Jetsetbrunette J.
Yelp
Stunned by our experience. My teenage daughter and I were excited to try this restaurant after so many good reviews. Our other daughter will be starting college here in a few weeks and we had hoped to find a good place for future visits.
When we entered the door we noticed what looked like a city permit for electrical work, a huge fan blowing in the front and only one party finished and leaving. I could also see two young kitchen guys at the back in what looked like an elevated kitchen space. The one guy looking right at us took a rag from his pocket and wiped what I can only assume now was sweat from his face.
We were a bit reluctant with the restaurant being empty, but thought it maybe it was normal for a Thursday at 7:30. After taking my assigned seat, I looked directly to my left and saw a wide open door that housed a shiny white toilet not eight feet away. At this point we asked the waitress if we could choose another seat since the restaurant was empty. It seemed to require a bit of justification on my part regarding not wanting to see a toilet while eating. My daughter reminded me that the waitress waited for my daughter to carry our waters to the new table instead of offering to do it. We then watched the bartender clean the the storefront windows inside and out for the next fifteen minutes. Again, side work that you might think better saved for daytime.
In our new seats now we placed our food order and chatted while waiting. My daughter who is quite small and always cold removed a sweater she was wearing over a thin tank. She remarked how incredibly hot it was and how bad she felt for the staff having to work in this warm restaurant. And here is where it gets interesting. We saw a couple come down a few steps above our new corner table and discovered the restaurant had another room.
Our food comes and we mention the heat to the waitress and how bad it must be working in it and inquire if it has been broken long. At this point, she casually mentions that our room has no air but that the other room does. I suggest that the hostess might have seated us upstairs instead knowing that. She replies "Oh, I always seat people there instead" She then never suggests moving us and appears to have little concern that we appear uncomfortable. She returns again and I mention that the food is a ten, but the atmosphere and the heat are ruining what could be a delicious meal.
At this point the bartender or maybe he was the manager walks by and I share my story with him and he listens and shakes his head in acknowledgment, but doesn't offer a solution. Now the waitress comes by and clears my finished plate and I refuse her suggestion of dessert. She then ignores the fact that my daughter still has her fork in her hand and fifty percent of her food left and offers her a box. We have raised our children to be polite and gracious to servers, but at this point my daughter just stopped eating.
The waitress then drops off the check and disappears. In the meantime kitchen guy and his sweat rag enters the room and proceeds to stand directly in front of us. Giving us another mood enhancing view. Ten minutes go by and no waitress. I then pickup the card I had placed on the table to pay what was about a 58 dollar bill, grabbed 60 dollars out of my bag and marched over to the bar. This is where I told the bartender and the waitress as she entered the room that I had given them more than three chances to provide good customer service, but they FAILED. I am sad that for the first time in my life I tipped horribly. I just can't justify rewarding horrible treatment.
