Rate Vegas

On April 06 2008, TJ Thompson wrote:

The service was horrible. I just got back from dinner there. I took my mother out to there for her birthday because I thought it looked like a nice restaurant. Well, the food was good (except for the burnt rolls they tossed on the table and the charred pizza crust). Really, the Greek salad was amazing. So I got a good value for the food. But the service really was bad. I called ahead of time and made a reservation, and I told the woman on the phone that it was my birthday and asked, “Does the restaurant do anything special for someone if its their birthday?”. The woman on the phone said that they put a candle in a slice of cake but “nothing spectacular.” That was precisely what I wanted. Great. But that’s not the way it happened. The first waiter had no idea what brand root beer they sold. Then he sent over a second waiter to take care of our table, and after dinner he asked if we wanted dessert. Ridiculous! I shouldn’t have to notify the waiter of the preplanned slice of makeshift birthday cake right in front of the birthday person! But I did. He told me that the restaurant does no such thing, but that he could do it if I wanted. Odd, because that same night two other guests had the same thing delivered to them—a slice of strawberry cheesecake and a candle. So the cake came, and so did the bill. They had charged me an exorbitant $5.25 for a slice of cake that the woman on the phone implied was free. After all, I had asked “Does the restaurant do anything special…?,” not “Does the restaurant supply the candle and the flame?”. I went to the front area and told someone my complaint about having to tell the waiter about the birthday cake, and she completely understood. She brought the manager over, and he was less than inviting. I told him my complaint about having to tell the waiter something I had already told on the phone, so it could be a surprise to the birthday person, and he said something incredulous along the lines of “Okay…and what do you want me to do about it?” with that sort of tone you use when someone is telling you completely useless information and expect you to respond. I then added to the conversation the part about what the woman on the phone had told me, and my precise question, and he told me that they were incorrect, as if it isn’t his responsibility to make sure the staff knows the restaurant policies on such matters. If someone working there tells a customer something incorrect, it is his responsibility to have the restaurant eat the cost or to pass the cost along to the worker, not to charge a customer for something they believed would be free. The manager appeared to take the $5.25 charge off, handing me the bill in that leathery book with a definite attitude about him. On my walk back to my table, I looked at the bill—THE CHARGE WAS STILL THERE! He may have made a mistake during the process of taking the charge off, but I doubt it. I think that he was trying to trick me into thinking the charge was off. I wasn’t born yesterday. I went back to the woman at the front, and told her the charge was still there. She told the manager, and that time he really did take it off. On my way out, he apologized for the misunderstanding and rationalized, saying that he can’t give a free piece of cake to everybody, as if that fixes the incompetency of the staff in this matter and the rudeness he had radiated throughout the last 15 minutes or so of my visit there. Simply put, I do not plan on returning there ever again. I would not recommend it to anyone; I do not recommend to you. This is the anti-recommendation. I am bothered not because the dessert wasn’t free, but that nobody TOLD me that it wasn’t free. And if I’m going to pay for a dessert, let me pick what the dessert is going to be! And finally, don’t have an attitude, Mr. Manager, when I come to you with a problem with the service at your establishment. Yes, folks. Delicious food and beautiful restaurant, but horrible service overall, and avoid Manager Tony if you ever DO decide to stop by.

- TJ, a local

On October 29 2006, mike_ch wrote:

Get ready for some long waits! It’s always been this way for as long as I can remember. I’m not sure why it’s always so slow. Maybe this kitchen also handles room service orders and isn’t capable of handling the load of that and the dining room? Only thing I can think of, and room service at 3AM is the only thing I think it’s good for. If you’re on the ground, eat at ESPN or Gonzelez or, if it’s late, run south to one of the better cafes.

It’s morning in America, and I’m still waiting for the dinner I ordered last night!

On February 03 2006, RateVegas.com User wrote:

Ate here several times. The food was very good but always less than warm. The service needs a lot of improvement!!!

On September 29 2005, RateVegas.com User wrote:

just returned from a great trip to vegas but don’t waste your time or money on the food at the america. we were seated immediately but waited one hour for our food. Which had to be sent back and put in the microwave because everything was ice cold. It wasn’t very tasty either

On July 06 2005, RateVegas.com User wrote:

We came at a relatively slow time and had the slowest and most inattentive service that we had anywhere in Vegas.

The food was good, but not worth the two + hours that we were there.

On July 08 2003, rmk003 wrote:

Still bad food and bad service. Steak was cold. Dinner took forever.

On May 31 2003, roberti805 wrote:

Can for a late night snack and dessert, we thought our server was friendly and the food quite good for coffee shop fare.

On December 19 2000, RateVegas User wrote:

We found both the food and service to be acceptable in this huge coffee shop. There is a rather extensive menu which should have something for nearly everyone. A bit pricey for a coffee shop but I guess that is standard for the “new” Las Vegas.

On November 22 2000, RateVegas User wrote:

Poor service and bland food. What else is there to say?