La Cascade Restaurant Perth - Avoid at all costs
 

Unless you want an experience akin to Fawlty Towers, I suggest you avoid La Cascade Restaurant in Nedlands Perth. If waiting over an hour for a first course and then being abused by the staff when politely complaining is something you enjoy, then please give them a try. The food is awful too. Avoid this place like the plague

Did you have any good experiences in Perth? Where did you stay?
I was in Perth in May and found it a beautiful city with very friendly people.

You don't think, perhaps, that this could have been a ane-off experience and you were just unlucky? I guess I'd be slightly annoyed, too, if a stranger abused me when I was being ultra-polite to him/her, but you sure did get your revenge, didn't you? "Avoid at all costs"!!! Wow! I bet they wish now they had never "abused" you!

Now that you've got it out of your system, maybe you'd like to write in again with something POSITIVE.... just for the sake of balance, you understand.

Alan,
I was amused by your retort of robbieb's condemnation of this one particular restaurant. I have travelled far and wide in my life time and would rather mention the good things I have run into.
I spent a wonderful 5 weeks in Australia in April and May of this year. I travel from Sydney to Port Douglas to Perth and back to Sydney and absolutely adored your country. I never had a bad experience and would return in a heart-beat.

I agree with robbieb, sticking it up any place that does not deliver the goods!

Too many establishments, all over the world, get away with garbage because people don't want to bother talking about their negative experiences. Life is full of both but when I'm paying money for food & service I expect a positive experience, not a negative one. On yer robbieb!

Robbieb, how did the Manager of La Cascade respond when you took up this bad service with him/her?

This time, Lyndie, you are a little wide of the mark.

What you have not taken into account is that when you visit another country you are not just a single tourist with her own demands and expectations... you are a representative of your homeland, and as such you need to be a little understanding when you find, for instance, that in New Caledonia the service is not as fast or frenetic as it is in New York. If you stand up on your hind legs and demand that it SHOULD be, then you risk giving offence IN AN AMERICAN (or whatever) ACCENT, and, like it or not, people then tar all your countrymen with the same brush (I know that's not fair, but that's how it is). They don't smarten up their service, they just learn to groan inwardly when the next person with the same accent and attitude comes to call.

I am different to you in this regard... when I am overseas I try to leave my expectations of service-just-like-at-home right where they belong.... back at home. I accept that things won't go smoothly all the time, but I save my complaints for only major catastrophes, whatever they are (I haven't had one of those yet, luckily). If I hadn't done that, I can't imagine that I would have enjoyed places like India and Mexico as much as I did. A smile goes a long way in those countries.... in Australia, too!

And I would certainly never dream -- not in a million years -- of getting onto an international forum like Fodors and bad-mouthing (in a headline, yet!) some poor establishment simply because I had to wait an hour for a main course. "Avoid at all costs"! Frankly, when I saw that, I wondered if I were going to read a saga about a busload of people being carted off to hospital with ptomaine poisoning! THAT would be a good case for "avoid at all costs". But all it was was a bit of slow service, and a perfectly-understandable objection to a "polite" (I wonder , given the tone of the initial post on this thread, how polite it actually rated on a score of 1 to 10) complaint! You know as well as I do that Aussies DON'T react to complaints as humbly as, for instance, the Hispanic workers in the USA; we tend to "stick it right back" at you, because our view is that everyone, worker and guest, is equal and has an equal right to be treated with courtesy.

Robbieb's over-the-top complaint about something as trivial as slow service stamps him as being an ungracious guest. You shouldn't support people like that.

I'm usually wary of such posts, but I think it's as well to take note of the poster's track record. robbieb is a regular and helpful poster on several forums, doesn't seem to be given to exaggeration and gives credit where credit is due.

Alan, robbieb is actually an English-born Perth resident. I doubt that a London accent would elicit any comment in Perth.

On the other hand you do get suspect posts, like the guy on the Asia forum a while back who bagged some place in Manila. It was his first and only Fodors post, he'd posted the same whinge to other travel sites, and in any event it was all over some local screwup over a wedding reception. I was surprised that several people (Lyndie included ;) ) uncritically accepted all this as gospel and cheered him on. (ref: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34586574). But robbieb, I think, is in another category.

I did not accept his criticism as "gospel" for heaven's sake, pardon the pun! I respect his right to criticise, whoever & wherever he chooses. I never leave my expectations anywhere. They stay with me, especially since they were moulded by my experiences. Alan you're just a bit too PC for me. But I respect your right to say what you feel here.

OK Lyndie, I'll modify that - you gave him the benefit of the doubt, I didn't. I am however prepared to give robbieb the benefit of the doubt because even though he's a Sandgroper his Fodors bona fides look good.

I'm sure that Alan, who I picture as an august, dignified gentleman of mature years and sound judgement (a bit like yours truly, come to think of it) would be disturbed to hear himself described as "PC". What in heaven's name was "politically
correct" about his post?

I thought "PC" meant "penis challenged"!!!

Signed: "an august, dignified gentleman of mature years and sound judgement" (aw, shucks!)

Dear Alan. We don't know each other well enough for me to decide you could be defined as penis challenged. Hopefully there is a treatment you can endure if it causes you concern.

I've received many such kind offers from enterprising souls selling useful remedies on line. I've forwarded a few to friends, with the line "I was talking to (wife's name) the other day and..."

ROFL! I'm not contributing further. I have nothing more to say on the subject.

Oh, dear! Now that I have finally found out the truth about PC (I had thought that maybe you were a friend of my ex-wife, Lyndie!), now I have a new one to cope with: ROFL?????

ROFL = Roll on floor laughing

AKAROTFL (also known as Rolling On The Floor Laughing).

I must say that they don't take kindly to criticism in sandgroper country. My husband and I were at the rotating restaurant for our anniversary some years ago and the only thing that was not good was the "sheila" singing ( if that is what she called it). The waiter came up and asked if everything was to our satisfaction and I replied, " well no actually". "Ma'am, surely what can be the matter then" he asked and to which I replied that no-one had strangled the singer! He told me in no uncertain terms that if I didn't like it I could leave - which we did and have not stopped telling people about it since. I also only gave him half the bill seeing that I had to endure the "entertainment" and half the bill was my fee. I also gave him my phone number, name and address but never did hear anything from them. I think that if you get someone rude or offensive the best thing is to do is take the matter up with them and if you think it necessary then cut the bill in half- that way they won't forget. There was not a fodor's forum then so I guess I would not have had the same impact as robbieb except that anything that hits the hip pocket seems to be remembered longer than a post on Fodors.

Hi guys

Glad that my initial "complaint" generated such a wealth of comment. I'll get back to some of the specifics in a later post especially with some recommendations for future inter-state overseas visitors. Neil_Oz is correct in that I am a Perth resident and my motivation for the initial post was to ensure that visitors to our fair city did not suffer the same experience as we did. I think the other important principle is that the customer has a right to complain if he/she feels they are not getting value for money.

After doing a search on my favourite restaurant - La Cascade - I was quite perturbed to come across this post! Robbie, I really think that you were a bit hasty to post a comment such as "avoid at all costs". The food at this restuarant is among the highest quality & best value for money that I have experienced in Perth & on the numerous occassions that I have been there I have always found the staff to be exceedingly helpful & polite. I will agree that there is typically a long waiting period between meals, but considering there are 4 courses and it is French food that takes some time to prepare, it really is quite reasonable. It's NOT a restaurant to go to if you want a quick meal but it is perfect for occassions where you are happy to sit with good friends and enjoy the dining experience.

Sam

As in most things to do with wine or food, I think we will have to agree to disagree......

My initial thought when I started reading this post was that after dining there you had come down with a bad case of food poisoning. But after reading it I figured you were the owner of another restaurant in Perth who caters to the same market and wanted to increase the bottom line of your establishment by bad mouthing your competitors.

Then after reading the other postings I discovered that you're a Perth resident who needs to achieve a sense of empowerment from making cheap impulsive statements on an international travel forum.

Perth is not on my to do list but when it is I would have no hesitation in dining at La Cascade even though you've had a bad experience there.

I'm sure you've been in work situations when you've been understaffed and still need to provide a service. Maybe that is what was under the surface on the day/evening when you dined there.

Part of the experience of dining out is the opportunity to enjoy some time out from the ordinary and have a good conversation with a fellow diner. So how about you give La Cascade a break and just not going back there.

My wife and I share the cooking at our place and sometimes I don't get dinner served until 10pm and then it's a sit down meal in front of the television. So I'm glad my partner is not as vocal as you are.

Nevets

It might be worthwhile mentioning that John Cleese was inspired to create Fawlty Towers after dining at a restaurant in Europe somewhere and experiencing the same service as he portrayed in the show.

So considering that millions of people have been entertained by the show. Was his experience all that bad?

For the record - "Fawlty Towers" was inspired by the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay, where the "Monty Python" team stayed once while on location. The owner, a Donald Sinclair, was seen to throw a bus timetable at a guest who asked when the next bus to town was leaving, hid Eric Idle's suitcase behind a stone wall because he thought the alarm clock it contained was a bomb, and gave Terry Gilliam a dressing down over his table manners because, as an American, he was eating with his fork in his right hand.

Sinclair died in 1981 after migrating to Canada. His widow fought to clear his reputation, but his children thought that Basil Fawlty was a fair rendition of their father.

- Acknowledgements to Wikipedia

Certainly I would admit to "impulse" but somewhat take offence at "cheap". Can't say I recall any other similar criticism in any of my other postings. My intent here was to ensure that visitors to, and residents of Perth would not have the same experience that we unfortunately had. Poor food and service is always a risk at any restaurant and is part of the experience, but abuse is something no visitor to any restaurant should have to bear and any complaint (no matter how justified) should be treated with attention and courtesy.

I guess having a bad meal or service anywhere in the world, is just part of life. Put it down to experience.
As for Fawlty Towers, well there are a lot of theatre restaurants in Oz, that love to stage a segment of this series, with actors who slightly resemble the UK actors on the original show, and the audience love it.
The bulk of the tv series was filmed in Berkshire, not Torquay.

Hi robbieb

Maybe I was a bit impulsive myself with the "cheap". Sorry.

The thing is that the headline which you wrote "Avoid at all costs" is really really loud and I think it casts a shadow over the detail of the posting. Which is that you had a pretty miserable time of it at La Cascade and as a result you're completely unimpressed with the place.

I figured it was just a tiny bit of a transgression of the etiquette of internet forums.

nevets

I found robbiebs post to be informative as well as stating his opinion. As someone planning to come to Australia most info I have gathered is basically someones opinion. It is up to the decerning reader to choose what to believe and weed out the rest. I always like to hear the good and the bad. Sometimes it may be hard to state something positive if the negative over shadows it. I also think the internet is a powerful tool that many retailers/restaurants/services etc. seem oblivious or uncaring to. I think it's well known that if someone is happy with their service they will tell 10 people but if they are unhappy they will tell 100. Forums like this just multiply the numbers.

dear robbieb, I am so envious! I have always craved a Fawlty Tower's experience. How were Basil and the crew? Did you see the famous rat?

AndrewDavid writing without accent

La Cascade has been named and shamed by local authority health inspectors and prosecuted for health breaches in 2008.
La Cascade was Fined A$9250 for vermin in restaurant, unclean premises, failing to protect food from contamination, and keeping unclean appliances in a state of disrepair.

I rest my case!

Your name isn't familiar to me - are you a regular on Fodor's, or do you just pop in every four years or so to criticize this restaurant?

Lee Ann

Dear Robbie, and everyone else!

Who knew a restaurant review could provoke so much emotion!

I also see that this is an old post, so I'm not quite clear how it moved to the top of the Forum, but no matter, it was entertaining!

Especially Neil's background on "Faulty Towers" - who knew? I certainly didn't! I can only wonder if the Perth restaurant had a waiter from BAR THE LONA!

I grew up in the restaurant business. My Grandfather owned a restaurant, my Grandmother was the cashier, and my mother was a waitress in his restaurant, and many others to follow, so I'm a pretty tough critic.

Growing up, eating out with my mother, I watched her tick off money on the tip she was PLANNING to leave...i.e., they didn't ask if she wanted more coffee - that would be $.50 off; never came back to ask if the steak was done properly, another ding..you get the idea. By the same token, anyone who's worked in the service industry and DOES get good service, overtips.

Consequently, following in the family's footsteps, I do let management know when service / food is bad. Typically, customers will avoid confrontation and when asked say: "oh yes, everything's was fine". Of course, they never come back and tell all their friends to avoid the place like the plague. Eight months down the road, when the restaurant's deserted, management can't figure out why.

My thought is that they SHOULD know. If they don't know there's a problem, how can they correct it?

By the same token, I will call a manager over to tell them, or a server how GREAT the service/food was, which is something I think, a great many people don't do. It's human nature, it seems, to only complain about bad things, but never really heap praise on the good stuff.

I suggest everyone try this, and you'll be AMAZED at the response.

I've asked for the manager of a restaurant a number of times...the poor guy comes out and his body language alone tells me his ready to hear the worst...and then I give a compliment to food or staff and he's SO happy! People - it only takes 5 minutes more in the restaurant and can add so much to some person's day.

One of my favorite experiences was in Las Vegas at the buffet at Caesar's Palace. I mean, c'mon, it's Vegas...it's a buffet, you don't really EXPECT great service right? But we had a server who made me wonder "why isn't she at a better restaurant?" I called over the manager (again, slumpy body language) and I told him my restaurant background, and how good I thought this waitress was.

Before we could even get out of there, she showed up at our table, eyes shimmering with tears - she'd been on the job for two years and this was the first compliment she'd ever received. Yeah, you can make more of a difference than you'd think just by spending 5 extra minutes!

On the flip side, I HAVE slammed a restaurant on Fodors. On the Italy board, a restaurant that was recommended over and over again on the Fodors Italy board - Rome to be exact. It was expensive and terrible. Restaurants change hands/chefs all the time, and I did slam it, and rightly so, so no one would go by all the positive reviews.

Melodie

You see all sorts of surprising posts on Fodors don't you?

First of all
Author: Alan
Date: 10/25/2005, 09:24 am
You don't think, perhaps, that this could have been a ane-off experience and you were just unlucky? I guess I'd be slightly annoyed, too, if a stranger abused me when I was being ultra-polite to him/her, but you sure did get your revenge, didn't you? "Avoid at all costs"!!! Wow! I bet they wish now they had never "abused" you!

Like there's that Made off with a few billion bloke in NY but ane-off!, no doubt an Alan twist of one and certainly nothing to so cockney as has been revealed by Snozza - that could explain a lot!

But mores to the point Alan, robbie's revenge is quite possibly more in his or your mind for really, how many people would have been bothered about a whinge on awaiting a meal main course - depend on what's ordered and how busy the place was no doubt, and then how many people would have read this on Fodors.

And then robbies back some four years later feeling vindicated because of a finding some three years after the event!

And Melodie!
Look as an accredited Australian logistician a thread gets elevated to the top because one like robbie has delved deep to make a new post, simple as that.

All we'll need now is for ol Bokka to chime in again.