Let me begin by saying we were a party of 8 women for a bachelorette party. This is a fact that was communicated to the restaurant at the time of booking 3 mo in advance. While we were a slight bit, and I emphasize SLIGHT, on the rowdy side, we were all well heeled, educated, cultured, ladies accustomed to high-end restaurants and were much less disruptive than MANY a other large parties I have been seated next to at much classier establishments. Also, the restaurant was nearly empty half way through our dinner due to them only taking large party reservations after 8:30pm.
Our experience:
We arrived for our reservation and were seated promptly - a plus. However, our server did not introduce himself ( We later found by looking at our bill, his name was Steve) and was cool and unfriendly from the beginning. We ordered several small plates to be shared by the table and brought with us 3 bottles of very good, slightly expensive bottles of wine to drink from our day of wine tasting.
Our food was quite good, but we had to ask for water on at least 2 occasions, our tables was ""cut off"" without explanation and done so in a very rude and unprofessional way. We later learned it was due to an ABC law that states a table can not continue to be served alcohol if a person is asleep (To explain - We had a nurse who works nights, and due to being up all day wine tasting when she would normally be sleeping, was understandably exhausted.) Had this law been explained to us in a professional and courteous way, we would have all understood - it wasn't.
In addition, our bottle of Alpha Omega Chardonnay that we BROUGHT with us was left nearly HALF FULL in the wine bucket and was not poured nor offered to us to take home (Something the restaurant does allow). They were simply going to leave OUR bottle there.
Upon receiving the bill we were further insulted by having our money counted out-loud in front of us. THEN, when we asked that $60 be put on 2 credit cards (the rest paid in cash), they were instead charged $86, because we were accidentally short cash due to one member of our party being unavailable, and were therefore remiss in collecting her payment portion. UNACCEPTABLE. Do not count money in front of your guests, and if there is a discrepancy in money, you should bring it to the party's attention in a discreet and professional way, and ASK how they would like to resolve it! You do NOT simply charge a different amount than you were told to!
I have dined at dozens of high-end fine dining restaurants up and down the west coast from LA to Seattle and beyond and this was HANDS DOWN the WORST and rudest service I have EVER, EVER experienced.
The food was good and I'm sure would be a perfectly fine dining experience for a couple, but they are OBVIOUSLY not accustomed to handling groups, and on principle, I will never recommend this restaurant to anyone! Our dinner at Redd the previous night however, was fabulous on every level.
Pros: Good food
Cons: SERVICE!, SERVICE!, SERVICE!
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