Kevin Dinh N.
Google
A Mixed Plate: Great Food, But Service Needs a Serious Rethink
My partner and I recently dined here to celebrate our anniversary, and I must start by giving a huge shout-out for the effort made by the staff to arrange a lovely setting for us—that personal touch was truly appreciated.
Now, let's talk about the food. The creamy truffle seafood pasta was excellent. The truffle aroma was clear without being overwhelming, and the addition of grilled seafood made it truly special. We also thoroughly enjoyed the starter of caramelized onion with bread and cream cheese; it was a lovely combination of sweet and savory. Unfortunately, the other dishes we tried, specifically the steak and the melon parma ham, were not that good and felt like a miss.
However, the major drawback that significantly impacted our experience was the service related to the set menu. It's clear the team lacks experience in serving multi-course menus. Courses were served based on a predetermined, rigid order, completely disregarding the eating speed of the guests. For example, if I finished the first course before another guest, I had to wait for them to finish, and then they were served their second course before me, just because that guest were served the first course first. This meant we were often sitting idle, the mood of the night relied on the eating speed of other guests.
I tried to provide constructive feedback to a service staff member, explaining that timing the courses based on a table's eating speed is critical for a set menu. To my disappointment, her ego was far too high. She was dismissive, refused to listen, offered non-sense excuses, and tried to blame the kitchen instead of acknowledging the fundamental flaw in their service process. Her over-confidence and insistence that she "knew it all," despite clearly not understanding basic set menu service etiquette, was incredibly off-putting.
In summary: The kitchen shows promise with standout dishes like the truffle pasta. But a great meal can be ruined by poor service. Management needs to seriously train their staff on proper multi-course service flow and address the unprofessional, high-ego attitude displayed by some of their team members.