Hazel's Elegant Dining

My wife and I had a very "unique" experience during a recent visit. While the food and decor is lacking, Hazel's had an opportunity to win us over with attention to detail and good service. Unfortunately, we found those aspects to be th ... more

My wife and I had a very "unique" experience during a recent visit. While the food and decor is lacking, Hazel's had an opportunity to win us over with attention to detail and good service. Unfortunately, we found those aspects to be the restaurant's greatest weakness. The person that answers the phone, while cordial, seems more like a used car salesperson that a host. When we asked what time you closed we were asked, "When do you want to come in?" It was almost a negotiation and we could not get a straight answer. The service was barely adequate. Our water glasses went dry and stayed dry for a long time before the solitary server (for a fairly empty restaurant) came by. The bartender had a very good spirit about him and we enjoyed our interactions with him, but our server was more like what you would find in a greasy spoon diner rather than the "famous Hazel's". Seriously, we had better service at Chili's earlier in the day. We get more personalized, and frequent, service at Denny's when going for a 3AM Grand Slam. Billed as a classy restaurant, the staff presents itself with a casual aloofness, which does not jive with the image the restaurant tries to present. The soup was ok, but lacking in depth and served at room temperature. The lettuce for the salad was so bitter it was nearly inedible, and while we were not certain if the blue cheese dressing was food-service generic in or not, but it tasted entirely of mayonnaise. The bitterness of the lettuce was only enhanced, not contrasted, by everything added to it. For the entree, my wife's steak was prepared just as she prefers and the blue cheese was very nice. (We wished the same blue cheese was also used in the dressing!) The Beef Wellington was unevenly cooked, and the crust was gummy...not cooked all the way. Oddly enough the server bragged about how she kept asking you to send it out and you said "I can't send it out like that!" Apparently, she took it away when you were not looking. The potato gratin was completely under seasoned, and it appeared from the plates we observed going back to the kitchen that most went uneaten that night. The worst part, by far, was the desert, Crème Brulee...and we've eaten a lot of Brulee in our lives. The texture was completely off, it was like a warm pudding... as if it never set correctly. Additionally, since the circumference of the dish was so large and shallow, when the sugar was bruleed it served to heat through the desert providing a very displeasing texture and temperature. Never have I been to a nice restaurant where the mandated ServSafe certificate is in a frame as if a piece of art. Generally, they are by the bar or register somewhere. The candles in the restaurant were sporadically lit; some tables had them...but not ours. Hazel's appears to be more of a mausoleum than a nice restaurant. With the standard Casino-ish busy carpet to the archaic pillars, only the dim lighting saves the atmosphere. It would be unbearable if one had to take in the full "ambiance" all at once. Additionally, I believe that both my dentist's office and elevators everywhere use the same CD that you loop as background music. There was something "off" the entire evening...and only at the end did I find out the truth of what has happened to this once great restaurant...it has changed owners! When my wife and I tried to use our 2009 Entertainment Book card we were told that they do not honor that card anymore, because the current owner didn't sign the contract. Oddly enough, there is no mention of new ownership anywhere. In fact, the front of the building still proudly states, "Hazel's. Since 1925". Let me say that this IS NOT by any means the same Hazel's and it is ironic that management would cling to the reputation of the restaurant's past but abandon the previous owner's commitment to our community and the non-profit organizations once so proudly supported. The server seemed genuinely apologetic and stated that they get a lot of frustrated customers caught by surprise. It was a trivial discount, but the rejection speaks of the principles and values of the new ownership. The magic of this once legendary Modesto icon is gone, time to put a fork in it....the only thing the same is the name. less