flora

I had a most dreadful experience here recently. It was a Saturday lunchtime at which the rude and hysterical maitre d threw us out of a half empty restaurant when he discovered that we wanted to order only starters and wine.I've eaten here a few times before and always found it very ordinary but after this never again. I suggest you give it a wide berth.There are plenty better within a stone's throw.
On the other hand a dinner at Sardo later that night was excellent - and the service was impeccable!

Travelnut

Umm, I thought it was 'not done' to request only 'snacks' in a restaurant (as opposed to a cafe).

flora

come on Travelnut what century are we in?In a half empty restuarant? Throw us out? I didn't realize the restaurant business was in that good a shape.

Patrick

I'm really sorry for your embarrassment, flora, but I have to agree with the management. If it is prime dinner or lunch hour and people enter and only want to sit for starters or snacks and wine, or dessert and coffee, I think they should ask you not to stay. That's not what they are in business for. I do know that it is a very busy restaurant usually (I've stopped by twice without reservation and couldn't get in). Perhaps they had more bookings and the people hadn't arrived yet. Saturday is a busy day for late lunch before the many matinees in the neighborhood. Or even if they weren't busy, that's no reason to suddenly treat a full scale restaurant as some casual bar or cafe.

If you want starters and a glass of wine, I suggest you go to a cafe where that is the custom. Or go to a regular restaurant in the middle of the afternoon or very late after dinner hour and see if that's OK, but not when those around you are ordering proper full meals.

Now I'm really curious. If you've eaten there a few times before and always found it "very ordinary" why on earth did you chose it instead of one of the many, many other places in the neighborhood? Was there a reason you were looking for very ordinary instead of really good -- as there are many really good places around?

m_kingdom2

My dear, you should have some manners, and a sense of how to conduct yourself in public. That said, if they're quiet and you're having a bottle of wine he could've let you stay. After all, "the book killeth where the spirit giveth life".

However, if you're famous, bad behaviour is always acceptable. I remember Andy Warhol at Studio 54 turning up in a Black jacket, white shirt, tie, and, er, jock-strap! Sadly, you're not famous, so out the maitre d' throws you.

flora

No that's right I'm not famous. I'm just the customer and that's not enough these days apparently.
We chose there because it was convenient. And of course he had a perfect right to throw us out.But the whole episode was so crassly handled and so unnecessary.I assure you this restaurant had at least 100 more covers available. And after all is it not called the hospitality industry?

Patrick

Flora, clearly you're not looking for anything except total agreement with your opinion and for some sympathy. Is the customer always right? Does a customer have the right to demand that a restuarant change its rules to suit him? If a place serves full meals at a certain time, I'm not sure why you feel you should be able to demand that they not do so for you, but let you do anything you want? In other words if they have dress requirements, since the customer is right, they should also drop those rules for you? Or if they normally close at 10PM, and you arrive at 10:30, they should serve you anyway, right? After all it IS the hospitality industry. Sorry, my dear, but you are clearly wrong.

Now you've never explained exactly how they behaved except "rude and hysterical". I'm really curious how that all came about. At what point did they find out your plan and ask you to leave if you didn't want a full meal? After you were seated and ordered? Anyone who would enter a full scale restaurant at a meal time and NOT ask if it is OK to just have a glass of wine and an appetizer is the one who is in the wrong -- not the restaurant. At what point did they become hysterical? Before of after you argued with them that they were wrong and you were right?

flora

After they discovered we were ordering only starters.
I suppose the point here is that I don't understand why anyone would turn away business. If the restaurant was full of course. But surely serving two more customers something is better than nothing.

ron

It's nice to be able to click on a person's name to see where she has been before. I see Flora advised us back in July not to visit Ireland for much the same reason.

highledge

Perhaps those starters and bottle of wine were going to last a few hours? If you just want starters and wine why not ask BEFORE you sit down if the restaurent can accomodate you? No hard feelings either way. saturday lunchtime? Covent garden? Perhaps you were there right before the rush?

Patrick

Why wouldn't they serve you anyway? Maybe they were afraid you'd tell all your friends what a great place to go and just do starters and wine. Why should they start a new thing? They aren't in the business of selling just appetizers.

With your reasoning, I suppose you wouldn't understand why if you went into a grocery that had boxes of a dozen eggs, why you couldn't just take out three eggs and buy them. After all -- why would they turn away business?

Obviously they didn't need the business that bad, and maybe they didn't want to "upset" their regulars or encourage others not to order full meals. I'm not sure why it so hard for you to understand that places make rules for reasons, and they really have no reason to bend or break those rules for one customer.

Interesting point, ron.

flora

Yes actually I don't see why I can't buy three eggs if that's all I want. And where do all you guys get off with "rules"? I thought this was a customer focussed business.Increasingly it seems to me we pay outrageous amounts of money for poor food and bad service and we sit there and accept it. For instance why do we tolerate 100 to 200% mark ups on wine? That may be acceptable where the restaurant has a serious cellar and a trained sommelier but on a generic list of a dozen bottles of brand wines?
So yes Ron that's where I'm coming from.

Patrick

OK, now I also understand "where you're coming from". That last post speaks volumes!

degas

I bet some snotty little snit of a waiter wanted to exercise a little authority and act unreasonable. I hope you poured the wine on his cheap black shoes and stormed out with your head held high!

flora

Okau guys have it your way.But if a two star Michelin can bend its "rules" sufficently to serve one tasting menu between two people -last month in Italy in a full restaurant - and do it with grace warmth and hospitality .....