We were seated right away, as a large party, which we thought bode well for the evening. We were…read morewrong. When the waiter came to take our order, he was clearly in a rush and said so. They were busy, but no more so than we would expect at late dinnertime. First he told us "no substitutions," as they were too busy for that. I was only trying to specific the type of rum in my drink. So when I asked what kind it came with, he asked what type I would like. Face palm. When the drink came, I think the bar tender thought about rum when making the drink but did not pour nearly a standard amount.
Then the four of us ordered nachos, while waiting on the rest of our party. As we were ordering, we were told to hurry up, as he was very busy. Then the nachos, which were mediocre at best, came with no utensils and 2 only napkins for the four of us.
I had asked when we sat if it would be possible to change the TV that was right beside us to a different sport, one that was already playing on screens in another room. Maybe later, too busy. Never happened.
Finally, when the rest of our party joined us, we flagged down a different waiter to take our order. He was wonderful but dissuaded us from several of our first entree ideas. I thought I wanted pizza; he shook his head. Well, how about the cannelloni; again said he would not recommend. So fish and chips it was, which was not what I really wanted that night. It was fine but not special. 6 out of 10. But when our original waiter brought the food, I asked for malt vinegar for the fish and chips. Not available, only balsamic. What?
Our friend ordered the lasagna, which was also not his first choice, after the second waiter talked him out of his first three choices. It looked like Stouffers, and he said it tasted about like that. The lasagna was served with only a spoon. When our friend asked for utensils, that was a clear annoyance to waiter #1, who was still very busy and reluctantly brought enough for utensils for the whole table.
Finally at the end of this torture, our waiter brought the bill and told us that tips for good service were not included. He practically followed us to the front to pay to see how we would tip. Now, I am a very good tipper, as I have family in the service industry. I love rewarding good service. But this was anything but that. There is no chance I would go back here. The food wait staff was rude, and the food was middle-of-the-road. The only positive is that we had great conversation with our friends and a story to tell. "No substitutions."