Karen Chui
Google
5 star wine list, 3 star food, 1 star service.
Why 3 star food?
- We had Menu de l’instant surprise. Highlight was the amuse bouche and entree. The main course- fish was a bit dry. It was either overcooked or been sitting under the heat lamp for too long. I also didn’t understand the coconut soup that the fish was swimming in. It’s supposed to be a sauce but the consistency was a soup.
- Not a fan of the marshmallow dessert. I guess it’s fun to play with? But it’s just a marshmallow nonetheless.
- if it’s not a Michelin star restaurant, it would’ve been a 4-star for food. But in comparison to other 1-star restaurants in the wine region, they are unfortunately only 3-star.
Why 1 star service?
- It was very slow: Menu de l’instant surprise had 4 courses. We were seated with other tables who also had the same menu. They all finished before we did. We waited 30 min between entree and plat, and an hour between plat and dessert. Nobody came to check on us and we had to flag staff down to check on status
- Sommelier’s etiquette 1: We really liked the wine list and decided to order 2 bottles (intended to bring them back to the hotel to catch the champions league final). The wine was great. But when our somm brought the 2nd bottle, he opened it and just left it on the table behind us. He didn’t even taste or smell it, or to offer for us to taste it. It was just sitting there for over an hour until we flagged him down and asked for it.
- Sommelier’s etiquette 2: There was a mosquito that came to rest on our table in between courses. I tapped it with the dinner napkin so there’s a dead mosquito on the white table cloth. No one came to clear our table between entree and plat, we had all the bread and bowls in front of us for half an hour. There were no other staff on the floor so we asked the som if he could remove the bug. He scraped it carelessly with the table scrapper and left a wing on the table and walked away. It’s unclear on why couldn’t he took another second to clear the entire bug off the table.
- Very defensive and rude front of house (Stephanie): When we went to pay at reception, we asked to speak to the chef to give them some honest feedback about the dry fish and the slow service. Stephanie was there and she instantly became very defensive and said that the fish was not dry (as if she ate our food) because the way it was steamed, it’s impossible to be dry (it’s definitely possible). And she blamed the slow service on us ordering 2 bottles of wine. We said that they could’ve asked us on how and when we would like everything served and she got even more defensive and raised her voice at us. I said that we were giving constructive feedback so they could improve in the future, and that she didn’t have to raise her voice at us and be so defensive, and she said, “I don’t need to improve. Nope.” So I asked, “you don’t need to improve? So you are perfect then?” She said, “I’m not perfect, but I don’t need to improve.” She completely shut down emotionally which is very unusual for a front of house. I hope she’s not like this with other customers who are trying to give them feedback. Or they are going to lose that 1 star very very soon.
