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This happened to my parents a couple nights ago.
There is an upscale steakhouse in their area that they have been going to for well over 50 years, since they were young kids going with their parents. The restaurant serves steaks as well as other items cooked over a woodfire grill, such as fish, chicken, and porkchops. The food is normally consistently good to excellent. There have been a few times that they, and I, have been that the food was not quite up to par; the fish being overcooked, the steaks overly fatty/gamey, but we have chalked those times up to just being an off-night. My family has gone to this restaurant so many times that we are bound to catch them on an off-night at one point or another, and even then the food is still decent, just not excellent like it normally is.
As I mentioned, my family (from my grandparents to me and my siblings and their own kids) have been going to this restaurant for 50+ years so we are familiar with the owners and they with us. I wouldn't say we're friendly with them, but we recognize them and they recognize us and always welcome us back as repeat customers when they see us come in. The other night was no exception for my parents; the owner's daughter (or perhaps she is the owner now, as we haven't seen her father at the restaurant lately and she seems to be running things) greeted and seated my parents personally.
Unfortunately, the food was not good. In fact, it was downright bad. My dad had the fish, which is probably the most common item that my family as a whole orders. It is one of their most consistent items as it's almost always good if not amazing. My dad's fish tasted "off." It had a very strong "fishy" taste to it (and being a mild whitefish, it should not have a strong flavor) and seemed tough/overdone. My mom ordered the chicken, which was even worse. The chicken entree is a grilled half chicken, and when my mom cut into her's, it was clearly underdone, being pink in the middle of the breast and thigh. When she pointed this out to their server, the waitress snottily said, "Well, all our chicken is par-boiled before going on the grill so it can't be underdone." My mom insisted it was, showing the waitress the pink in the middle, so the waitress took her plate and told her they'd put it back on the grill.
15 minutes later, my mom got a blackened charred piece of meat. The waitress set it down in front of her and sweetly said, "I hope this is done enough for you now!" before flouncing away. My mom tried it and it also had an "off" taste to it, like it was an old piece of meat (besides being overdone to death at this point.)
When their server returned, neither of them had eaten much of their food and they informed her that the food was off tonight. They had both had the same entree in the past so knew what it tasted like, and what they got was not it. The server offered no apology, but said, "I'll see what I can do for you." She returned a few minutes later and said that Vanessa (the owner/owner's daughter who had seated my parents) would give them a discount on their bill. My parents weren't fishing for a discount, they just wanted the staff to know that the food wasn't up to par tonight. Meanwhile, Vanessa had been walking the floor of the dining room checking on other tables and chatting with other regulars, but she never stopped to check on my parents, even after she was informed by the server that their were displeased with their meals.
In the end, my parents each got $2 off their entrees (and keep in mind, these are $25-30 entrees) and no apology from anyone. The server acted offended that they dare complain, and the cook (who is in full view of the dining room, as the wood grill is located against the back wall of the main dining room) kept shooting them nasty looks. It would have been one thing if the food had just been off, but between that and the abysmal treatment they received from the staff, they said it would be a long time before they return.
There is an upscale steakhouse in their area that they have been going to for well over 50 years, since they were young kids going with their parents. The restaurant serves steaks as well as other items cooked over a woodfire grill, such as fish, chicken, and porkchops. The food is normally consistently good to excellent. There have been a few times that they, and I, have been that the food was not quite up to par; the fish being overcooked, the steaks overly fatty/gamey, but we have chalked those times up to just being an off-night. My family has gone to this restaurant so many times that we are bound to catch them on an off-night at one point or another, and even then the food is still decent, just not excellent like it normally is.
As I mentioned, my family (from my grandparents to me and my siblings and their own kids) have been going to this restaurant for 50+ years so we are familiar with the owners and they with us. I wouldn't say we're friendly with them, but we recognize them and they recognize us and always welcome us back as repeat customers when they see us come in. The other night was no exception for my parents; the owner's daughter (or perhaps she is the owner now, as we haven't seen her father at the restaurant lately and she seems to be running things) greeted and seated my parents personally.
Unfortunately, the food was not good. In fact, it was downright bad. My dad had the fish, which is probably the most common item that my family as a whole orders. It is one of their most consistent items as it's almost always good if not amazing. My dad's fish tasted "off." It had a very strong "fishy" taste to it (and being a mild whitefish, it should not have a strong flavor) and seemed tough/overdone. My mom ordered the chicken, which was even worse. The chicken entree is a grilled half chicken, and when my mom cut into her's, it was clearly underdone, being pink in the middle of the breast and thigh. When she pointed this out to their server, the waitress snottily said, "Well, all our chicken is par-boiled before going on the grill so it can't be underdone." My mom insisted it was, showing the waitress the pink in the middle, so the waitress took her plate and told her they'd put it back on the grill.
15 minutes later, my mom got a blackened charred piece of meat. The waitress set it down in front of her and sweetly said, "I hope this is done enough for you now!" before flouncing away. My mom tried it and it also had an "off" taste to it, like it was an old piece of meat (besides being overdone to death at this point.)
When their server returned, neither of them had eaten much of their food and they informed her that the food was off tonight. They had both had the same entree in the past so knew what it tasted like, and what they got was not it. The server offered no apology, but said, "I'll see what I can do for you." She returned a few minutes later and said that Vanessa (the owner/owner's daughter who had seated my parents) would give them a discount on their bill. My parents weren't fishing for a discount, they just wanted the staff to know that the food wasn't up to par tonight. Meanwhile, Vanessa had been walking the floor of the dining room checking on other tables and chatting with other regulars, but she never stopped to check on my parents, even after she was informed by the server that their were displeased with their meals.
In the end, my parents each got $2 off their entrees (and keep in mind, these are $25-30 entrees) and no apology from anyone. The server acted offended that they dare complain, and the cook (who is in full view of the dining room, as the wood grill is located against the back wall of the main dining room) kept shooting them nasty looks. It would have been one thing if the food had just been off, but between that and the abysmal treatment they received from the staff, they said it would be a long time before they return.
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