SET at Theater Square - Louisville

We went to Set, which is now encore on the 4th before a concert on the 6th. December in the palace We knew it could be a little slow, as it was just under new possessions, but for convenience it took a chance. Bad idea! Our food was very slow and when we asked the waitress Allie (sp) to check it out, it was rude and unforeseen. She never apologised for the food being late, offered a drink while we were waiting. When we asked about our check, because we were crispy in a time, she took her time to complain. The diners next to us said the same thing they actually had the nerve to confront one of our diners in the street afterwards, because one of our party has left a $2.00 tip because of their attitude. As for the owner, Timothy, if asked why the $10 sweet salad that had 2 beets and a few greens was so small, he replied that 's the way it is. Finally he took the salad from our bill, but argued with us about the portion size and got very defensive. He also wounded the previous owner on the phone when I called to confirm our reservation that should have been a red flag from the beginning! One of the worst culinary experiences ever.

I don't like to leave negative reviews, but after Saturday's dinner experience at SET I must. First of all, I would like to leave behind the few positive comments I have. The restaurant is neat in appearance. Decorates beautifully with a modern barn feeling. The cocktails tasted great and the appetizer was good. Here are my positive comments. On arrival we were greeted by a hostess who explains a limited menu, due to a new restaurant name? I chose the fish tacos and my girlfriend got the fried pork copper sandwich. The limited menu was a piece of printer paper that had only name, no description of the ducks. My bill was $60.00.

A reservation for 6 p.m. for an 8 p.m. show at The Palace. Place was empty when we arrived and they tried to sit on practically ON the band. On request for another table, they said that all tables were reserved... Yeah, so our table was with the reservation I made. The service was good first, but went downhill when he was overcrowded. A beverage order (Margarita and a barrel beer) took 25 minutes. The waiter was very patient and said the bar was secured. Well, yeah, it's a Friday night and there's a show over the street... I would expect that not the first time the restaurant has to do with these things. Most dishes were delicious with the exception of a plate that would have been sent back if we had time. The maize cake was well cooked and emptiness of taste. My compliments to the collar, but they were delicious. Overall, I would expect a restaurant working over the street from a venue to be well prepared to treat a lot, but it wasn't. I'm sure they only survive because there is no competition in the area.

We had great experiences at SET in the past and suggested it to friends for dinner before a show at The Palace. This visit was like another restaurant. We didn't know that the menu in show nights was different, that wasn't the case when we were in a show night a few months ago. None of our favorites was on the shorter menu. Service was slow – we were told, “everyone came at once.” This is likely to be expected in a night before an event over the street. Plan it and don't make excuses. We could have overlooked the slowdown, even though they had a stressful culinary experience asking if we had time to eat. The food was not worth waiting. Our group had fish sandwiches, fish tacos and fish and chips. My fish was dry and had been boiled too long. The fish in the fish and chips was not cooked long enough. Only the fish tacos were acceptable, but the portion size was very small for a duck. We were offered to drink more than we didn't need, but nobody was there when we did. Our server brought us our ticket quickly and was the only bright spot of the evening. Such a disappointment. I hope things will soon improve.

My meal was mediocre fish sandwich, starter was edible, but the so called garlic fires had no garlic and were soggy, even the replacement fires fresh out of the pan were not worth eating green chili wontons were fair at best, but my friend's choices were not her wedge salad was only so so and the corn cake tower tasted like cardboard. she ate less than half the salad and only a couple of bits of the corn cake thing. all in all a terrible experience for $65, and even had it not been so high we wouldnt go back and have told all our friends