We, my family and I, went out for supper downtown last Friday. We walked around a bit, looked at menus, and finally decided on a nice corner pub. Well, as we were told, there were 2 pubs, and 4 patios, but they were all part of the same establishment and were in fact open to each other on the inside.
So, after looking at the menu, (mostly because of a picky child) we went in, were given our choice of seating, and we chose the back, quieter, area. Waitress comes, hands us menus we order drinks. Then we realize that the menu we’re holding isn’t the same as the first one we looked at. Oh, well I said, we already ordered drinks and they said it was the same establishment, so we can probably order off the other menu anyway.
Waitress returns with drinks, and no, the kitchens are separate and we have to stick to the menu. No big deal for me, I can eat anything, and picky daughter still found something to eat.
OK. So, not too bad after all, but my wife was a little ticked that we got the old menu switcheroo.
Next, we order our meals. They arrive, and that’s the last we saw of our waitress. I assume it was a shift change, because she was definitely gone. My son was looking for vinegar – yes we put that on fries up here – and I was looking for another beer, but … no one … was … coming … to … our …table. And every time I tried to catch the eye of a staff member it was as if she was purposely avoiding us. Oh, well, keep eating someone will be here shortly. But no. We were fully 3/4 of the way through the meal before someone finally dropped by to ask how we were doing. We got vinegar, but it really didn’t matter at this point as my son was plateauing out on eating.
We finished eating and waited, and waited, and waited… finally someone comes to clear the plates. We ask for the bill. And waited, and waited, and waited… The bill comes and I immediately take out a credit card and leave it on the table on top of the bill. And waited, and waited, and waited…
This was getting ridiculous. Finally she takes the card and returns with the bill for me to add tip and sign. I signed it for the base amount and we quickly left.
What gets me is there appeared to be an adequate amount of staff, but they all seemed to be in a hurry to go somewhere else. And there were only maybe 2 or 3 other tables inside with people at them! I guess the patios were busy and maybe that’s where they were focusing. I don’t think I’ll go back there again.