Apr 24, 2026 - Extremely unsafe and unprofessional experience
We came to Clark's to celebrate a girls' night and graduation dinner, expecting a high-end experience. For context, my friend and I are Asian, and the rest of our table was a diverse group including individuals who are white, Latina, and Middle Eastern. I normally would not mention this, but after reading other reviews and reflecting on how we were treated, it is hard not to notice a pattern in the level of dismissiveness and lack of care we experienced.
The night started normally until my friend picked up her drink and the glass literally shattered in her hand. Glass went everywhere across the table, onto the seat, and onto me, as I was sitting right next to her. It was immediately alarming, not just because of the injury risk, but because we were genuinely concerned that glass shards could have gotten into our drinks.
I went to the bathroom with her to clean up, and when we came back, nothing had been properly handled. The table was still wet, broken glass was still on the floor and on the seat, and she ended up sitting back down on a chair that still had liquid and glass on it. We had to request to move tables ourselves, which should have been immediately offered.
While we were in the bathroom, the manager, Nic Vascocu, told our group that he would replace all of our drinks. However, once we moved tables, he completely backtracked. Instead of replacing them, staff simply moved our original drinks over. When we asked the server about it, we were met with, "So you guys are requesting to get all your drinks replaced?" as if this had never been promised in the first place.
We asked multiple times to have the drinks replaced due to the risk of glass shards. The manager acknowledged us once and did nothing. It took three separate requests before they were finally replaced, and when they were, the drinks were noticeably smaller. Even after moving tables, there was still glass not properly cleaned on the table, floor, seat, and even in our bread. We had to repeatedly ask staff to clean what should have been an obvious safety hazard.
The situation escalated when I calmly addressed the manager. Instead of taking accountability, Nic Vascocu became extremely rude, dismissive, and unprofessional. He said things like, "What else would you like me to do?" and "Does this usually get you anywhere?" implying we were trying to get something out of the situation.
At one point, he began gaslighting the situation, saying he didn't appreciate how I was speaking to him, when in reality I had remained calm and respectful, and he was the one escalating the interaction. Instead of de-escalating, he continued to push back against us as customers, which is the opposite of his role to ensure guests feel safe and respected.
He also made a strange and unnecessary comment asking if I knew what "Clarke's" was, and when I asked him to explain, he said, "I'm not here to educate you." I have never been spoken to like this by a manager, especially at a place that presents itself as "luxury."
At the end, he said he would comp the entire meal if we never came back. We said that wasn't an issue. Despite that, he only comped the drinks, which felt petty given everything that had happened.
What is most concerning is that this was not just bad service it was a serious safety issue involving negligence. A glass shattered and was not properly cleaned, and there was a clear and foreseeable risk that glass shards could have ended up in our drinks or food. If we had not spoken up, someone could have been seriously injured.
Under California premises liability standards, restaurants owe their guests a duty of care to maintain a safe environment. That includes properly handling hazards like broken glass. In this situation, that duty was clearly breached the area was not cleaned, the risk was ignored, and the manager showed no urgency or concern. This reflects a clear failure to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm.
To make matters worse, as we were leaving, Nic Vascocu continued staring at us in a very unsettling and uncomfortable way, which only reinforced how hostile and unprofessional the entire experience felt.
After reading other reviews, it is concerning to see similar complaints about service and treatment, which makes this feel less like an isolated incident and more like a pattern that should be taken seriously.
My friends and I have traveled all over the world from Asia to Europe and have dined at countless establishments. I have never witnessed a situation handled this poorly. This was not just disappointing it was completely unacceptable and unsafe.
PS. The food was mid just go to other restaurants and clam chowder was worse than a canned/ jarred read more