Or maybe you haven't. Or, more likely, maybe you've been served poorly. The Daily News highlights the (somewhat obvious) fact that New Yorkers don't like bad service in restaurants. According to Tim Zagat, who is quoted in the article, in the 2006 Zagat guide surveys, 49% of New Yorkers named bad service as their primary complaint.
It is truly amazing how bad service can put a damper on an otherwise fine meal. The other night, we had dinner at Gradisca, a modest, rustic Italian restaurant in the West Village. In our party of six, two couples had gotten babysitters in order to go out to dinner, which made us particularly aware of the fact that we waited close to an hour between the time we were seated and the time our appetizers actually made it to the table. There was clearly no communication among the waitstaff, and we had to ask several times for bread, wine, and water. The food was fine, but the service had pissed us off so much that it was hard to enjoy. The other night, and Mexicana Mama Centro, we had finished our guacomole and chips and were waiting for our entrees to arrive, when we were suddenly asked if we had decided on dessert. Not fatal, and the place is fairly new so we're likely to give them some allowance to work out the kinks, but suddenly we felt rushed. Even at high-end Del Posto, we had to wait close to 45 minutes after our reservation time to be seated -- at those prices, one shouldn't be kept waiting at the bar that long without a round of drinks or a nibble. From that point on, however, the service was flawless, and the food was quite good, so we somehow forgot about the long wait.
What are your worst bad service stories? Any repeat offenders?
