wanted to treat friends to a great evening at a trusted favorite i would normally have no hesitation to recommend.
first time for my friends. celebrating our children attending matric farewell as a special milestone for all of us.
thought it was just a slight mishap when the starter focaccia bread of my guest did not arrive when the rest of us received our entrees, but it was confirmed that we were in for a difficult evening when both of our main's, two t-bone pizza oven prepared steaks, had to be returned. owner took order, but griller either did not get the message or just got it wrong. medium to rare ordered steaks arrived well done.
incredulously, exactly the same steaks were returned to us, but this time, very well done. somehow, waiter though we were complaining that it was too "bloody" when there was no pink juice to start off with when we received it the first time? never checked the order with the owner.
ok, so by the time that our wives had finished their mains, we received the replacement steaks. first cut we saw the nice pink juices and eagerly tried to tuck in, famished at this time.
owner arrived and tried to educate us as to how the "normal order" of "medium to rare" should rather have been "rare" as we (?) had to allow for cooking time from the pizza oven to the table??? forgetting for a moment that the steak arrived well done in the first place. he also indicated that he forgot to tell us when we ordered with him, that the pizza oven was quite hot and cooks the steak faster than normal and could therefore influence the order...
sadly, after he left, i could probably get two more bites out of the rest of a sizable tbone... the rest of the steak consisted largely out of sinew and fat. my friend did not fare any better with his replacement steak.
said so to the waiter when he collected the plates. next thing the owner plonks a bottle of liqueur on the table with 4 glasses and while pouring, says: "sometimes you have a bad meal and just have to drink something to feel better"
had to ask twice for him to please not pour me a drink (as i do not drink alcohol for medical reasons). not saying anything or apologizing for a ruined evening, he walked away with his liqueur, never to be seen again.
when the bill arrives, low and behold it contains a full charge for the two steaks. no discount on our bill and no apology.
friends will never go there again. we will also be very hesitant to do so. so disappointing as this has always been a high quality and value for money, although pricey,italianrestaurant in pretoria.
i understand that you sometimes get a bad batch of meat from the supplier or the staff get orders wrong etc. it is always the way that the issues are dealt with that either brings you back and continue recommendations. or the way is just so disappointing and detracting that you have no other option than to accept that the owner does not "own" problems anymore but regard clients as replaceable and dispensable.
good service, stats says we tell 6 people, bad service, we tell 13. good luck on working those odds with your attitude and the current economic climate.