Fuego Spanish Grill

08/09/09

Awful Dining Experience!

by FuriousGeorgiaMom

My daughter spent a week researching places that she would like to eat for her 17th birthday. She settled on Fuego Spanish Grill because of the live music and her love of tapas. We made a reservation for a party of nine one week prior, and they told us that they did not have a liquor license and we were okay with that. However, when we arrived, we were told that the band was on vacation. We quickly conferred amongst ourselves, and decided that we would stay. This was a decision that we would later regret.

To begin with our waitress was very inattentive and we soon figured out why. A party of 20 or so women came in after us and she spent all of her time with them. We were on the patio and we could see her through the window refilling their glasses and attending to them. However, when she came to our table, she would quickly place the items we ordered on the table and then disappear. Several times I had to call her name to ask her to come back to the table and take care of whatever need we may have had.

Then, to make matters worse, she brought out 6 of the nine dishes we ordered (not including the birthday girls dish) and disappareared without a word. then, about 10 minutes later she brought out two more dishes and tried to disappear without a word. I had to call her back and ask her when my dish would be coming. She said it would be out in a minute. At this point we asked to speak to the manager.

In the meantime, we noticed that my daughters' salmon was burned (charred black on one side) and that the chicken dish delivered to my mother-in-law was not done. When the server finally brought my dish (10 minutes later), I asked her about the burned salmon. She was defensive and stated that it was only the skin that was burned and suggested that perhaps my daughter could eat around it. I asked her if she had served the dish in the past and if the salmon was burned then. She promptly threw her hands in the air and stated that it was not her responsibility to know how the dish should be served and that was the manager’s job. We asked her again to speak to the manager. Ten more minutes passed and still no manager.

Finally, after 20 minutes of waiting, we feared that our server had not relayed the message. So, I went in search of the manager myself. I found her delivering food to the table of 20. She listened to what I had to say and her eyes took on a very condescending and uncaring stare. In the meantime, our server was standing behind the manager laughing at me and shaking her head. When I brought this to the manager’s attention, she simply stated that she did not believe that the server was jeering at me and dismissed the fact. I could not believe the unprofessional nature of the manager and the server.

Needless to say, We informed the manager that we would not pay the gratuity. She also agreed to take 20% off of the bill and to take off the salmon and chicken dishes. This was a small compensation for a birthday dinner ruined. By the way, the manager never once came to our table and introduced herself and apologized for our horrible experience. Neither did she ask if there was anything she could do to make things better.

This was our first and last time eating at Fuego Spanish Grill. I might add that we were the only African American party in the restaurant. The remainder of the patrons (including the party of 20) were Caucasian and seemed to have a wonderful experience. I also might add that I have never left a restaurant without tipping a server. My usual tip amount is 20%. Neither have I ever taken time to write a negative review. However, this experience was so overwhelmingly horrible, that I had to write about it!

• Pros: Right in the City
• Cons: Awful food and Service

02/03/09

Good Location

by DennisnAtlanta

The food is good, not excellent, but good. It's reasonablely priced. The tables are to close together and when its cold outside its cold inside as well. They seem to have a problem with the heat. The service is good, but not outstanding. The best thing about it is its location on Crescent which is close to a lot of nightlife.

• Pros: Location
• Cons: Tables close together

12/31/08

Good bet - $1 tapas happy hour...if you know what to order

by purplevixen

The attraction to Fuego was the $1 Tapas Happy Hour-4pm-6:30pm Monday thru Friday, and for those of you who are fans of tapas, you know how quickly you can run up a big tab. The $1 menu has a large selection, but here's the catch...you only get one piece of each item you order, which could be good or bad, depending on what you order. The grouper is great, and made us order a full tapas portion, along with the "Dream Dates", which is their most popular item, though I didn't taste the gorgonzola as advertised...the yucca fries were yum...the garlic shrimp was ok...the tuna was eh, so-so, and the mushrooms were blah (marinated in wine or something that gave them a funky, acidic taste,) and like another reviewer stated, the mojo chicken was subpar. The calamari, which is not on the $1 menu, was mostly tempura fried red and green pepper strips with a few calamari tossed in for authenticity...not my fav...the couples on either side of us had several interesting items that looked good-flank steak with chimichurri and some shrimp dish that intrigued further investigation...

The service was very attentive and informative and the atmosphere is nice (though with an empty restaurant on a Monday night, they seated everyone in the same section in the rear, leaving the patio and the rest of the place empty...I didn't care, as i got to see what everyone else was eating) Depending on how hungry you are, and how many people are in your group, you might be better off ordering full tapas portions, rather than sticking with the $1 specials. But if you've not been to Fuego before, or you are a solo diner, the $1 tapas is a good way to explore the menu, and get a cheap happy hour meal before you head out for the evening.