Colonnade Restaurant

10/24/09

Worst experience ever!

by sip109

I used to love this establishment for its southern charm and hospitality. But on a very rare occasion of having a relaxed dinner with my wife, it turned out to be a disaster and a pretty bad one at that.

I ordered their special of the night - pork shank with apple sauce and cabbage. The waiter (who was particularly not a service oriented guy who would get the utensils after having asked for) claimed that it was their popular dish. When we received our dinner plates, I found out within a bite or two that I was not served Pork, but Beef. So i asked my waiter if he was sure this was the right dish. Now I do not eat Beef for both religious and personal belief. The waiter(who earlier claimed that it was a popular dish and should have known the difference) took my plate and said he will check with the kitchen. After several minutes, he came back and just casually mentioned that it was the wrong dish and the pork would be ready in a few. To add insult to the damage, he did not utter a word of apology or appreciation for what I was going through. He just walked away as I looked at him in disbelief. My wife who was enjoying her shrimp & grits stopped eating, because I was waiting on my ordered dish. We contemplated just throwing in the dollars and walk out. But we did not want to make a huge fuss about this and decided to take it up with the reception and cashier on the way out. Mostly, it was because of the fact that we did not want to spoil the experience for others. We went through our dinner without uttering a word to each other and asked for the check.

We got our check and there was not even a mention of the fiasco. I explained my experience to the cashier who had just this thing to say." I will inform my manager of this . Please come back again". I offered to pay for the beef dish as well, because it was served to me. She took the money for our dinner and just said thank you. She did not even care to get my information.

If these guys really cared for their customer,

1) they should have waived the dinner charges

2) they should have got my information for the manager to call me

3) they should have called me and atleast heard my feedback. so that they can fix this problem they have. Mistakes happen, I understand. But even a big error is rectified by the greatness of customer service and appreciation.

None of this happened. May be if I had created a scene I would have gotten the deserved attention and service.

But I am never going to set my foot in this place again. I will cut my losses - just 50 dollars or so and the worst experience of dining ever in my life!

• Pros: Southern charm
• Cons: Service, Service, Degrading Southern hospitality

07/23/09

Excellent

by mrskhanna2004

good

• Pros: best bread
• Cons: never been there

02/26/09

Everybody's got to go to the Colonnade at least once

by neatomosquito

I have to give this three stars. Why? The food really isn?t that great but then it isn't always about the food. This place is a real melting pot(t) with diversity being the word of the day. First, the wait staff. Pretty much all of them are real characters with Eric being a real stand out. What a nice man. One practically expects to see a hankie corsage on the gals but I digress. Second the eclectic customers. Expect to be comfortable with a well behaved and diverse (there, I said it again) crowd. Third, the food. Ok, so I said it wasn't that great. But, I've heard that there's a new chef and the specials sounded pretty tasty last time I was there. Naturally there are regulars that swear by this place. I'm not one of them. But, with the exception of the crab cakes which were notably really awful, I've never had a meal I didn't finish. So, if you want decent food at a decent price make sure you check this place out.

• Pros: Great service, decent portions
• Cons: Yes, you will wait to be seated at certain times