Philippe Ruiz

Coopster67 07/09/2008 2:15:00 AM

We planned a special birthday party for our friend Margherita and made dinner reservations for eight people at 8:15. Upon entry into the restaurant, we had a great reception from the hostess. She was very friendly, enthusiastic and offered us the wine cellar upstairs. When we entered the wine cellar upstairs, we were somewhat surprised to see two televisions playing at either end. I guess when you are offered the wine cellar; you sort of expect a quiet, intimate area that is special and unique. The meal started off very nicely and we ordered a bottle of wine. After sitting for a while, we realized that the music was very loud. We asked the waiter for turn down the stereo that was playing. He agreed, but made no change. We asked a second time and a third time. After the third request we asked if he would talk to the manager. He was very cooperative, but we got the sense that nothing was being done. Now, please keep in mind that the music was fast bumping music that was so loud you couldn�t hear the person next to you. I�m very accustomed to Miami restaurants, but we found ourselves screaming at each other. To continue the insult, nothing was done after speaking to the waiter. One of the guests finally went down to talk to the manager and asked if they could turn down the music. He said, �well, it�s the weekend and we like it loud on the weekends�. The guest responded with �is this a bar or a restaurant?� and then asked the manager to come listen to the music himself. After the manager and the guest went upstairs, the music was finally lowered. We were shortly joined in the wine cell by a huge party of teenagers who were �high fiving� each other and using the music as Karoke. Within five minutes, the music was turned up again. Now to keep it going, we were never offered the option of tap water � we were only provided with very costly bottled water at $12.00 a bottle. I�m sorry but we should have been asked and even if we agreed, that price is ridiculous. During our meal, we constantly had to ask for refills, etc. Our waiter was eventually joined by a very pleasant waitress who was finally able to help and respond to our requests. After the meal, one of the waiters came up behind the table and grabbed a bottle of wine from the shelf. He never said �excuse me� or asked anybody to move. He subsequently pulled multiple bottles out and they rolled onto on of the guests. One of the wine bottles actually hit her foot and hurt her. He giggled after this was done. We all got up to help and by that time we were all very frustrated and upset by the lack of service and the way our requests were ignored � repeatedly. On the way out, I expressed by frustration to the manager who basically just looked at me. It was only the original hostess who apologized. Quite frankly, I was shocked that he did nothing, but essentially gives us attitude. I realize that most of the restaurants on the beach deal with tourists and non-repeat customers. However, as a local to Miami, I go out quite often with my friends and was very surprised and very disappointed by the lack of service we experienced. What made it worst is that we expressed concern and we basically treated like we weren�t hip enough or weren�t important. I�m sure that�s not the expectation of the service levels, but something must be done to train the staff in resolving customer issues. I would highly suggest that you review the tenor of the manager on duty. He was shockingly hostile and non cooperative.