Longleaf

My friends and I had made reservations for lunch while visiting the Botanical Gardens. It definitely wasn’t crowded during the week so reservations really were not needed. Upon entry the inside was very open concept and a lovely inside and out. All but one wall have windows to gaze outside onto guests walking by but more importantly looking outside on to the gardens. We were greeted by the host who was kind and showed us to our table. The unfortunate part was our server gal went MIA many times and took a very long time returning to check on us. She was kind and gave us her opinion on entrees but it made our lunch stay much longer than we wanted it to be since we still had more of the gardens to visit. Our mocktails were scrumptious. My Strawberry Field was a bit sweet but very tasty. I’m not big on coconut, thankfully it’s definitely mild. I kind of wished there were more entree choices, but all found something. I had the Ham and Buerre which was okay. A bit pricey for what it is which is ham, spread and chopped small pickles. I did enjoy the warm fries. My friend ordered the Roasted Airline Chicken and said it was delicious. It came in a plate of sauce/drippings. She loved it. Definitely not shareable, just an fyi. My other friend had wanted the Mediterranean Salmon but the Wild Rice is cold which sounds awful. She opted for one of the salads and added Salmon and she liked it. And since it was my friends bday they brought out a free dessert which was awful tasting and even looking. Although our server said it’s a favorite, it definitely wasn’t ours. The bottom layer tasted and had the texture of Greek yogurt and the top was a peach puree. The entire texture was nasty. I’d suggest ordering a dessert off the menu when celebrating a birthday. Wish I would have but most restaurants offer a nice tasty bday dessert. Our bill for everything was $120 + tip. Again kind of on the pricey side but worth it for the ambiance. Next time I’ll order from the outside cafe, which had some better & cheaper choices.

Okay Longleaf! 👏🏾 I thoroughly enjoyed my meal, but I have to give a special shoutout to our server Shaunda because she was WONDERFUL! Super friendly, attentive, and every recommendation was spot on. Now listen… that kale salad and blackened salmon had me in a CHOKEHOLD. 😂 I don’t even know when I became somebody who gets this excited about a kale salad, but here we are. Shaunda did not steer us wrong once. Great food, great service, and just an all-around good experience. I’ll definitely be back!

Amazing lunch with my daughter. Aquila was our waitress and she was wonderful!! Never an empty glass and when my daughter and I both ordered the ham sandwich she let us know that it was large and maybe we should share. We were so glad because we would have had a whole sandwich left over. We got a garden salad to share as well and it was wonderful. We left stuffed! Highly recommend!

The service and style of this place is exquisite without being affronting. It’s professional yet casual so you may step off the path for a treat. Shaunda was very informative and friendly, on point for every part whether the immersiveness of the exhibit as it ties in with the menu or her diverse knowledge of each ingredient to please the palate. Ask for Shaunda on your stop through the gardens! Here is a pic of the Filet on the Kale salad and Lions mane on the Caesar salad, both largely portioned.

I do like the outdoors seating amongst the flowers. The waiters was nice and the tequila sunrise drink was good. The food I ordered was on the special list. Clam Pasta was beautiful to look at so colorful. I do not mind trying different dishes and this one had a unique flavor to it. Salt and pepper could not fix the taste.