I've had good food at Peninsula in the past, but the last experience is enough to make me think twice about where I choose to spend my hard earned money. Our server could not speak or understand English. I'm completely serious. I don't fault him for not speaking the language, but I do fault management for putting him on the floor knowing there was a language barrier. I initially asked for a Stoli martini as a pre-dinner drink but he did not know what "a stoli" was. My dinner mate accompanied him to the bar and pointed out the bottle of Stoli. Then he indicated he did not know what a martini was, or how to make one, and indicated with very few words and more hand gestures that there was no bartender. I then pointed to a wine selection, desiring a bottle to share. He took away our wine glasses which I thought strange, and returned almost 10 minutes later with a single glass of wine. I then used my best pantomime skills to indicate we wanted a bottle, not a glass. After he was gone for almost another ten minutes we decided to leave. What was most upsetting was when I reported the incident to management (making sure I wasn't faulting the server for not speaking English as much as I faulted management for putting him on the floor) management replied to my complaint stating the server's expertise with the food was more beneficial to patrons than his inability to communicate effectively was a detriment. I'm still struggling with that one. Next time I'll bring my translation book. Now I know why they have pictures of all the menu items -- it's not for the patrons benefit it's for the staff!
Pros: Didn't stay long enough to realize any pros
Cons: Could not communicate with server
more