The Warehouse

The Warehouse
502 South Main Street

5 thumbs DOWN

How is this place still in business? Once it opened, I was certainly wooed into checking it out a few times. This review will be a bit briefer than others, as I haven't eaten there in quite some time. The first night we went was one of the first nights it was open, so I knew not to judge it too harshly. I ordered pasta with snow crab (my first mistake) and literally had to spit it out into my napkin. It was a knee jerk reaction, much like trying to ingest battery acid or sour milk. The crab was rancid. It was putrid. It was vile. To their credit, they comped my meal and offered me something else, which ended up being very starchy, bland, and homogeneously white (white potatoes, cream sauce, white noodles). First night jitters aside, a place should be serving primo, fresh ingredients on its first few nights of business. There is no excuse for spoiled food when a place is brand new.

I returned on another occasion only to be disappointed yet again. This time, I went with the seared ahi tuna. Maybe I'm the one making the mistakes here by ordering such dishes, but I figure if it's on a menu, the restaurant should be expected to do it right. The dish was clearly prepared long ahead of time and most likely had been sitting in a cooler waiting to be served. The fish had an unpleasant sheen to it that only comes from sitting out for a while. It really wasn't good. I went with a party of 6 and no less than 3 of my dining companions got very sick after eating there.

The skillful use of an old building in a derelict part of town should certainly be applauded, but this restaurant has it all wrong. Reliable sources have informed me that the owner is cheap, cuts corners, uses poor quality ingredients and non industry grade equipment, including refrigerators. These are all grave concerns to any respectable dining patron but not often learned.

I really wanted this place to be great. The room is amazing and South Main could use the revitalization. Unfortunately, The Warehouse doesn't deliver it.