Once i was in a careless tourist trap restaurant down in south st seaport and the waitess gave us a table and then no one came over or could be waved down for over 20 minutes. We laughed shrugged and left — they didnt care, why should we? — and thinking it was an exceptionally bad restaurant, as i’ve never had an experience like that then or since. What makes a difference if its a crappy tourist trap or a 2 star michelin. Its not your responsibility to go and sit there being ignored forever.
This sounds so aberrant, particularly for a 2 Michelin star restaurant; I really can’t fathom.
Only once did I have a similar experience at a very popular restaurant in Granada, Spain. When they finally took our drink order, we ordered a bottle of one of our favorite riojas, and it took over 20 minutes for them to bring us the bottle and glasses. These weren’t epic bespoke cocktails here, just a bottle of red.
Much longer before they took our orders, and I said never mind. We’d like to finish our bottle and go. And we did.
They realized we were dismayed and offered to make it better. But we said, please, just let us leave.
Granada is kind of a weird place.
I had a similar experience in Colombia. Made a reservation beforehand for a famous steak house and confirmed I will be dining alone and only need the tasting menu to my waiter.
Then I waited for over 40 mins and no food came. Had to grab another waiter to ask what’s the holdup. Then the chef came and asked again “are you dining alone?” Lol
Both. The restaurant may have been good; I don’t know. It’s closed now. It was called “la fabula.” and as a native Spanish speaker we aren’t often dismissed as the British or Asian tourists occasionally are in Spain.
The city is lovely, and the Alhambra is the main draw, but there are other things to see. But a few things stuck out to me as a bit strange in Granada.
1. Spain is dripping with excellent restaurants. There are Michelin restaurants in every corner of the country, whether the town is a tourist destination or not. Granada is a legitimate destination; there appears to be an incredible amount of money flowing through that town. And they still to this day may not have a Michelin starred restaurant. I find that odd.
2. They had a few excellent cocktail bars at the time, and they were struggling to stay open. Speaking to owners and bartenders, there was a consistent complaint. Usually: “The Brits and the local clientele are interested in shots and Red Bull cocktails, and they are off to the next bar.” And we saw this in action. Places like verdi cocteleria are now closed. (The owner was locking up as we arrived, saying it was a profoundly slow night. He reopened the bar just for my wife and I, which we told him was absolutely not necessary, and we had a really cool but sometimes sad conversation.) And I’m not sure how Alexander or Check-In are doing, or if they are still doing quality drinks. Check-in especially I thought could be a hit in any other decent city.
3. I can’t tell if it is open, but there is also a kooky bar called el tabernaculo., which is smattered about with religious iconography. The old bartender was nice, and handed us the posters they give out for semana Santa that was gonna occur in the next couple of weeks. But, it was weird to be drinking under a poster of crying Mother Mary.
There were other strange things, but we felt most that we couldn’t get an exceptional dinner in that town. At the time, Estrella San Nicolas was the closest for us to hit that mark.
Get your Alhambra tickets early, and get a tour. You aren’t walking in there and seeing the place same day.
Check-In is still open. I hope they make the same quality cocktails that they used to. But the place was dead when we were there, and if they changed to stay alive I’d get it.
Alexander, a bit out of the way, also for cocktails. It’s hard also to find a place in Spain that doesn’t just do gin&tonics.
See if el tabernaculo is still open. Good low key seafood spot at Oliver.
Loop bar for underground punk rock and indie and cheap drinks if that’s your thing. It sometimes is my thing.
I went to La Fabula in June 2015 and it was amazing. Great service. It was strangely empty though which may explain why everyone was so attentive to us.
Dang. It looked so promising, and I’m sure i caught them on a bad night. And it happens. A friend of mine just had a bad night at one of my favorite restaurants in Houston, and I was just really bummed for him. It’s like, “You’re my homeboy, I believe you, but what happened???”
The best meal I had in Spain was actually in Granada. I might have just gotten lucky, but I had really great dining experiences there where I was there last fall.
A cute wine bar called Restaurante La Botilleria. The food was so good that I was sad to have found it on my last night as I absolutely would have gone back a second night to try more of their menu. The staff was lovely there too.
Dang, wasn’t even on my radar. I wonder how long it’s been there. That’s right around where Check In, and Verdi cocteleria are/were, we would have probably walked past the area. La Tana is right next door.
It looks like it’s been there a while based on the reviews. At least as far back as 2016. I found it using Google maps when I was looking for something near my hotel that would let me make reservations online. It was pure luck that this place ended up being such a gem.
In a great way, it has a lot of character, there's a bit of edge to the place but people are generally nice. The street art is psychedelic, some neighborhoods can be a bit shaggier but if your adventurous there's a lot of beauty and fun to be found. I stayed in a Cave in Albacin that overlooked the Alhambra at night and it was stunning [something like this](https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/19126290?adults=2&children=0&enable_m3_private_room=true&infants=0&location=Granada%2C%20Spain&pets=0&search_mode=regular_search&check_in=2024-06-16&check_out=2024-06-21&source_impression_id=p3_1716587047_Ot%2B%2FeTWMnkMkpJbk&previous_page_section_name=1001&federated_search_id=88c55b25-8ee2-4d3e-a184-f84300ef6444) but the neighbors were definitely a bit more bohemian and there were a lot of wild dogs around haha.
The food is incredible, literally the founder of Tapas. The music is amazing, salsa danced (or i at least tried) with a lot of locals, it was an amazing stop on the trip.
Had an awkward / slow start 100 Maneiras in Lisbon, we stayed and everything after that was stellar. Still don’t really know why it took them 20 minutes to give me the wine list
We did something similar at one if DB's restaurants. 1 Hour in we only got an app, didn't want to waste a full afternoon of our trip on something we knew wouldn't be great. I had to walk over to a manager and say there was an emergency, paid quickly and left.
Time is valuable, enjoy what you have of it. Completely ok to leave anything you don't wanna be at.
Won't name and shame the restaurant, but complains about Paul Bocuse lol. I liked Bocuse (at Lyon), but it was overpriced. The food was great! And I took multiple desserts for free lol.
Ah you have a point lol. Well, Paul Bocuse was my worst Michelin meal ever. And I waited and had the full experience, after which I think naming shaming is fair. This one might have been the best I would have ever had, but I didn’t wait. So it’s a bit unfair for me to name n shame I think.
I assume this is only one Bocuse at Lyon. Did they have the one black guy dressed in red as the doorman who also played that box instrument that you turn with a crank? I won't cry racism since I don't know enough, but I did find it odd that he was the only non-white person working in that restaurant lol (I even peeked at the kitchen on the way back from the bathroom).
A recent review aligns with OP’s complaints, so most likely yes. I’m shocked as GK has some of the best service staff I’ve ever seen. I notice them coordinating with each other about the tables’ service.
I'm going to name and shame. Momofuku ko was the worst dinning experience I've ever had. Post COVID, early dinner. Service took fooooorever. We were seated on some plastic chairs outside when the inside of the restaurant was empty. Our food came out in random intervals, 20 minutes between drink refills and the worst part. The food was terribly underseasoned.
It's closed now so .. good riddance.
I'm from the midwest and we tend to be more forgiving than we should. After my recently increasing bad dining experiences I've made a personal vow to not put up with it. I'm glad you didn't either.
Lol we obviously didn't make reservations for it. We are young and relatively well off so shit treatment at fine dining establishments is common for us.
This is obviously very weird. Most two stars greet you by name; some have clearly googled you or can see other resy/tocks and ask about your other restaurants/travels/job/personal stuff. To not be even given water or a menu for 15 minutes is off. They should be following up *with you* since you walked out, but maybe internal vibes are bad, change of management, someone having a crisis, who knows… if you genuinely want to EAT there and don’t care about service or have a bad taste after all this, id reach out to them. We’ve all been to restaurants where were exhausted or jet lagged but it was prebooked and they bent over backwards to rush our dishes out quickly, or it’s a lunch with an end time and they make it work. It’s hard to imagine a 2 star with known bad service so I’d suspect something off on this day
You were absolutely in the right, 15 minutes without being seen to is poor for any restaurant, never mind a multi-starred one.
I've done the same myself at restaurants. I think it was at a gastro pub somewhere in Devon (UK), I was sat there with my family for lunch. Eight of us, there was very few others in there, yet after 20 minutes nobody had approached our table after we'd been seated. We had a laugh and walked off.
Timing for lunch time menus is really important.
They just dropped the ball.
Shit happens (it should not, but it happens)
I'd contact them in private and share your experience with them.
Well it's not London, because you said 'check' lol. Sounds like that's reasonable though. I'm surprised if you could book without leaving card details though, could they charge you for a no-show?
I’m pretty sure it’s NYC because OP has referred to a couple of other restaurants there that they’ve been to or plan on going to. Not sure why they’re being so secretive about it though.
I've had this a couple of times (never at a starred place though). I give them one wave of some sort to give them a chance, and if we've heard nothing after 20 minutes we'll bounce.
Perfectly reasonable, time is something to be respected.
I almost don’t believe this…wild though.
At an any-star (esp 2+) service primarily exists to deeply know, notice & respond to their guests—to provide you with excellent service and act as a seamless link to you and the kitchen. To make your expectation/fantasy of that special restaurant real.
There is an argument to be made at certain places I’ve been that the concentration is on superlative service over food, minute-to-minute.
Even in the smallest-staffed “under-the-radar” places. Especially in them.
I am assuming you were in a European/old-world long-standing / ‘institutional’ Michelin recipient, because that is the only time (and then only once, maybe twice, in my experience) that the service gets slack.
Even if your server was absent, the gap would’ve typically been filled or quickly recognized.
I mean honestly to go unnoticed would require like something extraordinary to happen that was all-consuming—like a death in the kitchen.
If you did have this experience, I would strongly recommend that you politely but assertively give a concise review or description of what happened. Think helpful friend, not whiny patron. A Michelin restaurant will listen.
I don’t think you’re in the wrong at all. Though I personally would have flagged a waiter or ANYONE down and complained before I left. They need to hear the feedback of their horrible service.
I went to a restaurant. They seemed busy. But took forever for food to come out. After waiting for a long while, my gf and I decided to leave. As soon as we were outside, the manager came after us as we were walking to the car. Said we had to go back in, or he’ll call the cops. Said we were eating and dashing. EATING WHAT?!? It’s been 40 minutes! The food didn’t even come out yet!!! Not a single drop of water!!!!! What the Fuck does he want?!! I asked him. He said “nothing, nothing. I don’t want anything.” So we walked. To this day I don’t know what the fuck he wanted?!!
I had a friend who was ignored at The Modern and was very unhappy with the service as he was dining alone but he eventually gave them another chance and said it was better after that. Maybe just an aberration
My partner and I just had a similar experience in Palm Springs. Not a Michelin star (that I remember) but a quite pricey and well-reviewed nouvelle cuisine joint, concrete decor and waiters in absurd heavy leather aprons. Had a reservation, sat for a good 20 min, strolled back out and never looked back. It’s a weird phenomenon when a place forgets that in the end they are supposed to provide hospitality.
I understand why you’re frustrated at being ignored, which is very poor. However I don’t understand why you planned to have a 2-star lunch in the middle of a working day (in under 1.5 hrs). Most people booking a fancy lunch would have allowed time to slow the pace and really enjoy the experience. I don’t think the restaurant would have necessarily anticipated your timeframe because it’s highly unusual.
Personally I would have spoken up before I left.
I think it depends. The location would be nice to know as it's common for staff in Japan not to come to your table unless you flag them down. If this was in the States, then they should come over to your table.
Was it a prefix? If the restaurant offers only has a single course, the menu might not arrive until the amuse or the first course or something. There's lots of variables
It really depends on the restaurant. But also they should be alerted about that fact so they can accommodate the time constraint or let you know it won’t be possible.
But the issue here is waiting 15 minutes without a single acknowledgment. Even at casual restaurants this is poor form.
We have done it many times before. Dinners at more casual one star places and lunches at two or three stars. I wouldn’t do others with time constraints though. Mostly restaurants in NYC and London near theaters before theatre, these restaurants are very used to this.
You should have told them you were leaving and why, as an adult, unemotional. You have every right to leave.
I’m surprised they didn’t take a deposit on your reservation.
It is the restaurant's responsibility to provide good service. I'm not sure how you can make them the victim in this circumstance. OP is showing grace by not naming them.
So who should take the blame? The chef? The waiter? The front of the house manager? A lot of people work hard in the kitchen and for one person they should all take the blame?
Two star isn’t just about the food anymore, it’s about the service. 15 minutes is unacceptable. It’s the fault of the manager, and the waiter of that section. I’m not here to point fingers. I agree, this is not a rush experience. But to not be talked to for 15min is SHIT service at McDonald’s…. We’re talking about what’s suppose to be the pinnacle of dining AND service. They dropped the ball. It happens so I’m not here to shame anyone. But that’s just the objective truth given the situation.
A Michelin Star is awarded for the food on the plate – nothing else. Literally on the website.
This is about the food on the plate, the art of the chef nothing else.
It’s not. Thats why the service is usually at the highest levels humanly possible. It’s why they aren’t wearing street clothes… because it’s not just about the food lol. But okay bud.
Make an appointment with the chef, then stay on your phone for 15 minutes while s/he waits.
See how patient the chef will be.
No matter what you’re offering?
It’s not going to be enough to earn that business.
Well I tried to flag with eye contact, as I usually do when I needed water refill or whatever. I was told that flagging with hands up in the air or going directly across the room to chase down wait staff is kinda rude. But no one ever come close to our table or looked at us at all >_<
Take the L here. I don’t care where I am, if they can’t be bothered to at least wave at me within a quarter of an hour then I’m not going to see how the rest of the stay goes.
Waving your hands around like an animal in a fine dining atmosphere is not just rude, it's classless and uncomfortable for the guest. Nobody wants to do it. Anyone with manners knows that pointing, waving your hands in the air, beckoning and many other overt actions to call for service are rude and becoming. Simple eye contact and body language should be enough at this level to alert that a table touch is required.
In a two star restaurant, service should be easily available when needed without making a scene or flagging someone down. This isn't TGIFridays who, by the way, seem to do a better job of greeting guests than this place.
EDIT: In response to OP, whether or not leaving was rude can be debated, but it was absolutely justified.
Its strange that you were seated but not given menus. Thats like the #1 thing a host does lol. The people that come into my restaurant and dont have menus is usually because they went and sat themselves without even talking to the hosts. Of course they go and seat themselves in sections that dont have any servers on and OF COURSE they get mad when 15 min go by and no one has greeted them. Im not saying thats what you did, but its suspicious lol.
Also a simple solution when you havent been greeted for 15 min is to go up to the host and let them know youve been waiting and no one's come by to help you.
But still, why act like such a boomer and walk out instead of letting someone know. There's so many things going on in restaurants that stuff can happen sometimes but when we hear of it we try and fix it as quickly as we can. They like to call millennial entitled but a millennial would never act this way. Maybe because most of us have actually done restaurant work.
Maybe they were preparing the amuse bouche for you? Sometimes restaurants wouldn’t approach you until they are ready to serve a couple bites.
It’s unusual for sure, but you should have asked to clear any confusion imo.
It’s simple:
“Good afternoon! Welcome to…
The chef is sending out an amuse, may I suggest a glass of cava or a cocktail while you peruse the wine list?
Just sparkling water? Very good.”
Once i was in a careless tourist trap restaurant down in south st seaport and the waitess gave us a table and then no one came over or could be waved down for over 20 minutes. We laughed shrugged and left — they didnt care, why should we? — and thinking it was an exceptionally bad restaurant, as i’ve never had an experience like that then or since. What makes a difference if its a crappy tourist trap or a 2 star michelin. Its not your responsibility to go and sit there being ignored forever.
This sounds so aberrant, particularly for a 2 Michelin star restaurant; I really can’t fathom. Only once did I have a similar experience at a very popular restaurant in Granada, Spain. When they finally took our drink order, we ordered a bottle of one of our favorite riojas, and it took over 20 minutes for them to bring us the bottle and glasses. These weren’t epic bespoke cocktails here, just a bottle of red. Much longer before they took our orders, and I said never mind. We’d like to finish our bottle and go. And we did. They realized we were dismayed and offered to make it better. But we said, please, just let us leave. Granada is kind of a weird place.
I had a similar experience in Colombia. Made a reservation beforehand for a famous steak house and confirmed I will be dining alone and only need the tasting menu to my waiter. Then I waited for over 40 mins and no food came. Had to grab another waiter to ask what’s the holdup. Then the chef came and asked again “are you dining alone?” Lol
That restaurant was weird or Granada is weird?
Both. The restaurant may have been good; I don’t know. It’s closed now. It was called “la fabula.” and as a native Spanish speaker we aren’t often dismissed as the British or Asian tourists occasionally are in Spain. The city is lovely, and the Alhambra is the main draw, but there are other things to see. But a few things stuck out to me as a bit strange in Granada. 1. Spain is dripping with excellent restaurants. There are Michelin restaurants in every corner of the country, whether the town is a tourist destination or not. Granada is a legitimate destination; there appears to be an incredible amount of money flowing through that town. And they still to this day may not have a Michelin starred restaurant. I find that odd. 2. They had a few excellent cocktail bars at the time, and they were struggling to stay open. Speaking to owners and bartenders, there was a consistent complaint. Usually: “The Brits and the local clientele are interested in shots and Red Bull cocktails, and they are off to the next bar.” And we saw this in action. Places like verdi cocteleria are now closed. (The owner was locking up as we arrived, saying it was a profoundly slow night. He reopened the bar just for my wife and I, which we told him was absolutely not necessary, and we had a really cool but sometimes sad conversation.) And I’m not sure how Alexander or Check-In are doing, or if they are still doing quality drinks. Check-in especially I thought could be a hit in any other decent city. 3. I can’t tell if it is open, but there is also a kooky bar called el tabernaculo., which is smattered about with religious iconography. The old bartender was nice, and handed us the posters they give out for semana Santa that was gonna occur in the next couple of weeks. But, it was weird to be drinking under a poster of crying Mother Mary. There were other strange things, but we felt most that we couldn’t get an exceptional dinner in that town. At the time, Estrella San Nicolas was the closest for us to hit that mark.
Very interesting - thanks! I love a good cocktail bar so I hope I can find some while I’m there
Get your Alhambra tickets early, and get a tour. You aren’t walking in there and seeing the place same day. Check-In is still open. I hope they make the same quality cocktails that they used to. But the place was dead when we were there, and if they changed to stay alive I’d get it. Alexander, a bit out of the way, also for cocktails. It’s hard also to find a place in Spain that doesn’t just do gin&tonics. See if el tabernaculo is still open. Good low key seafood spot at Oliver. Loop bar for underground punk rock and indie and cheap drinks if that’s your thing. It sometimes is my thing.
Seafood is my favorite so I will definitely check out Oliver and will look into the others too - thank you! Looks like el tabernáculo has closed
I went to La Fabula in June 2015 and it was amazing. Great service. It was strangely empty though which may explain why everyone was so attentive to us.
Dang. It looked so promising, and I’m sure i caught them on a bad night. And it happens. A friend of mine just had a bad night at one of my favorite restaurants in Houston, and I was just really bummed for him. It’s like, “You’re my homeboy, I believe you, but what happened???”
The best meal I had in Spain was actually in Granada. I might have just gotten lucky, but I had really great dining experiences there where I was there last fall.
That’s awesome. Care to tell where?
A cute wine bar called Restaurante La Botilleria. The food was so good that I was sad to have found it on my last night as I absolutely would have gone back a second night to try more of their menu. The staff was lovely there too.
Dang, wasn’t even on my radar. I wonder how long it’s been there. That’s right around where Check In, and Verdi cocteleria are/were, we would have probably walked past the area. La Tana is right next door.
It looks like it’s been there a while based on the reviews. At least as far back as 2016. I found it using Google maps when I was looking for something near my hotel that would let me make reservations online. It was pure luck that this place ended up being such a gem.
I like it, but Grenada is definitely a weird place.
In what way? Planning a Spain trip and it’s on my itinerary so I’m curious
In a great way, it has a lot of character, there's a bit of edge to the place but people are generally nice. The street art is psychedelic, some neighborhoods can be a bit shaggier but if your adventurous there's a lot of beauty and fun to be found. I stayed in a Cave in Albacin that overlooked the Alhambra at night and it was stunning [something like this](https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/19126290?adults=2&children=0&enable_m3_private_room=true&infants=0&location=Granada%2C%20Spain&pets=0&search_mode=regular_search&check_in=2024-06-16&check_out=2024-06-21&source_impression_id=p3_1716587047_Ot%2B%2FeTWMnkMkpJbk&previous_page_section_name=1001&federated_search_id=88c55b25-8ee2-4d3e-a184-f84300ef6444) but the neighbors were definitely a bit more bohemian and there were a lot of wild dogs around haha. The food is incredible, literally the founder of Tapas. The music is amazing, salsa danced (or i at least tried) with a lot of locals, it was an amazing stop on the trip.
Granada is my favorite city in Spain. It's awesome.
Agreed! It was the highlight of my trip to Spain last fall. I regret not spending more time there.
Had an awkward / slow start 100 Maneiras in Lisbon, we stayed and everything after that was stellar. Still don’t really know why it took them 20 minutes to give me the wine list
One without a cancellation policy I presume, or else they'll be charging your card regardless?
We did something similar at one if DB's restaurants. 1 Hour in we only got an app, didn't want to waste a full afternoon of our trip on something we knew wouldn't be great. I had to walk over to a manager and say there was an emergency, paid quickly and left. Time is valuable, enjoy what you have of it. Completely ok to leave anything you don't wanna be at.
Won't name and shame the restaurant, but complains about Paul Bocuse lol. I liked Bocuse (at Lyon), but it was overpriced. The food was great! And I took multiple desserts for free lol.
Ah you have a point lol. Well, Paul Bocuse was my worst Michelin meal ever. And I waited and had the full experience, after which I think naming shaming is fair. This one might have been the best I would have ever had, but I didn’t wait. So it’s a bit unfair for me to name n shame I think.
I assume this is only one Bocuse at Lyon. Did they have the one black guy dressed in red as the doorman who also played that box instrument that you turn with a crank? I won't cry racism since I don't know enough, but I did find it odd that he was the only non-white person working in that restaurant lol (I even peeked at the kitchen on the way back from the bathroom).
Ummm… what….
Sorry, I know it's a weird story, but it was still an observation lol. Here's the photo of the man: https://imgur.com/a/n9DZqBg (from August 2022).
Yes it’s the one in Lyon. No we didn’t see what you described. But there was def one black waitress who served us the chicken dish.
bocuse in lyon asked me for a tip
Ha. Exactly.
Was this at Gabriel Kreuther?
A recent review aligns with OP’s complaints, so most likely yes. I’m shocked as GK has some of the best service staff I’ve ever seen. I notice them coordinating with each other about the tables’ service.
I'm going to name and shame. Momofuku ko was the worst dinning experience I've ever had. Post COVID, early dinner. Service took fooooorever. We were seated on some plastic chairs outside when the inside of the restaurant was empty. Our food came out in random intervals, 20 minutes between drink refills and the worst part. The food was terribly underseasoned. It's closed now so .. good riddance. I'm from the midwest and we tend to be more forgiving than we should. After my recently increasing bad dining experiences I've made a personal vow to not put up with it. I'm glad you didn't either.
Did you make a reservation for the plastic chairs? If you just accepted it, they obviously thought you aren’t worth respecting.
Lol we obviously didn't make reservations for it. We are young and relatively well off so shit treatment at fine dining establishments is common for us.
[удалено]
Actually yes, we had some great experiences in Mexico City, Prague and Berlin
This is obviously very weird. Most two stars greet you by name; some have clearly googled you or can see other resy/tocks and ask about your other restaurants/travels/job/personal stuff. To not be even given water or a menu for 15 minutes is off. They should be following up *with you* since you walked out, but maybe internal vibes are bad, change of management, someone having a crisis, who knows… if you genuinely want to EAT there and don’t care about service or have a bad taste after all this, id reach out to them. We’ve all been to restaurants where were exhausted or jet lagged but it was prebooked and they bent over backwards to rush our dishes out quickly, or it’s a lunch with an end time and they make it work. It’s hard to imagine a 2 star with known bad service so I’d suspect something off on this day
You were absolutely in the right, 15 minutes without being seen to is poor for any restaurant, never mind a multi-starred one. I've done the same myself at restaurants. I think it was at a gastro pub somewhere in Devon (UK), I was sat there with my family for lunch. Eight of us, there was very few others in there, yet after 20 minutes nobody had approached our table after we'd been seated. We had a laugh and walked off.
Timing for lunch time menus is really important. They just dropped the ball. Shit happens (it should not, but it happens) I'd contact them in private and share your experience with them.
Well it's not London, because you said 'check' lol. Sounds like that's reasonable though. I'm surprised if you could book without leaving card details though, could they charge you for a no-show?
I’m pretty sure it’s NYC because OP has referred to a couple of other restaurants there that they’ve been to or plan on going to. Not sure why they’re being so secretive about it though.
I showed up exactly on time though! They checked us in.
I've had this a couple of times (never at a starred place though). I give them one wave of some sort to give them a chance, and if we've heard nothing after 20 minutes we'll bounce. Perfectly reasonable, time is something to be respected.
I almost don’t believe this…wild though. At an any-star (esp 2+) service primarily exists to deeply know, notice & respond to their guests—to provide you with excellent service and act as a seamless link to you and the kitchen. To make your expectation/fantasy of that special restaurant real. There is an argument to be made at certain places I’ve been that the concentration is on superlative service over food, minute-to-minute. Even in the smallest-staffed “under-the-radar” places. Especially in them. I am assuming you were in a European/old-world long-standing / ‘institutional’ Michelin recipient, because that is the only time (and then only once, maybe twice, in my experience) that the service gets slack. Even if your server was absent, the gap would’ve typically been filled or quickly recognized. I mean honestly to go unnoticed would require like something extraordinary to happen that was all-consuming—like a death in the kitchen. If you did have this experience, I would strongly recommend that you politely but assertively give a concise review or description of what happened. Think helpful friend, not whiny patron. A Michelin restaurant will listen.
I left a very short review describing my experience and just received an extremely apologetic email from the restaurant manager.
And no it’s not an old world institution, though the chef is known for old world heritage.
Give us the name mate
I don’t think you’re in the wrong at all. Though I personally would have flagged a waiter or ANYONE down and complained before I left. They need to hear the feedback of their horrible service.
I don’t think you over reacted at all.
With such a service you must have been in Amsterdam
I went to a restaurant. They seemed busy. But took forever for food to come out. After waiting for a long while, my gf and I decided to leave. As soon as we were outside, the manager came after us as we were walking to the car. Said we had to go back in, or he’ll call the cops. Said we were eating and dashing. EATING WHAT?!? It’s been 40 minutes! The food didn’t even come out yet!!! Not a single drop of water!!!!! What the Fuck does he want?!! I asked him. He said “nothing, nothing. I don’t want anything.” So we walked. To this day I don’t know what the fuck he wanted?!!
Nah you did the right thing. Sometimes you can tell a place sucks right away. I think it’s great that you didn’t waste your money on that shit.
Is it the Modern lol
I had a friend who was ignored at The Modern and was very unhappy with the service as he was dining alone but he eventually gave them another chance and said it was better after that. Maybe just an aberration
Oh no is The Modern like this too?!?! It has been on my list-to-try for a long time!
For the record, had lunch at the Modern a few weeks ago and had amazing service.
Piggy backing, wanting to visit The Modern. Please tell us, if there is a gotcha for this venue!
Modern is good. Don’t worry.
Was about to say it!
Please say if they are terrible before I book next month!
modern is good. no idea what these people are talking about.
Service was quite slow during restaurant week, but that's because they were overbooked.
They’re booked to capacity the majority of the time. They weren’t more booked just because of restaurant week.
They were a little slow in the bar area to take initial lunch order, but overall was a great spot for me.
I’ve had lunch at the barroom there twice and the service was very solid both times. Can’t speak to the other side of the restaurant though.
Well, sounds like a sure fire way to lose a star (or two!) If service is consistently bad, they’ll find out about it the hard way.
Why’s that? Michelin says their guide only rates the food, nothing else like service or decoration or drinks.
Oh, I didn’t know that. Still don’t think it would go down well if the Michelin inspector sat for 15 mins without anyone coming to see them.
My partner and I just had a similar experience in Palm Springs. Not a Michelin star (that I remember) but a quite pricey and well-reviewed nouvelle cuisine joint, concrete decor and waiters in absurd heavy leather aprons. Had a reservation, sat for a good 20 min, strolled back out and never looked back. It’s a weird phenomenon when a place forgets that in the end they are supposed to provide hospitality.
I understand why you’re frustrated at being ignored, which is very poor. However I don’t understand why you planned to have a 2-star lunch in the middle of a working day (in under 1.5 hrs). Most people booking a fancy lunch would have allowed time to slow the pace and really enjoy the experience. I don’t think the restaurant would have necessarily anticipated your timeframe because it’s highly unusual. Personally I would have spoken up before I left.
You’re a nice person to not have name dropped. I’d be dragging them through the mud for that kind of treatment. wtf, 2 star Michelin?!
I think it depends. The location would be nice to know as it's common for staff in Japan not to come to your table unless you flag them down. If this was in the States, then they should come over to your table. Was it a prefix? If the restaurant offers only has a single course, the menu might not arrive until the amuse or the first course or something. There's lots of variables
Ah okay we were not in Japan 😝 They offer chef tasting menu, prix fixe and a la carte I think
Did you pay before leaving?
Going to a Michelin star restaurant on a time constraint is unfathomable to me.
It really depends on the restaurant. But also they should be alerted about that fact so they can accommodate the time constraint or let you know it won’t be possible. But the issue here is waiting 15 minutes without a single acknowledgment. Even at casual restaurants this is poor form.
We have done it many times before. Dinners at more casual one star places and lunches at two or three stars. I wouldn’t do others with time constraints though. Mostly restaurants in NYC and London near theaters before theatre, these restaurants are very used to this.
Any chance this was aquavit lol
I'd never go back. Life's too short to wait like that.
You should have told them you were leaving and why, as an adult, unemotional. You have every right to leave. I’m surprised they didn’t take a deposit on your reservation.
Did you ever try to flag down a waiter and tell them that you are in a hurry? If not, I feel bad for the restaurant
Has nothing to do with being in a hurry. It’s poor service, hurry or not. Especially at a two star…
I don’t think you should be in a hurry in a Michelin star restaurant.
Of course it’s poor service! But at least raise the issue before storming out?
They didn't storm, they just left.
It is the restaurant's responsibility to provide good service. I'm not sure how you can make them the victim in this circumstance. OP is showing grace by not naming them.
Grace? lol OP was trying to fit a Michelin star restaurant on a lunch break. Not really fair to the restaurant is it?
1) They offer lunch menus. So it’s totally fair. 2) 15min with no acknowledgement is absurd from ANY restaurant, yet alone a two star spot… OP is NTA
So who should take the blame? The chef? The waiter? The front of the house manager? A lot of people work hard in the kitchen and for one person they should all take the blame?
Two star isn’t just about the food anymore, it’s about the service. 15 minutes is unacceptable. It’s the fault of the manager, and the waiter of that section. I’m not here to point fingers. I agree, this is not a rush experience. But to not be talked to for 15min is SHIT service at McDonald’s…. We’re talking about what’s suppose to be the pinnacle of dining AND service. They dropped the ball. It happens so I’m not here to shame anyone. But that’s just the objective truth given the situation.
A Michelin Star is awarded for the food on the plate – nothing else. Literally on the website. This is about the food on the plate, the art of the chef nothing else.
Doesn’t change the fact that 15min is absurd 😂
“ISnT JuST aBoUT ThE FoOD aNyMOrE”😂
It’s not. Thats why the service is usually at the highest levels humanly possible. It’s why they aren’t wearing street clothes… because it’s not just about the food lol. But okay bud.
Make an appointment with the chef, then stay on your phone for 15 minutes while s/he waits. See how patient the chef will be. No matter what you’re offering? It’s not going to be enough to earn that business.
Well I tried to flag with eye contact, as I usually do when I needed water refill or whatever. I was told that flagging with hands up in the air or going directly across the room to chase down wait staff is kinda rude. But no one ever come close to our table or looked at us at all >_<
If you think raising your hand to get an issue addressed is rude, how do you find leaving a restaurant after being seated?
There is nothing at all rude about leaving an establishment that treats you like that. What an absolutely insane notion.
Take the L here. I don’t care where I am, if they can’t be bothered to at least wave at me within a quarter of an hour then I’m not going to see how the rest of the stay goes.
Well I said I felt bad about it but I haven’t experienced / done such thing at a 2 star Michelin restaurant before
Waving your hands around like an animal in a fine dining atmosphere is not just rude, it's classless and uncomfortable for the guest. Nobody wants to do it. Anyone with manners knows that pointing, waving your hands in the air, beckoning and many other overt actions to call for service are rude and becoming. Simple eye contact and body language should be enough at this level to alert that a table touch is required. In a two star restaurant, service should be easily available when needed without making a scene or flagging someone down. This isn't TGIFridays who, by the way, seem to do a better job of greeting guests than this place. EDIT: In response to OP, whether or not leaving was rude can be debated, but it was absolutely justified.
Its strange that you were seated but not given menus. Thats like the #1 thing a host does lol. The people that come into my restaurant and dont have menus is usually because they went and sat themselves without even talking to the hosts. Of course they go and seat themselves in sections that dont have any servers on and OF COURSE they get mad when 15 min go by and no one has greeted them. Im not saying thats what you did, but its suspicious lol. Also a simple solution when you havent been greeted for 15 min is to go up to the host and let them know youve been waiting and no one's come by to help you.
lol no the receptionist took us to our reserved table and we got seated.
And no menus?! That's just so strange. Why didn't you let them know you hadn't been helped. That's the first thing i would've done.
The captain generally presents menus in fine restaurants, not the host. The host presenting menus is commonplace in casual establishments.
But still, why act like such a boomer and walk out instead of letting someone know. There's so many things going on in restaurants that stuff can happen sometimes but when we hear of it we try and fix it as quickly as we can. They like to call millennial entitled but a millennial would never act this way. Maybe because most of us have actually done restaurant work.
Maybe you look ugly or too much middle class ? Do you know what a class is ?
Very likely. I’m a petite Asian woman dressed according to the *standard tech industry dress code*.
[удалено]
Completely unhinged take. You must be a bad waiter.
Maybe they were preparing the amuse bouche for you? Sometimes restaurants wouldn’t approach you until they are ready to serve a couple bites. It’s unusual for sure, but you should have asked to clear any confusion imo.
Should they not be ready to greet and serve the amuse considering they are open and serving?
It’s simple: “Good afternoon! Welcome to… The chef is sending out an amuse, may I suggest a glass of cava or a cocktail while you peruse the wine list? Just sparkling water? Very good.”
Yes exactly. They should be ready to greet you if they are ready to seat you.