Sandy Lowe
Google
Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to try the food. I had planned my trip three weeks in advance and made reservations at several restaurants in the area to enjoy with my mum. While all the other restaurants promptly sent confirmation emails or text messages, I never received any confirmation for my booking at Acacia, even after entering my card details—neither by email nor by text. As a result, I assumed my reservation hadn’t gone through.
Additionally, unlike the other restaurants, I was not contacted 24–48 hours before my booking to confirm my attendance. However, just seven minutes after my reservation time had passed, I immediately received both a text message and an email informing me that €20 would be charged to my card for not showing up.
When I called to explain that I had never received a confirmation and was therefore unaware that the booking was in place, the staff were disappointingly rude and told me they “didn’t have time to contact all their bookings to confirm.”
I completely understand that technical issues can happen, and I wouldn’t have minded the €20 charge under different circumstances. However, the way the situation was handled was extremely disappointing - especially for a restaurant where you expect a high standard of service. If the quality of service is going to be this unreliable, perhaps Acacia should not be featured in the Michelin guide.
Edit – 17/06/25:
Since I can't reply directly to the owner's response, I'll add my comments here.
This was Mother's Day weekend. I went to another restaurant that had confirmed my booking, and I called you back after dinner (I generally don't answer the phone while dining). There was no rudeness on my part during our call; in fact, I could barely ask a couple of questions as I was repeatedly interrupted. I'm not surprised by your attempt to downplay the situation—labelling dissatisfied customers as "rude" is an easy way to avoid addressing legitimate concerns.
I want to reiterate that your system (MangezNotez) does not consistently deliver booking confirmations or card imprint receipts/notifications. I have never experienced another business holding a temporary amount on my card without providing confirmation of the card imprint. You can handle this feedback as you see fit, but as your booking process mentions a high number of "no-shows," it would make sense if only half of your customers are actually receiving confirmations.