I am in the restaurant business, and have been since I was a little kid. I am very familiar with every aspect of the business. What I found most appalling about my experience at Tengu Santa Monica wasn't the usual gripes; service, food, etc...everyone has an off night. What got me was the evident lack of concern from just about all the staff that my guest and I were leaving hungry and dissatisfied, even after we voiced our concerns.
In the end, we left after "eating" at Tengu and went across the street to The Lobster and had a nice dinner. The issues:
1. I ordered a "tengucumber," which initially came out as a straight vodka with lemon; the waitress proceeded to smell the drink and agree with me that it was undrinkable. They were kind enough to remake the drink for me, which came out over 20 minutes later.
2. Our food took over 45 minutes after ordering to be served. Our waitress didn't dodge the table and gave us regular status updates, kudos to her, but at one point I asked to cancel our order and mentioned that it had been long enough we couldn't wait anymore. It wasn't until that complaint that our food was served. Even our seafood miso soup, which I didn't want but ordered figuring it would at least come out fast, took over 25 minutes post order.
3. I'm not one to complain, but I felt that the management should at least have a chance to repair the situation and know that we were leaving unhappy. The tone of voice from the manager during her "apology" made my date cringe so heavily, that we left hungry after over an hour with a $100 dollar bill.
In short, this was one of the worst dining experiences I have had a restaurant charging premium prices.
Thank you to The Lobster for accommodating us last minute after our snafu at Tengu.
Pros: Waitress, Ambience
Cons: Food Timing, Drinks, Drink Timing
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