I don't think I've ever written a bad review about anywhere in the years I've been on Yelp... but I am embarrassed.
I invited my friends to Chat Noir as I love tea and wanted to try what I hoped would be a local gem. I had made a 1:00 reservation weeks prior and arrived promptly for our table with one of them. We were quickly seated by two very friendly women; they were jovial, outgoing and welcoming. Unfortunately, was a false first impression of what was to follow...
The other 3 girls trickled in over the next 10 minutes (apparently there was a life threatening / fatal multiple car crash on the highway nearby causing a delay). Before the last 2 girls arrived, me and the other friends of mine were asked 6 times if we were ready. At the time we thought, we'll give them 10 minutes to show; I wish I could tell our past selves not to wait a second to order because it would take over an hour to receive finger sandwiches. We were told the kitchen was backed up, but I couldn't imagine how backed up this small restaurant could be to take an hour to slice white bread. I worked in a deli and would whip out subs with multiple types of sliced meat, condiments and veggies within minutes; I find it hard to imagine egg and tuna salad being that time consuming. Perhaps the waitress forgot to put our order in... she did forget to serve us drinks!
Once the food arrived, I think we inhaled it. I will say, it was tasty and hit the spot after patiently waiting. At around 2:40 (keep in mind our reservation was for 1:00), the manager came over and said "we have a party in 40 minutes, so I have to ask you to leave." One of my friends smiled and responded by saying "oh that's ok, no worries, we'll be out of here by then" (as we were picking on the last pieces of food and just enjoying our tea and time together). She said "no, I need you out NOW." We were all befuddled; no one had told us about a 3:15 party reservation - not when I called to make ours, not when we walked in or seated, or even when we got our meals (at 2:15). Remember when I said we inhaled our food? Well, that was a good thing because we unknowingly only had 30 minutes to eat it!
We were actually one of the more cooperative tables from what it looked like. We had just been asked to leave before even being asked if we wanted/handed the check. Were we being told to get up right that second and gifted a free meal? Because that was the sense of urgency in the manager's "now." Other tables/groups were not as quiet when they were also asked to leave. It was awkward pretending to politely understand in order to avoid any kind of unwanted attention/social etiquette embarrassment. The tension in the air was thick and for all of these reasons we will never return/recommend this location. My friends wondered where I had even heard of this restaurant in the first place; they have never been so turned off or offended by service, and it was all because of my suggestion. read more