Unfortunately I have to give one star because there isn't a lower rating on this platform.
First off for the premium price you pay for the food, you expect premium quality, but the prawns I received with my steak and prawn combo meal was overcooked, hard and stuck to the shell. This was so overdone that I was forced to use my fingers to pry the meat out off the shells. My wife's Karoo lamb curry was unappetizing because the "curry" was watery and the meat so chewy as if eating rubber.
Secondly, when the first waitron (who was not our waiter) enquired how the food was at the beginning of our meal we informed him of the above complaints. His reaction was a blatant laugh and then he moved on. Our waiter, whom came to us in the middle of our meal enquired about the food we had informed him of the same. His reaction was a stunned, blank look with no action thereafter. At the end of the meal, our waiter had come back to us upon us requesting the bill, we had then taken this opportunity to inform him of the terrible food yet again. At this point the manager had overheard and approached us asking what the issue was, after informing her she had taken it up to the owner. As can be seen, the comments and complaints about the food was not taken seriously as the manager had only found out upon overhearing.
Now this is the point where dissatisfaction with the food turned into disgust with the owner. The owner approached us minutes after the manager spoke to us (as we were paying the full bill of R1250 including tip) in a very hostile manner. He started the interaction with a paying customer (us) with "What's The Problem" in a harsh aggressive tone. Still I kept my composure and joked with the owner about a discount on the bill because I was with my entire family (including in-law’s as well as a 9 month old and 5 year old) and did not want our outing to get spoilt. He asked what the issue was and we explained yet again (for the fifth time). Thereafter he interrogated us in a condescending manner about what we ordered and if we had finished our meals as well as asking us which waiter did we complain to. We pointed out both waiters that did nothing after we had complained and he blatantly defended them saying that his staff knows him well and will not take complaints lightly yet there was a full table of customers that heard the first waiter laugh at our complaint. He did not even have the level of customer service skills to call the waiters to get to the bottom of the problem. He also questioned us about the reason we had not sent back our meals and why did we continue eating if we weren’t satisfied. More so, he did not allow us provide a proper explanation rather dominated the “conversation” by stating aggressively that if we ate the food, we need to pay the bill (which we were already in the process of doing prior to his visit). Still keeping my composure, I acknowledged that I will be paying the bill because I was already in the process of paying. The owner walks off with a macho demeanour as if having put me (the paying customer) in my place, unapologetic about the poor service and poor food.
This entire episode did not sit well with me and my family as we were left annoyed at the approach the owner had taken with us even when there were elderly people and children present. Whilst my family and I were about to leave the restaurant I requested to speak to the owner again. The owner approached me belligerently and I in a firm tone stated that he had been unapologetic and that he should have some remorse for the substandard service and food that we had received. After being cut off from speaking yet again with him saying I will not apologise because you ate the food, I stopped him and stated that I will be placing a negative review about this establishment and specifically the food and him as the owner Corrado Tommassini. He then went on to threaten me with a law suit stating “I will sue you for false advertising”. I could only assume the threat was supposed to deter me from speaking out against his repulsive behaviour. He then turned and began to walk away shouting at us to leave his property. We then left and as we were packing our vehicle only to turn and see him behind us in what looked like him taking pictures of us and our vehicle. Angered, I yelled at him to take pictures without hiding between the cars and again told him that I will be placing a negative review about him and the establishment. He threatened me again with a law suit and said that he will get my personal details from the negative review I am posting here.
From a quiet, relaxing day with my family at a restaurant that I used to like and frequented it turned out to be a belittling, enraging experience not only for me but for my entire family. To Mr Tommassini, I look forward to hearing from your lawyer regarding the lawsuit.
