"The waitress was understandably a bit flustered as she managed our orders, but I appreciated her effort to keep track of everything. Once everyone had arrived, we waited for our alcoholic drinks to be served. Unfortunately, they took about 30 minutes to arrive. By this time, the group’s initial excitement had dulled a bit, especially when I discovered that the dish I wanted, the oxtail lo mein, was unavailable. I opted for the pan-seared salmon, but that too was out of stock. After some discussion with the table, I settled on the lamb, only to learn that wasn’t available either.
As someone who enjoys dining out, I found it incredibly frustrating to have the waitress return every 10 to 15 minutes only to reveal more unavailable items. By this point, we had been there for over an hour and a half, and I hadn’t eaten since lunch at noon because I had planned on enjoying dinner here. With so many main course options off the table, my partner and I ended up ordering appetizers (lamb shanks and the lobster mac and cheese, along with fried Brussels sprouts and spinach as sides). Unfortunately, I was not alone in my dissatisfaction; out of the 10 people in our party, 8 were unhappy with their orders due to mistakes, cold food, or long waits.
We requested to speak with the manager, who came by to apologize and explained that they had had a busy evening with Wu-Tang and Busta Rhymes performing the previous Thursday, which had led to many items being out of stock. After two hours of waiting for our food, she generously offered us two complimentary dishes as well as complimentary dessert when our meals finally arrived. While the food was indeed great, the poor customer service left a sour taste in my mouth. I don’t think I can return to a restaurant with such significant service issues.
Although it was nice of the manager to offer us extra items, it would have been much better if the staff had communicated better about what was available. By the end of the night, she provided us with a 10% discount on our bills, but it still felt inadequate given the number of mistakes and the amount we had spent. We ended up waiting for our food and leaving the restaurant within 45 minutes after receiving our meals, but the whole experience lasted 3.5 hours—well over the 2.5 to 3 hours we had expected. Ultimately, while the food was fantastic, I won't be returning due to the poor customer service and time management experienced during our visit, especially considering it was a Sunday night."
