At the Dear Me tasting the other night I met an awesome guy who told me a great story about The Grand Beach Cafe in Granger Bay. Now...I haven't reviewed the place yet but there have been plenty of mixed reports. (read some of them here). The general consensus seems to be that they have an amazing view and because of that the standard of food is not very good. In fact, words like "horrid" and "extremely disappointing" pop up. If there is one thing that everyone seems to agree on though it is the shocking service. Something that irritates me more than anything is when a restaurant realises their location is fantastic, and adopt a we-don't-really-need-to-try-because-people-will-come-anyway policy. The story I heard the other night seemed to sum up what everyone is saying about The Grand. It goes like this...
He arrived at The Grand and ordered a Peroni. Fine, things were going according to plan. He drinks the Peroni and goes back to the bar to order another one. The barman's reply? "We don't serve Peroni." The guy explains nicely, holding up his empty bottle as evidence, that he just bought one. "You must've brought that in yourself, where is a receipt?" was the barman's only conclusion. Our boy goes back to his table. Eventually the owner comes over and explains that somebody else must've brought them in and HIDDEN THEM BEHIND THE BAR. WTF? ARE YOU GUYS GETTING THIS???? Hey? How priceless is that? Well needless to say the guy was speechless and his expression obviously registered with the owner who then gave him a Peroni "on the house." Wow. What a charmer.
The night got better when the same friend then went back to the bar to get a cocktail. He asked for a cocktail menu and when he opened it it was nicely held together with...a big blob of bright pink bubblegum. Not exactly Grand. Not quite. He gave the barman (who saw the gum quite clearly) a pleading look but was given no apology. Just a casual "So what'll it be?"
Pathetic.
He was aware enough to snap a quick photo of the disgusting menu. Now, I understand that these things happen in restaurants and some of you might be saying it's not The Grand's fault. I am well aware of that. What is their fault - totally their fault - is the way they handled it. Terribly.
Cheers,
Jamie Who
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8 comments:
Terrible Mojito's mate...
I visited The Grand with friends during January. The atmosphere was great and our table was on the sand next to the water. The manager served our table, however, dealing with any of the waiters was less than pleasant. The taste of the food during the evening was acceptable (nothing special).
Had this been the end of my experience I would recommend others to try it out. However, it was not the end. I suffered with food poisoning over the next three days. It felt as if I was going to die!
Stay away or risk death!
I WORKED at the Grand and believe me its as bad as you think. The problems start at the top. The owner keeps changing her mind and has no idea how a restaurant works, the managers try to do what she says but they fail miserably partly because there aren't NEARLY enough of them to get all the work done, the waiters are flying solo with no guidance and no help from above and the runners are untrained. Everyone is so stressed all the time that when a customer complains its a bit like 'get in line, dude'. I have no doubt this place will fall flat on its Grand face with in 2 years....
Oh and they really don't have Peroni, they only offer TWO beers. The VIP customers are allowed to bring their own booze in with them and they leave it behind the bar. I bet some waiter got in DEEP s**t for allowing one to be served to another customer.....
Anon, are you for real that certain people can bring in their own beer? That's pathetic. Anyone from The Grand keen to respond?
On the subject of 'great view, poor service' what do people think of Tobagos at the Radisson?
We have eaten there often - a colleague lives at the Water Club and considers it her local ;) - and while the staff are charming and friendly, the speed of the service is, well, NOT speedy.
So if you opt for the splendid buffet, you can serve yourself as fast as you like, but a la carte you wait till the milk arrives next morning...
I am always surprised - just not what you expect from a 5 star hotel restaurant.
The first time we went they wouldnt let us in for a drink as we didnt have a reservation. The second time we went they didnt have our reservation even though we made one. The third time we went they said they had no space but the place was half empty. This holyier than thou attitude sucks and I cant wait to see what will happen when those cold fronts start battering down on the old boat shed. Oh and the parking situ is dismal, its like a construction site, god forbid you go tottering in there in heals - they get ripped to shreds from your trip in from your car.
Hi Jamie
Yeah, totally for real. If you are a VIP you get the following privileges:
1. You never book a table and yet you get whichever one you want the minute you walk into the restaurant (even on New Years Eve)
2. The chef will make you whatever you want, even if it isn't on the menu.
3. You can bring in your own beer if you happen to not like the selection available
4. You can choose to pay next month.
5. The managers are expected to chat with you and keep you entertained (no kidding, by order of the owner... one manager is actually designated VIP liason and his job is to talk to people)
I saw someone get fired because they told a VIP that we didn't have a table (we really didn't) and the customer then grabbed a manager, lifted him off his feet and dragged him to the door to tell the staff member who he was and to get him a table (swearing loudly and threatening to hit something). So instead of the customer being asked to leave, the staff member was fired. Nice. Needless to say, I don't work there anymore.
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