"I really wanted to like (or love) Chloez Cafe. It's just a few miles from my home, and it's in a strip shopping center that needs more than just a pizza place. (Well, there are a few others, but none with the type of food or promised ambience of Chloez Cafe.)First, the good news: The food I had--the shrimp basket with fries--was very good. Both had just been fried, so they were hot and fresh. The shrimp was nicely (not too heavily) breaded, and the fries were nicely seasoned. I had a cup of coffee, and that was very good. If I were rating just the food, I'd probably give it five stars.Moving on: Ambiance. I'd give it a three. I didn't get the beach vibe mentioned by some reviewers. The tables were nice wooden ones, but not beach-y. There were quite a few knickknacks which added some charm to an otherwise large, open room. It was well-lit. Not much you can do with the picture window looking out at the parking lot. Because of all the hard surfaces (hard floor, hard walls), sound bounces around and it's a bit noisy. But not too bad.But now we get to Service. That was unacceptably poor. I arrived about 4:15 pm Sunday afternoon. Chloez's wasn't crowded, and I was immediately greeted and asked whether I wanted to sit at a table or the bar. I chose a table. The server approached and asked what I'd have. I ordered a cup of coffee and the shrimp basket. All good so far. But that's about where it ends. She returned a minute later and said the shrimp wouldn't be available (because it's on the dinner menu, though it was listed as a special) for another 10 minutes. Would I like to wait? I decided to order something else, an omelet. I ordered and a few minutes later she returned with the good news that I could have the shrimp basket quickly, after all. Okay, great. Switched back to the shrimp.Another table near me had also ordered the shrimp and got the same message. The other table got their shrimp very promptly. That table was finishing up its meal and had asked for the check before I even got my shrimp basket. As I said, the coffee was good, but no one offered to refill my cup. Finally, I asked for a refill, which was promptly provided. Once I received my shrimp--no ketchup for the fries, nothing for the shrimp either, I asked if Chloez's had either tartar sauce or cocktail sauce. The server had heard of tartar sauce (and after a search of the kitchen found some), but not cocktail sauce. I described cocktail sauce as red. The server guess ketchup? No. Marinara? No. He made a few other guesses, and then shrugged. I did get some tartar sauce, but not cocktail sauce. The coleslaw meant to accompany the shrimp and fries came in a thimble-sized cup.The final service-related comment: Chloez's had at least six servers for about 22 customers. Not that the servers were serving. A clump of them would stand by the cash register. Then a few would separate and travel in teams to different tables to take orders, deliver checks, etc. Then they'd regroup at the kitchen window, even though there weren't any orders up to be delivered. Now, I recognize that most of the servers were either high school or college students. But servers who'd never heard of cocktail sauce when they're serving shrimp? Or a request for tartar sauce for shrimp that evokes multiple chuckles? Or don't even provide ketchup with fries unless asked? I'll give them credit for trying, but I think a bit more training could help a lot.Parking: The parking lot serves the entire strip shopping center. Sometimes it gets fairly full, but there's also parking around back (behind Gold's Gym). Other times, off-hours, it's very open.Kid-friendliness: Saw quite a few kids when I was there. Chloez's has booster seats for the small ones."
