Tania Weatherington
Google
It absolutely pains me to have to give this restaurant 2 stars - but it’s only fair that the number of stars accurately reflects the overall/entire experience that we had at Lobby Bar’s Happy Hour (HH).
My reservation was for 4:45PM, but unfortunately because of a lane closure on my way to the restaurant - I arrived at 4:55PM. Within the 15 min grace period given to those with reservations. This 15 min “hold” on the table is common practice in the DMV - and the confirmation email from Resy states that tables will be held for 15 minutes.
When I checked in with the host, I was told that because I was late my table had been given to another group, and I would no longer be able to have HH, as HH is only for guests seated at the bar and in a particular section of the restaurant. I was then seated at a table (opposite the host stand & the entrance) and given the regular menu.
So imagine my surprise when I saw at least three other guests checked in after me given a HH menu and seated in all the sections of the restaurant (not just the HH seating that I had originally been told). So, I asked the host for a HH menu because I saw that there were inconsistencies.
Immediately the host - Nicole, got extremely short with me, you would have thought that I was hurling abusive superlatives at her, from the way her demeanour COMPLETELY changed & she “threatened” me with getting the Manger. Of course I welcomed this idea, because she clearly at this stage was being unprofessional and also, I knew I was not asking for anything more than what other patrons had received.
The Manager was extremely professional, allowed me to explain the situation & she saw that I was simply asking for the HH menu - and we were given the menu to order from.
This clearly VISIBLY annoyed the host (Nicole), and she promptly told her manager she was going to walk out… (yes you read that right - she told her manager she was going to walk out of her shift because we were given the HH menu), and our request was accommodated for what was her mistake.
Her Manger asked her to step outside and they had a conversation- I have no clue what was said or not said, but afterwards she came back in, and resumed work… BUT continued giving me dirty looks throughout my entire meal. As I mentioned before - our table was directly opposite the host stand and entrance.
At the end of the meal, we were asked if we would like to have dessert, we agreed, and lo and behold, WHO obliged to bring the dessert menu to our table but the host - Nicole!!!
At this point, over an hour had passed by, but she still came to our table with the menus and a terrible demeanour; for me, nothing short of shockingly rude and passive aggressive. One of the comments she made was, “I know you don’t want to talk to me, but here’s the dessert menu and I hope your day gets better because clearly it’s been terrible!”. This was said VERY sarcastically and felt more like a threat than customer service/etiquette.
After this encounter/exchange, my friend and I both decided that it was getting progressively uncomfortable; and we decided to ask for the bill instead. Management was extremely professional and offered us a complimentary dessert - which was kind, but at this point we were ready to leave.
It’s a shame, because overall it was a tasty meal, but after such a hostile and unpleasant interaction this complete ruined our experience. No one should have to be treated like that just for trying to dine out. This kind of unprofessionalism reflects very poorly on the restaurant as a whole.
If management cares about their customers, they seriously need to evaluate who they’re trusting to be the face of their establishment. As we were leaving Nicole also offered to give us her last name for this review… 😂 Yes, her snarky attitude took it that far! Uncomfortable to say the least… Unprofessional to the maximum!!!