Pappagallo

Having eaten at this restaurant on a couple of company events before, I decided to book the private dining room upstairs due to the decent food and lovely atmosphere for my wife's birthday dinner.

The dinner went well, with guests enjoying the food, atmosphere and company. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the service. My guests were in agreement that the waitress attending our table was unfriendly and bordering rude. I left it at that, as I'm of the opinion that so long as the food is good, I can overlook the poor service. After all, this one waitress could be a bad apple.

After settling the bill, I discovered that the waitress had thrown away what was at least half the birthday cake. I was rather upset with this but decided not to take it up with the management that evening and spoil what was a lovely dinner.

So, the next day, I called the manager to complain. He promised to check with the waitress and to call me back. The following day, there was no phone call. Two days after, I called back and was told that the waitress claimed that there was only a quarter of the cake left and the bit which was left was in a mess. Hence why she took the liberty to chuck the cake away. According to her version of events anyway.

Firstly, there was definitely more than a quarter of the cake left. The cake was meant for 15 people. There were 17 of us, but I specifically told the waitress to serve SMALL pieces as we've all had dessert. So, there has to be leftovers, enough for us to take home.

Secondly, quarter, half or three quarters would be her words against mine, BUT the waitress has absolutely no right whatsoever to throw away what was left of the cake without first asking me. It is just NOT done.

Thirdly, when I complained to the manager, he was bent on blaming me rather than trying to resolve the situation. There was no apology nor an offer for compensation. What I got instead was a curt, “So what do you want?”. I explained that the least that he could have offered was an apology. He did in the end, which by then was too little too late.

Lastly and what really ticked me off about the whole episode was, why was I made to feel like I was lying? In fact, if the manager had thought it through carefully, he would have realised that there was no motivation for me to lie.

I guess the hedge funds lining the nearby streets must be doing well since this restaurant can afford to alienate their guests in this market conditions. Would I go back to a restaurant with poor service and a manager who implied that I am a liar? Certainly not, and I doubt you would too.
Comment on this reader review

7 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Friday, June 05, 2009