We had lunch there in early December and had a terrible experience. Very interesting to read that so many other people share our disappointment.
Although neither of us had been to GI in a while, we did have good memories. Our experience last December was as much of a surprise to us as a disappointment. We emailed someone at GI to share our thoughts; below are excerpts:
The primary problem we had was with the catfish sandwich. It had an awful, overly fishy aroma and taste. It was clearly too old or improperly stored. It was inedible. We told our waitress about it. Rather than take the dish back immediately, she left it on the table. But she said she would check with the kitchen.
She returned a few minutes later and said that the chef said the fish just arrived that morning and it was fine. She suggested that perhaps we just weren't used to the cornmeal crust. We said that we knew the difference between a cornmeal crust and bad fish. She said that she would take it off our bill (or replace it), but that she would "put down" that we just didn't like it because the chef said it was fresh. We replied that we didn't care what she wrote down, but it certainly wasn't matter of our dislike of the preparation. The fish was clearly very off.
We shouldn't have to engage in this kind of discussion with the waitress. When a guest sends a dish back, it should be removed from the table immediately. The waitress shouldn't argue with us about whether the fish was fresh or not. Just take it away and apologize, even if the staff happens to think the dish was fine.
There were a few other problems. First, all of the food was cool to lukewarm when served. Second, the service was incredibly slow. When the waitress first asked if we were ready to order, we said we needed another minute. It took her about 15 minutes to return to take the order. She never seemed to be around during the course of the meal. After the food arrived, we waited a very long time for her to come back so we could ask about the catfish. Later, we waited a long time for her to show up so we could ask for the check (and then she gave us someone else's check). Overall, this simple meal for two people took about an hour and 15 minutes.
Third, we also ordered the meatloaf with creole gravy. The meatloaf was utterly tasteless. The so-called creole gravy seemed to be nothing more than stewed tomatoes that tasted more like tomato paste than anything else.
Finally, when we first arrived, the hostess said that it would be about a 15 minute wait for a table. We noticed there seemed to be a number of empty tables in the dining area behind her. She said that the waitress who services those seats just had a number of new tables seated in her area, and that we should sit in a different area once tables opened up there. This seemed strange to us, having to stand and wait for a table in one area, when tables were clearly available in another area. It seems the root of the problem is that the restaurant didn't have enough servers.
On a positive note, we sampled the Maduro, John the Younger, and a Stout, and all three were great.