Not kid-friendly, rude hostess, bland marinara…read more
I was staying near this restaurant on vacation with a 3 year old toddler. For anyone who doesn't have a 3 y.o., they can be very picky eaters. Since Sao Paolo was in walking distance, I called to ask if they serve a child's portion of spaghetti and marinara, which the girl on the phone confirmed. I reiterated that I was asking about a children's portion of spaghetti and marinara, which she confirmed. I asked a third time that it would be spaghetti and plain red sauce (nothing spicy, no meat bits, etc), and got a "yes." I placed an order, waited 15 minutes and walked down there to pick it up.
The hostesses were friendly and I paid $18 (plus 10% tip) for the small bowl of pasta. They asked me how my day was going, and I joked that it would be better now, since I could finally give my kid his favorite "red spaghetti." I walked back to my hotel room to feed my child, but when I opened the container, I let out a loud frustrated sigh when I saw a bowl of penne and marinara, not spaghetti. Again, this is for a TODDLER, and my toddler only eats spaghetti, not penne. In frustration, I called Sao Paulo and explained the situation.
When I told the young hostess (who obviously doesn't have children) that my toddler doesn't eat penne, he only eats spaghetti, she actually laughed at me on the phone, which I found to be very rude. I told her this is not funny, that I'm desperately trying to feed my picky toddler on vacation, and that I specifically asked for spaghetti - several times - on the phone. She said she would have to consult her manager, which I found odd, because honestly, we're talking about probably 50 cents worth of pasta to this restaurant, which I paid $18 for. That's a 3,500% profit.
After putting me on hold for several minutes, the hostess told me they would give me another children's portion of actual spaghetti at no extra charge. That "no extra charge" part was emphasized to me, like they're making a great sacrifice by giving me another 50 cents worth of pasta. I also looked at their kids menu online while trying to resolve the situation, and it says "perfectly cooked pasta" with marinara, NOT penne, so I don't understand their problem here. If their kids menu had said "penne" specifically, I would understand how this was my mistake, not theirs.
My wife volunteered to get the replacement spaghetti and marinara because she could tell I might not be very polite to the hostess for laughing at me on the phone. She came back with a second container of... PLAIN spaghetti with NO marinara sauce, which again, my toddler would not eat. Our only solution was to rub the penne on the spaghetti to get as much marinara on it as possible. (The things parents do for their kids...) My toddler then ate some. I would estimate there was probably 10 cents worth of marinara sauce on the penne. So Sao Paolo saved themselves 10 cents by giving me dry replacement spaghetti.
While all this happened, my toddler had a 30 minute meltdown in our hotel room because his dada had promised him his favorite "red spaghetti" when I first placed the order, only to get screwed by Sao Paolo twice.
I believe the manager at Sao Paulo gave us dry spaghetti on purpose as a sort of f-you to us. This was a very mean-spirited thing to do to a family traveling with a young child, even if we're just a bunch of stupid haole. It was definitely not keeping with the "aloha spirit." I would remind all employees at Sao Paolo that they are supposed to practice Kokua and Lokomaika'i, even to mainlanders.
If you're a parent with a picky eater child, don't count on Sao Paolo restaurant to listen to you or care about your situation. They are actively rude to and dismissive of parents traveling with young children. They will act like giving you 50 cents worth of pasta is a big deal, even if their mistake caused the whole problem in the first place.
BTW, I ate the "perfectly cooked" penne. It was overcooked and mushy (the pasta fell apart while I ate it), and the "house-made" marinara was bland. It tasted like canned Chef Boyardee.