| shannonc |
Nov 19th, 2006 09:51 PM |
Well, here's my review of Habit. You could always go and judge for yourself.
**Absolutely Worst Dining Experience Ever**
My boyfriend and I first went to Habit about two months ago, on the glowing recommendation of friends. The food was novel and tasty, serving sizes were generous and the prices were reasonable. Despite the fact that it was busy, we had good service and an attentive and pleasant server. Our second visit resulted in a similar experience--with a different server--he was also upbeat, humourous and had a great attitude. It soon became our "new favourite" restaurant. In fact, we liked it so much that we always made an "event" of it, walking 1-1/2 hours each way from our place in East Van. to get some exercise and enjoy some good food at the same time.
Unfortunately, our last visit was different. Last night, we decided to invite along my boyfriend's brother and introduce him to the place we'd raved about for the last couple of months. It was super busy; however, almost immediately upon our arrival we were seated. Soon after, we were coldly acknowledged by the server, rushed through our orders (and despite asking to hang onto a menu, it was hastily taken away from us). A few minutes later, three plates and one place serving were loudly dropped on our table, startling and confusing us a bit, making us feel like we had somehow offended her. We assumed the woman was having an off night, so we didn't make a big deal of it. Our drinks were served and everything seemed to be fine. I had ordered a martini with olives and after I had drank about 3/4 of it, I noticed what looked like little dead fruit flies in my glass (about 4-5 of them). My dining companions inspected the glass and one of them thought it was just olive pieces. Unfortunately he soon realized they weren't olives. Because it was so busy, we had trouble getting our server's attention to alert her to the problem. I wasn't that concerned--I just wanted a new drink--no big deal, things happen. I certainly wasn't going to cause a scene over a couple of flies. In fact, my boyfriend was more upset about it than I was. Our server's attention happened to be at the table directly behind us and so, to get her attention, my boyfriend's brother leaned over, held out the glass and with a slightly disappointed expression on his face said, "Excuse me..."
...What followed just leaves me shaking my head in disbelief... Instead of responding, "I'll be with you in a minute, sir", she stormed over to our table and loudly and publicly chastised us for rudely interrupting while she was talking to other customers. Other diners stared and her unexpected and unprofessional outburst simply astounded us. When we tried to explain that there were bugs in my drink she just cut us off and informed us that she wasn't a server, she was actually one of the owners of the place. Then she grabbed the glass without acknowledging anything and started to walk away. My boyfriend called out to her three times (he wanted to order another drink) but she ignored him. By this time, I was so rattled and lost my appetite and so I went to talk to her and cancel the rest of our order. When I requested the bill, she looked surprised, became defensive again and informed me that my friends were rude and she and the bartender decided there were no bugs in my drink. When I received the bill, my drink had been removed. I am still in shock and have never, in my 38 years, received that kind of treatment anywhere--ever--let alone at a place I once loved.
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