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Post by by by by on Feb 14, 2008 8:45:55 GMT -4
The service was MORE important than the food quality and taste?
Wow. If the food stinks, I'm gone. Glad they're getting better!!!
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Post by musicman on Feb 15, 2008 5:12:53 GMT -4
I have to admit, my wife and I have been there several times and the food and service have been great.I'd go back again.
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Post by Islandlady on Feb 15, 2008 17:10:50 GMT -4
:-[Obviously this is another attempt at guerrilla marketing.This place has gone through more managers than the Orioles. The original management team got screwed by the owner and his partner (some creepy guy that looks like Lurch from the Adam's Family.) Have been 3 times and won't go back.Overpriced,understaffed and EMPTY with the bartender complaining the whole time. From what I understand the place has had THREE General Managers since that clothing guy bought it a year ago.HELLO! Give me Luke's or Lisa's any day.Real restaurant people. Not folks who thoght they could "buy" the Island.
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Post by shorti on Feb 15, 2008 17:17:08 GMT -4
well islandlady... that just leaves more good food & margaritas for us!!!
don't get me wrong - lukes & lisas are excellent too - but R's is coming into its own...
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Post by Guest on Feb 16, 2008 11:10:36 GMT -4
My husband and I decided to go back last nite after a pretty bad experience when they first opened, so we went for the 'Friday Fiesta' happy hour thats been advertised all over the place. The whole experience was pathetic. It took almost 15 minutes for someone to come and take our drink order, and it wasnt even crowded. When the drinks finally came (10 minutes later) both drinks were wrong -- not too hard to screw up a beer and a margarita but they did -- so after a half hour there, we finally got a drink. Then my husbands food came out freezing cold, when he sent it back the waitress offered for him to try something else, which he did and 30 minutes later still no food. Me and the other couple had completely finished ours by then. He got it to go. The waitress kept apologizing but after 6 months how long can the apologies hold up?? Also, not sure what their happy hour $3 gold margarita is - ours were not with gold tequila and certainly not $3. The manager finally came over and apologized, so we thought there would be some recourse and he threw a $15 gift card on the table, ha!, how about taking at least the cold meal off the check?? Get it together people, it shouldnt be this hard.
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Post by barney on Feb 16, 2008 11:18:17 GMT -4
Hey, try this. Worked for me! Years ago went into a Pizza Hut. Same deal. Few people in there and waited what seemed forever to even be acknowledged that we existed. Finally, as the manager walked by, I called out and stopped him, and asked for a phone at the table so that we could call Domino's to order a pizza. My date about crawled under the table, but talk about super service from then on!!
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Post by guest on Feb 16, 2008 19:58:28 GMT -4
In total agreement with the folks on here who are sick of this place. I've been there 5 times-i love margarita's, and I kept thinking one of these times they'll get it right!! WRONG. I'm done with this place. The service is awful, The bartenders seriously should find new work, the food cold and bland.I've been there for lunch and it was bad. Dinner,bad,drinks awful, and on a Sat night for drinks and music. UGH! The crowd was a bunch of drunken low lifes, who took over the bar.They seemed to be groupies of the band who was lucky they stocked the place with friends cause they were horrible.Well the singer was pretty good. The table next to me left there were 8 of them ages 24-40 maybe?they went to Luke's where they said the music was good-the food excellent, and the crowd a whole lot better. The 4 of us followed, and I must say I got a great drink, already eaten so i can't speak for the food,great service both at the bar and table,and no not a band but a dj who just played great music, and met some really nice people. I will DEF be back there. As stated before on here, help is hard to get and keep around here, but maybe they should pay a little better so the workers aren't 16/17 yr olds working at what is supposed to be an upscale bar/restaurant.Nothing against 16 yr olds especially when they work, but a place that is trying to be so "Annapolis like", needs to staff it better, get a manager who isn't afraid to manage,get a chef,and better bands. The place itself is gorgeous. They just need to clean house and start again. Whew-I suppose I needed to get that off the chest!
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Post by shorti on Feb 18, 2008 10:01:36 GMT -4
Now see we went Saturday evening & had no problems w/ food, drinks, service... none whatsoever... the food was delicious... the margaritas were great... woo hoo if i were to wage 1 complaint it would be this... we were told there was a 20 minute wait... yet there were 4 tables open... we chalked it up to they were probably short staffed on servers & they didn't want to overwhelm them - hence bad service... not too sure though... but in actuality we only waited about 10-15 minutes...
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Post by falgar25 on Feb 18, 2008 20:54:25 GMT -4
Agree with Frank from the other R's thread, too many guest/guest posters slamming the place. (ought to be a way to combine threads) I'll try to give the place a try before the end of the month and let you all know what I learn.
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Post by moosie on Feb 18, 2008 20:58:58 GMT -4
well, we just got back, and things were fine. got there around 7, no waiting. not that many people there, although more came in while we were eating. service was fine. food was hot, margaritas were cold--and half-price. so this experience was fine. i think their prices are in general a bit steep, but otherwise....
i had a fajita--half shrimp, half chick, hubby had a blackened chicken burrito, and we had chorizo skins for an appetizer. i took home a doggy bag.
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Post by Disappointed on Feb 19, 2008 2:27:54 GMT -4
I took my family and invited another family to R's this past Sunday evening. It was my first time going to this restaurant, but not my friend. She told me she had gone to R's when it first opened up and the experience was terrible. We all agreed that we wanted to give them another shot since part of the proceeds went to the fire department on Sunday evenings and I had never tried it before. I was hesitant due to the numerous number of negative posts there were online. I figured that R's needed a little time to get their act together. Also, the posts recently have been getting better. LOL! Needless to say, our experience at R's was absolutely ATROCIOUS.
1. We walked in approximately at 5:30 pm to find several of the wait staff huddled up in the waiting area talking to one another with the host. (no big deal, mostly high school kids probably catching up and not that busy) We were seated right near the hostess table to the front. 2. We place an order for guacamole in a supposed Mexican joint - NO GUACAMOLE! Food Lion is just next door? 5:30pm? 3. We were asking questions to our waitress about the menu. She had NO CLUE what was what and what it came with. However, she did know what they didn't have. 4. They were out of Guacamole, dough for flat bread, and onion rings. Onion rings? I ordered the New York Strip Fajita which was loaded with peppers and onions? but No onion rings. 5. We got our meals, even a flat bread since we waited until they made the dough. My refried beans with my fajita was untouchable. I believe they used sea salt, kosher salt, and table salt to salt the beans. The peppers and onions were on the salty side too, but were at least tolerable. My sons taco on the otherhand was not a taco. I don't quite know what they use for seasoning, but it wasn't good. He just ate the fries. The kids chicken tenders seemed to be good since their weren't any complaints. The mystery taco meat was on the flat bread, which we scraped off. The side of onion rings which were suppose to accompany the grilled chicken sandwich was instead replaced with fries. 6. We ordered dessert from our waitress. She was glad to take the order, but no one was eager to help clean off our table. We even stacked it for them, hint hint, but even the group in the front or hostess didn't seem to care. We eventually got 2 brownie/ice cream lava cake things for the kids, sopapilla, and a fried cheesecake. We asked for spoons from another waitress who brought out our desserts and she brought back forks. How often do you give your kids forks for ice cream? We again asked for spoons as the waitress rolled her eyes and brought back soup spoons. I don't think R's has regular spoons either. I'm glad we didn't order coffee that night. 7. As we were finishing our desserts, the table next to us was a young family with 3 little kids. The youngest kid proceeded to knock over his drink on the floor and spill it everywhere around him. The front staff looked over at the spill and completely ignored this family, I believe even the possible manager. We took whatever clean napkins we had and helped this family with their spill while we had absolutely no help from any of the R's staff. 8. I was glad to have the check and get the heck out of R's.
Unfortunately, I don't blame our waitress eventhough the service was subpar. I believe she probably didn't get the proper training that she deserves along with the other young wait staff. There is absolutely no teamwork or guidance from the manager. It's unfortunate for the owner, who seems like a decent guy that invested a lot of money into this establishment and the community. I'm not sure if he truly understands the restaurant business. At least it seems like he can't hire the right people to run this business. I'll be interested to see what other restaurant comes in this location in the near future. As for now, we'll make our tacos at home again or drive over the bridge to Chevy's and drop $4 off at the fire station instead of going back to R's.
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Post by shorti on Feb 19, 2008 9:31:28 GMT -4
you know... all i can say is this & it will apply to ALOT of threads...
it is so easy to throw stones, criticize, etc (monday am quarterback)... you want to assume that the wait staff didn't get the proper training... possible - yes... you assume it was the manager there & not helping... possible - yes... but you never know until you are there... until you own the business - until you are the one having the hard time finding decent help.... we just don't know the circumstances...
what i see is this - they had some definate kinks to work out early & have made some noticable changes just by reading posts how things are getting better... what seems to be the biggest complaint is the service... ok - could be they are not receiving adequate training... could be they just don't have any pride in what they are doing... WE DO NOT KNOW...
If you have a compliant - contact the owner/manager... explain it to them... then if there continues to be the same problem - well then perhaps you were right...
Not really a rant - just trying to be diplomatic here... I've gone & for the most part - was a good experience... nothing different than going to any other restaurant here on the island... quite honestly - i had a better experience at R's than i did at annies for the my birthday... JMHO
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Post by lynn on Feb 19, 2008 11:19:24 GMT -4
I've been there several times now and have come to the same conclusion... I like the decor and the bar is good. The wait staff was all quite nice. However, we had one really good waiter and two really slow (and forgetful) waitresses, so a mixed answer there.
I did not have the pasta dish that Alan said was so good, so I can't comment on that. However the other dishes that my family, friends, and I had were just mediocre and overpriced for what they were. For example, usually when you get a burrito at a restaurant it comes with rice, beans, corn, etc., but not at R's. If you get the burrito that is all you get. One time we did get sides with our meals, so I'm not sure what is up there. Also, most of the time our food was dry and bland.
The children's dishes are also overpriced for what you get. For example, the children's Mac and Cheese flat is nothing more than a little mac and cheese on a small tortilla and baked. The kids meals were served on big wooden boards (like cutting boards with the big handle). At first sight the kids thought it was cool to eat off of the boards, but the boards are too big for the table if you have more than one child eating. The last time I was there was with a group of people and we all had our kids. We had a difficult time getting all of the kids boards to fit on the table (which was complicated by the fact that our waitress didn't clear anything off the table). It was just weird. The best thing about the kids' meals are the little wikki sticks they give them to play with.
I've given it 3 tries and probably won't go again unless I hear that either the food has really improved and they have a coupon out. I like the Mexican food in Easton and Annapolis better and I think the price difference and quality make it worth the drive.
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Post by lynn on Feb 19, 2008 11:27:53 GMT -4
I did want to add... the fajitas were good. I forgot that. So, I would go again with my husband and not my kids... if we just ate fajitas and sat in the bar and drank beer (other bar drinks took a long time to get - not sure if due to the bar or our slow waitresses).
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Post by Rich Fisher on Feb 19, 2008 13:47:29 GMT -4
I was at R's last night and had a good experience. We sat at the bar and had great fast drink service from a very friendly female bartender (sorry I forgot her name), and I had a chicken chim-something-or-other with refried beans and a lot of cheese. it was very good and a large portion for something like $13. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've never had a problem here.
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Post by Islandlady on Feb 19, 2008 14:00:59 GMT -4
wow.....seems so many folks have experienced the same problems....it's not people throwing stones...it's people spending their good money for an inferior product. It is not like the owner is some poor sap who saved up money and followed a dream. It is the fatal combination of arrogance and ignorance from a MULTI-MILLIONAIRE who should have been able to pool resources and put a better product out from the beginning that burns us. You open a business,you advertise it,essentially inviting patrons to choose YOU as their dining destination and then you fail to deliver on the promise,AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN.Consumers should not be guinea pigs for others "hobbies" Several kids in the area that have worked there now work at other area restaurants.(one goes to school with my daughter) She tells stories of how the "Chef" demands to be called "Chef" ,tells kids they are "cancerous cells",yells and curses at them and so on. She also says the "acting" general manager is a 19 year old girl that baby-sits the owner's children. Could be the reason it seems run by children? I tried calling to talk to some one "higher up" and was put on hold for 15 minutes.Emailing from the web-site produced nothing. I never worked there and I don't own a restaurant but like many, I worked at restaurants all through school and then part time for many years.When you give a business as many chances as so many of us have,at some point you are just throwing your money away. Like the earlier post said,I would be better off just giving money to the Fire department :'(This place is Sheridan's with polka-dots on it. Perhaps those of you that are such fans could go work for them and help them out. Not a shot,but it seems they could use your help,concern and enthuisiasm.
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Post by Mike on Feb 19, 2008 14:03:56 GMT -4
Someone has been watching a little too much hells kitchen
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Post by shorti on Feb 19, 2008 14:10:00 GMT -4
yeah i'd have to say the same... funny thought though .. no no no - you MUST call me chef... tee hee hee... islandlady - it's actually a combo of both good & bad... I've been lucky... so has rich... so have others... it's new - give it a rest.... don't like it - just don't go back... my point was that since there was a combo of opinion OBVIOUSLY this isnt' a constant problem.... perhaps the patrons are rude & since the staff is mostly young... well not that it's right - maybe that's their way of retaliation.. .(SP?) who knows... but what i was saying was since there are many w/ complaints & many without... it's not a definate... you just haven't been fortunate... all places have bad days... .even the best of the best... The manager I spoke with was a man probably late 20's early 30's - knowledgeable... friendly... he actually stopped by our table...
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Post by shorti on Feb 19, 2008 14:10:52 GMT -4
also - just my 2cents ... sounds like your rant is almost personal... how do you know this owner is a multi millionaire? how do you know he's not following a dream???
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Post by outlaw on Feb 19, 2008 15:06:24 GMT -4
Chef Ramsey could do a "Kitchen Nightmares" from there and straighten it all out.
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Post by Islandlady on Feb 19, 2008 15:37:11 GMT -4
On his website it says he is the founder of White House/Black Market and boasts he is a "serial enterpreneur".That would more than likely make him a multi-millionaire.A $150,000 donation to the Fire Department would speak to that as well.(KUDOS deserved for that)If he is following a dream perhaps someone in his organization would return an email or phone call. Dining out should not be about good or bad luck..no agenda here its just for a place that is so bad it seems to have 1 or 2 cheerleaders that have a disproportionate view.I do in fact take it personally when I have wasted money or KIDS in my community get treated poorly by adult business people that obviously don't know what they are doing..Perhaps all the others that have had similair problems should as you say "give it a rest" too. I,as you are, am entitled to my opinion as well as the others who have posted here.Oddly, there seems to be no other restaurants/bars getting these type of reviews. Would that be luck too? I appreciate your positive attittude.I have a positive outlook as well.I am POSITIVE R's is AWFUL .
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Post by its moosie on Feb 19, 2008 15:51:22 GMT -4
burritos' come with bans and rice, just like everything else. i must say, when i called to complain about a bad experience, i got promises of compensation. when that did not arrive, i called several times asking for the young man i had spoken with. eventually, someone offered that he no longer worked there. i explained the entire situation again, and received a very nice gift certificate in the mail a few days later. can't complain about that. they came through.
i miss some of the menu items they used to have. oh well.
yes, rich is rich many times over. if he is following his dream, then he needs to be there more often to see what is happening. as i said early on in these posts, i was there for a pre-opening dinner. the food and service were excellent, and, of course, rich was there. things have gone downhill since then, and i have had mixed experiences, but i hope they can get their act together.
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Post by its moosie on Feb 19, 2008 15:52:28 GMT -4
before i get jumped on here, i know i have some typos.
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Post by shorti on Feb 19, 2008 15:55:57 GMT -4
islandlady - wrong again... you see if you read posts you will see that R's is nto the only one that has received heavy criticism... LaFontana is another one most recently...
I'm not defending them entirely - yes they need to make improvements - but they are slowly... things are 180 from where they were when they first opened...
As far as the Kids comment - being treated poorly- unfortunately most kids do not have the work ethic to work in a place like this... it is hard work & frankly the majority of kids don't want to have to work... there are some that do - granted... but the majority that I have run into or known don't want to really have to work for their money.... not saying the kid you are talking about is one of those... but in general... it's sad really...
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Post by guest on Feb 20, 2008 1:06:07 GMT -4
Island Lady's right.and agree on the don't like it don't go theory, i actually heard a similar story today from someone who worked there re: the whole owner/manager deal.now, it's supposedly partly owned by the owner of Blue Water Tavend and from what I hear, they are taking over, packing it with the same ole 21 yr olds, and acting like they own it.don't shoot the messenger, i just heard and i guess am gossiping.ugh i don't like to do that, it just seemed to go along with what IL was saying.i say make up ya own minds!!
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