Horrible and painfully slow service, cold food

Posted by anna  from San Francisco, CA  on July 27, 2008

Four of us went for dinner just before 8pm. it was our first time at this restaurant and we chose it because it looked good when we walked by. no one greeted us. waited several minutes at the "wait to be seated" area while being ignored by the staff rushing by and i had to flag down a waiter so we could get seated (plenty of empty tables and at least several waiters working). while waiting to be seated, i noticed that many outdoor patio customers were waiting for their food. this should have been a red flag, but i didn't think it was significant at that time. we were seated, did not receive menus until 5-10 minutes later, waited another 5-10 minutes for orders to be taken. ordered one steamed seafood appetizer to share, it arrived 45 minutes later and cold. the appetizer was not lukewarm or room temperature, it was really cold and bland tasting. at that point, we were too hungry to care that the appetizer was cold. no silverware on table when we were seated, waiter didn't notice that we didn't have silverware when we received the appetizer, had to ask for silverware to eat the appetizer. waiters were inattention, didn't bother to check on customer's wellness, didn't check if drink refills were needed, busy running around not serving customers. after more than an hour in the restaurant, entrees still had not arrived. from our table, we could see 2 of our entrees ready to be served and waiting on the counter area getting cold. these 2 entrees were already on the counter for at least 10 minutes while waiting for the remaining entrees to finish cooking. apparently, our appetizer also sat on that counter and got cold before the staff brought out the dish to us. staff never apologized for slow service, cold food, or explained that food would arrive shortly. after more than an hour's wait, we decided we had waited too long and would receive cold entrees anyways. at that time, the restaurant was nearly empty of customers. paid the bill based on the estimated cost of the drinks and appetizer consumed (i made several attempts to flag down the staff to get the bill and failed to get their attention) and left without the entrees arriving. inattentive staff, slow service, slow kitchen, not worth the price or the wait. for the average dinner entree price range of $24 to $26, you'd expect good service and good food. went across the street to a thai restaurant where we ordered, were served and finished eating within a total of 20 minutes.

Unpleasant first-time experience.

Posted by JMP29  from Veentura, CA  on March 21, 2008

To be very brief, this estab-lishment needs some serious attention. though room was void of customers, service was non-existent. good help is hard to find but it was obvious management provided no training to the employees on duty. unfortunately, and unfairly, it is they who must deal with customers' wrath.
as for food - one dinner was excellent, the other inedible and not as menu describes. all in all, a most unpleasant experience, not just for the guests but for the employees as well. would i return? only for the eggplant cannelloni!!!