Debi F.
Yelp
Dar 525 is down the street from my apartment. Over the past year or so, every time I have ordered, the staff screwed up the order somehow. I let it go because it did not seem like that big of a deal.
Today I ordered a salad and a burger. I asked for the burger without cheese. The burger arrived with, you guessed it, cheese all over it.
The salad was made with lettuce that looked like someone had already chewed it up for me. The entire salad was sad, the lettuce was soggy, as though everything had been sitting in a warm bowl over the weekend, but they served it anyway. The fattoush salad is supposed to have big, crispy romaine lettuce leaves, that are accompanied by big pieces of fried pita bread. When done correctly, it's amazing. This salad looked like it belonged in the food waste bin.
The salad issue had happened before. The manager and I had a talk and he told me that the kitchen made a mistake and that it would not happen again.
Well, it happened again. I returned the salad and asked for a refund. The staff said:
1. It's not our fault, its the kitchen's fault
2. What's wrong with the lettuce?
3. Sometimes we use a different lettuce when we don't have the right lettuce. What does that mean?
4. It's not my fault.
5. Go ahead and tell Addi (the manager)
Basically, don't bother me with your food quality issues. Those are all wrong answers. The correct answer is, "I'm sorry that happened, let me fix it for you". I did not get a correct answer. I was given attitude. We had an argument about the food. The server was disrespectful and rude about the situation.
Then, something ridiculous happened. I was reviewing the receipt, to make sure they did the refund correctly. After all, if you cannot get the order right, why would I assume the charges are correct.
Then Emanuel, the staff person said to me, "dont roll your eyes at me". Buddy. I need reading glasses. It's dark in there. I'm not eye rolling, I'm squinting because I have old people disease and I didn't bring my reading glasses. Which is exactly what I said to Emanuel before leaving.
I will not be ordering from here again. Treating regular customers like trash is not good for business. The bad food is one thing, but the bad attitude and refusal to accept responsibility for messing up an order, well, that is inexcusable.
Every time I have ordered here, especially during the pandemic, I have tipped 25% because I felt it was the right thing to do, and I wanted to help them stay in business.
After the way Emanuel and the bartender woman treated me, I will choose to spend my money elsewhere. You should too.
EDIT: I spoke with the manager, Addi. I was very disappointed in his response. Addi was only interested in talking about his point of view. He insisted that I should have talked to him first before writing a 1-star review.
I did not feel that he gave two squeaks about how Manny (Emanuel) treated me, with the exception of the eye-rolling part. He said he would "take care of it" on his end. I did not receive an apology or anything that resembled an apology.
I walk by the restaurant every day with my dog. Addi ignores me now with an angry look about him. That is a shame, but whatever.
I stand with my opinion that this a restaurant that lacks customer service and judgement. I recommend finding another place to eat.
