When looking at restaurants, so many other things come to mind than just the food. As a professional chef, I am always thrilled whenever I am able to sit on the other side of the kitchen door and enjoy the experience myself. However, there are quite a bit of things that I am a stickler for - and service is one of them.
Tonight my partner and I decided to go to one of our usual haunts in our neighborhood - Bistro 360 and critically look at what is one the proverbial plate. While the food has always been good, this evening I really decided to look and look hard, at what the service standard is and what could potentially be improved upon.
The server took our drink order and returned promptly with our drinks - a beer for me and a nice glass of Pinot Noir for Firat. I did ask if they had any beers on draft, but he said that unfortunately they only had Beer in cans and bottles. That was sort of a bummer because I really just wanted a cold draft beer - however, not a big deal.
The food came out right on time, everything was presented beautifully from the appetizers to the entree. We received an amuse bouche to "open" up our palette - it was a heirloom tomato crostini. We ordered our appetizers of Georgian Flat Bread, Brussel Sprouts and Pomme Frites (His favorite). While all of this came out orderly and in a timely fashion, I felt a bit neglected in a way. I think that they really needed more service staff to help orchestrate service - and it was only a calm Wednesday night.
So while the appetizers were delicious, we were super excited about the mussels and Tuna Tataki. They both arrived but even though we mentioned that we wanted to split the mussels, the server did not provide all the necessary flatware and dishes to make this possible in an anticipatory amount of time so we would have extra bowls etc., in order to be ready for the entree. Basically, the Entree arrived first followed by the necessary dishes afterward. This may seem a bit nitpicky, but it is important because it gives the impression that the dining room and the kitchen either are not communicating correctly, or the server is just being inattentive.
Well, the mussels were wonderful, but what was this I found in my mouth? I pulled on it and it was a piece of nylon netting about 4 inches long that managed to get into the dish with the mussels! Normally, I wouldn't make such a fuss over this. Things happen in a kitchen and I totally get that - I also am not going to make trouble and throw any of the cooks under the bus. However, I know that there are people in this world who will do just that and some poor cook in the back will have a stripe torn out of him. It has happened to me as well.
At the end of the meal, I asked for the check and waited... and waited...and waited. I then had to ask again. I could sort of understand that happening on a busy Saturday night but not on a Wednesday.
However, none of these things were a "spoil the dinner never come back to this restaurant again" type of moments. They just were. Period. Normal little snafu's that are all part of the dining experience..
I know that we will return.
If you want to try some great food in Arlington, Virginia, check out their website.
-Patrick Drennen
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