Aqua Dining, Cnr Paul & Northcliff Sts, Milsons Point
Aqua Dining, Cnr Paul & Northcliff Sts, Milsons Point Wednesday 23 January, 2008
What a disaster! Tonight we were celebrating my Mum's birthday dinner at Aqua Dining. I have never been before and was keen to experience it. I ordered a birthday cake and dealt with a lovely staff member beforehand who was happy to accommodate the cake request, Happy Birthday message and request for a good table.
On the night, however, we were stunned by the lack of service and complete disregard for the birthday celebration. In no uncertain terms....it was shocking.
On arrival we found no staff at the front desk but watched as two staff members were busy discussing beverage prices at the adjacent bar. Finally a staff member acknowledged our presence and directed us to our table.
The table was in direct sunlight. It was near impossible to see and when we asked for the blinds to be lowered to cut the direct sunlight we were told ‘No’ by our very dismissive, rude waitress. Later we discovered the blinds did not work by another staff member. This is unacceptable for a restaurant that trades on it’s glass windows. I sincerely hope there is a plan in place to have these fixed as each table around us complained.
Before the guest of honour arrived, I spoke with our waitress to confirm that the cake would come to table after the main meal. She looked at me blankly and said she had no knowledge of it. I asked her to check and she reluctantly went to the kitchen.
After our guest of honour arrived, the waitress returned to the table to announce we had no cake……..in front of everyone. I asked her to follow me to the front desk and mentioned that it was completely inappropriate to announce this to the table. She couldn’t have cared less. So, I explained that this was my Mum’s 69th birthday and we were trying to give her a wonderful night out. This made no impact.
I asked to speak with the Manager instead. He checked the book, a folder at the adjacent bar and then disappeared into the kitchen. A short time later he returned with good news – we did, in fact, have a cake and it was prepared with ‘Happy birthday’. Thank god! I indicated to the Manager that our waitress had been woeful and announced to the table that we had no cake. He listened but did not apologise for the error.
When our mains arrived we asked the waitress to take a photo of our group. She was dismissive and rudely stated that would do so at her earliest convenience. Twenty minutes later she had not returned to the table to honour the request. We asked a male staff member instead who said he would be delighted to take the photo and did so immediately.
When the mains were cleared the waitress returned and loudly asked the table, ‘Do you want the cake?’. I whispered that it would be appropriate to deliver the cake to the table after a short break. Thirty minutes later the cake arrived and was placed in front of the guest of honour. There were no candles, no fuss or encouragement to sing Happy Birthday. Our appalling waitress literally lent over and placed it on the table. To disguise this from our guest of honour we all made a fuss and started to sing Happy Birthday.
The waitress returned a short time later and stated that we probably needed a knife. After our guest of honour had cut the cake another waiter arrived and said he would be more than happy to have the kitchen do this and organise for the cake to be served with ice cream. Finally! Someone who knew what they were doing.
We had ordered several bottles of wine and after finishing the first bottle of white and red ordered another white. This was opened and then left in the bucket behind our table until we were ready to leave. All attempts to obtain more wine were ignored by the wait staff. So, by the time our bill arrived we still had ¾ of the bottle left to drink.
For a night out that cost over $700 this was, without a doubt, the worst service I have ever experienced. For a restaurant that commands such an stunning location and served such lovely food, the service destroyed it. For entree and main I ordered:
The table was in direct sunlight. It was near impossible to see and when we asked for the blinds to be lowered to cut the direct sunlight we were told ‘No’ by our very dismissive, rude waitress. Later we discovered the blinds did not work by another staff member. This is unacceptable for a restaurant that trades on it’s glass windows. I sincerely hope there is a plan in place to have these fixed as each table around us complained.
Before the guest of honour arrived, I spoke with our waitress to confirm that the cake would come to table after the main meal. She looked at me blankly and said she had no knowledge of it. I asked her to check and she reluctantly went to the kitchen.
After our guest of honour arrived, the waitress returned to the table to announce we had no cake……..in front of everyone. I asked her to follow me to the front desk and mentioned that it was completely inappropriate to announce this to the table. She couldn’t have cared less. So, I explained that this was my Mum’s 69th birthday and we were trying to give her a wonderful night out. This made no impact.
I asked to speak with the Manager instead. He checked the book, a folder at the adjacent bar and then disappeared into the kitchen. A short time later he returned with good news – we did, in fact, have a cake and it was prepared with ‘Happy birthday’. Thank god! I indicated to the Manager that our waitress had been woeful and announced to the table that we had no cake. He listened but did not apologise for the error.
When our mains arrived we asked the waitress to take a photo of our group. She was dismissive and rudely stated that would do so at her earliest convenience. Twenty minutes later she had not returned to the table to honour the request. We asked a male staff member instead who said he would be delighted to take the photo and did so immediately.
When the mains were cleared the waitress returned and loudly asked the table, ‘Do you want the cake?’. I whispered that it would be appropriate to deliver the cake to the table after a short break. Thirty minutes later the cake arrived and was placed in front of the guest of honour. There were no candles, no fuss or encouragement to sing Happy Birthday. Our appalling waitress literally lent over and placed it on the table. To disguise this from our guest of honour we all made a fuss and started to sing Happy Birthday.
The waitress returned a short time later and stated that we probably needed a knife. After our guest of honour had cut the cake another waiter arrived and said he would be more than happy to have the kitchen do this and organise for the cake to be served with ice cream. Finally! Someone who knew what they were doing.
We had ordered several bottles of wine and after finishing the first bottle of white and red ordered another white. This was opened and then left in the bucket behind our table until we were ready to leave. All attempts to obtain more wine were ignored by the wait staff. So, by the time our bill arrived we still had ¾ of the bottle left to drink.
For a night out that cost over $700 this was, without a doubt, the worst service I have ever experienced. For a restaurant that commands such an stunning location and served such lovely food, the service destroyed it. For entree and main I ordered:
- Seared yellowfin tuna with Iberico jamon, pomelo and red garnet served with Pedro Ximenez
- Roast pink snapper fillet with fregolone, vichy white asparagus, spinach and parmesan with a sorrel sauce
I had looked forward to dining at Aqua Dining for a long time and the service was shocking. Unfortunately, this is what you remember.
Aqua Dining - Cnr Paul & Northcliff Sts, Milsons Point - (02) 9964 9998
posted by Steph at 10:43:00 pm
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