It all started so well, but by the time we paid the bill, we were left with a sour taste in our mouths.
We arrived for our 6.30 reservation and were promptly shown to our table by one of the friendliest waitresses ever. She plied us with alcohol and helped recommend tasty menu choices, food which arrived very quickly I might add.
We had a feast. The food was very good, with standout dishes like the homemade nachos, (the best I've ever had) and a Xim Xim - Brazilian football legend, Pele's favourite meal (apparently). The meatballs were good, the empanadas were good, everything was good.
Until we got the bill.
Our whole reason for choosing Bodega was because one of our party is a student and a nurse, and Bodega advertise "20% off your bill for students" and "20% off your bill for NHS", so we figured we stood a pretty good chance of getting 20% off our bill.
When the bill turned up we were told several stories as to why we can't use the discount:
"Sorry student discount is not available Saturday nights"
"NHS discount only covers your meal, everyone else has to pay full price"
We checked on the website, we looked at the sign outside, nowhere did it mention these restrictions.
"It's in our terms and conditions..."
So we asked to see these terms and conditions, surprisingly the manager couldn't show us. Shocker.
We finally settled on:
"OK, well on this occasion I'll allow the discount on all of the food, but the drinks are going to be full price. That's the best I can do".
The bill fiasco meant a meagre tip for our fantastic waitress, a real shame because up until that stage, she'd been superb. read more