This could be the biggest miss in the Brookline for me. After reading a decent review, I decided to throw my BDAY party there. I lived in Spain and love Spanish influenced food. I called to book and was told that generally they don't take reservations but do make exceptions for larger parties, and asked me to call back the next day to confirm. I did, speaking to a young man that said they have a large ""communal"" table that could accommodate our party of 10+. I promised to call back Tuesday to confirm my final #. I then emailed my pals the info.On Tuesday I called back and this time got the manager Rick. WHAT CALLOUS, UNPROFESSIONAL & RUDE. He said (a) they would not reserve the space for us after all, (b) they have a policy against reservations. Period. (c) He didn't care that his staff had confirmed & that I had sent out the invites (d) He said if I wanted to do a set menu with just a few items, he might make an exception (as if he was doing me the favor) (e) He informed me that Andre the owner was on vacation & would back him up either way. When I asked him if he was really willing to give up such a large group who wanted to try his new restaurant, he just didn't care. My take: We're now going to the far more fabulous counterpart to South End's 28 Degrees (where I threw last year's amazing soiree), Lineage up the street. They were THRILLED to get my business and simply no attitude. I can't wait. You would think when a new restaurant comes to town, they would have the common sense to welcome those who patronize their restaurants by having parties on a Wednesday. The manager Rick of the disreputable Orinoco surely needs to be retrained. No food or restaurant is worth this kind of nonsense anyway, and as a resident of Brookline who eats out a lot, I personally don't welcome such restaurants here. Please tell all your friends to avoid this place like the plague and maybe we'll get a decent well-managed restaurant in the neighborhood sooner than later.
Cons: Rude management that tries to allienate potential customers
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