Three friends had a strange experience at a restaurant popular with food influencers in Charleston, South Carolina. The experience didn’t live up to the hype…or did it?
In a video that has been viewed more than 57,000 times, TikTok user Paige Breen gave an honest review of Allora, an Italian restaurant that has received rave reviews on social media. After discovering a discrepancy with her expectations, she spent her own money to provide the agency with tangible feedback.
Breen said she initially enjoyed her time at the restaurant. The hostess sat them down and was friendly and helpful. However, when the waiter came out to take their drink orders, Breen noticed he had a thick fake Italian accent. She describes the accent as cheesy and off-putting, which immediately sets the tone for the rest of the experience.
She then noticed that the menu she received had a large brown stain ring in the center. “For a place that’s been open less than six days, there shouldn’t be a stain on the menu … and it shouldn’t be given to customers,” Breen said.
Charleston restaurant’s influencer night goes off the rails
From there, the experience went downhill. The waiter came back to the table every two minutes to check on them, repeatedly asking if they were ready to order appetizers. Breen claims the server went down at least six times in 10 minutes. When they were finally ready to order, she said the waiter tried to oversell them on different menu items.
The waiter also insisted that they place their entire order immediately, including entrees and appetizers. At this point, they had only selected a few appetizers and hadn’t looked at the main courses yet. They asked to stay a few more minutes and then decided to order three pasta dishes.
Breen said another waiter brought a bread boat that took up most of the table but made no attempt to distribute it. The bread itself looked like it had just been picked, not fresh, she said. Their waiter “ran over” and handed out the bread after noticing they had left it out for quite some time.
Food is no better than service
Breen said when the appetizers arrived, the plates they received were obviously dirty. When she asked for new plates, the waiter seemed frustrated and replied, “No, they’re not. They’re not dirty.”
Breen said she found the denial odd, considering she could show him the scraps of food on the plate. After some back and forth, he relented and brought out another set of plates – equally dirty. Breen said she had to ask again for a clean set. The waiter snorted, walked to the back, and came back with the plates he had just taken out of the dishwasher.
When Brynn and her friends ordered their entrees, she said they were cold and tasted like they came from Sisko. “None of the pastas are as good as they say they are, nor are they fresh and authentic,” she said. Breen asked for her food to be reheated, which the restaurant did. However, fifteen minutes later they received three more plates of the same pasta as ordered. Despite not requesting new dishes, they now had double the amount of food covering the entire table.
The waiter continued to make strange comments about them, offering free limoncello that he said was “homemade”. According to Breen, the limoncello didn’t taste fresh or authentic. He also commented on the pasta, saying “[the food] taste[s] Free is better,” another comment that Brin found unpleasant.
“Ridiculous dining experience”
By the end of the evening, Breen said they were charged for extra pasta they didn’t ask for. “We barely touched it and it came back twice,” she added.
The waiter dropped his Italian accent, “huffed and puffed” and hurriedly dropped the check, ending the night.
Breen reiterated her disappointment with the service, especially considering the cost of the meal. “You opened a restaurant six days ago and everything is dirty. You claim to be authentic but everything is fried out of the bag, out of the freezer,” she said. “Nothing there has to be freshly made. It’s an absolutely ridiculous dining experience. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life.”
What does Allora’s review say?
As of October 25, Breen’s Allora restaurant currently has a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars on Yelp, with 19 reviews. This is in stark contrast to some of the environmental videos posted on TikTok.
Many of the restaurant’s TikToks highlight the coastal aesthetic and vibe, as well as some of the drinks and food on the menu.
Yelp reviewers, on the other hand, generally liked the atmosphere but said the service and food could be improved. This is consistent with Brin’s criticism.
One reviewer even said the lobster she sent back she felt was undercooked. “Ten minutes have passed and there is no manager. [and] The waiter came back and said the kitchen confirmed it was cooked,” the woman wrote.
She said the issue was still unresolved when she left the restaurant. “The undercooked dish was still on the table but it was still on our bill. No apology, no offer to replace it, no offer of a drink or even a simple gesture to acknowledge what had happened.”
Other reviewers noted similar issues, with one stating that the limoncello was “undrinkable.”
We’ve contacted Breen and Allora via email. We will update this story if either party responds.
@paigekbreen A true and honest review of the newest chs restaurant…hard to say it will be back any time soon. #chs #charleston #foodie #restaurant #italian ♬ Original Sound – Paige K Breen
