Having been to Cavo a few times over the years I have never been as impressed as others seem to be. This year when my fiancée and I saw that they were offering a New Years Eve tasting with chef Richard Farnabe we decided to give Cavo another try. Aside from the food, every plate loaded with exceptional tastes and combinations, the service reminded me why I will never waste my money there again.\r
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When we made the reservation over the phone for the early seating we were told we would get an email confirmation and credit card request so we could prepay. When the email never came we stopped by one night to pay cash in advance and we could tell they had no record of our reservation. The tall bumbling manager and young hostess repeatedly called us by the wrong name and clearly had no idea what they were doing. On New Years Even when we arrived the same young hostess ignored us and others waiting in line because she was too busy chatting with a girlfriend about where they got their dresses. I didn’t care if Forever 21 was too expensive of a shop for her, I thought we were owed at least a little attention having paid $100 a pop. Seated we tried to put the immature front desk staff behind us. We ordered a modest bottle of Prosecco and our waitress, without showing us the label, opened and poured a bottle of champagne at least twice as expensive as what we ordered. Before I could say anything she was gone. I know she caught her own error because I heard her mention it to the bumbling manager at the wait station so I kept quiet curious to see how they would resolve the situation. Well, apparently honestly and professionalism aren’t part of their training, if they are even trained at all, because she never mentioned her mistake. For them maybe ignorance is bliss, but I think that is how you lose customers. We decided to drink and enjoy the champagne and chef Farnabe’s amazing creations, which we did, but already I knew this was my last meal at Cavo. The owner and chef both came over to our table and introduced themselves and it was a pleasure to meet them both, but quite simply it was too little too late. The icing on the cake was when the waitress brought the final bill and credit card slip and forgot to add the gratuity in as she was supposed to so she asked me to do it for her. She said it was her first mistake of the night and we were both very tempted to remind her that it was actually her second. I have never stiffed a server but boy was I ready to. I know the restaurant business well and am happy to pay good money for good food but that service, that was ridiculous! Never again. \r
Pros: chef Richard Farnabe
Cons: everything else!
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