering with it ADDING WATER to the syrup dispenser from their drinking cup with a straw! 🤮 You can't really see the layer of water floating on top of the syrup in the container since it's a clear fuild, but it's there! (Water has a lower density than syrup, so it floats on top.) We poured water out from it on our pancakes! Water shouldn't even be in the syrup dispenser in the first place!! (Even if you're making your own syrup from boiling and melting sugar in water, it would never separate like this!) I never been to any place before that had water in there and been so grossed out from it! (Still thinking some kid had that water in their mouth before relasing it into the syrup dispenser because their parents allowed them to play with it; cause that shouldn't be there!) (The image is the one with the black plastic lid.
It looks empty, but it's "water"...
I think.
Hopefully, it's "just only water!") (Other imagine is another syrup dispenser our server just switched out for us; the one with the metal cap.) Also, the syrup dispenser we had that had water in it was given to a different table from ANOTHER server. Maybe it will be the last time I go to this Norm location; I honestly love Norms still, but what I experienced here would have never happened in any other business establishment.

This isn’t the first time for me and, looking at the reviews, I’m not the only one.
This location’s graveyard staff is subpar. Right when I walked in, I went to the restroom, turned around & came back, because I needed the code to the door lock.
The guy at the register was helping a couple, but he could see the distress & need in my body language.
Apparently, multitasking is beyond him because he completely ignored me.
After a while, he was just making idle chit chat with the lady of the couple.
It wasn’t even business related.
The guy of the couple, doing the server’s job, finally gave me the code. Upon my return, my “appointed” server sat me on the opposite side of all the other patrons & all the activity of the restaurant.
I was literally “out of sight & out of mind”.
Thrice, I had to stand up to flag someone down for a coffee refill.
2 of those times, I was helped by a different server. When ordering my meal, my choice of sides were only partially offered to me.
I had to tell her what my choices were.
When my food arrived, I was not given napkins.
AllI had was the single napkin that came with the knife & fork.
Also, people normally don’t want to use the same knife used on the steak with their pancakes with butter & syrup.
None of this was offered to me.
I had to impose like some kind of burden. In regards to the food, I asked for over-medium eggs.
The eggs were over-easy & too runny.
Over-medium does have some runny yolk, but not to the point where both the white & yellow are that runny.
I would have told her, but she not once checked on me to see how the food was. Overall, she just went through the motions.
She took the order, brought the food, and collected the money.
The only real “service” only came when I had to bother her for it. You should know that there were lengths of time when all staff was off the floor.
I understand that there’s work in the back, but there should always be eyes on the floor.
There was a point when I was standing for a coffee refill, there was a pickup order, and people waiting at the register.
Honestly, I wonder if the fault is with the staff or with the training.