Listen, I'm a regular patron at Desy's Clam Bar. The food reminds me of home (New Jersey), the decor is comfortable, and the service typically is excellent.
However, my most recent experience left me shaking in my boots with anger. It started as one might expect at a restaurant like Desy's -- mussels diablo and a glass of red wine for myself and my dining partner. Our server realized the house red they typically had by the glass (a Cabernet) was out of stock and offered us a different type of wine instead which we accepted. The wine arrived quickly and we were more than happy with the taste and quality. When we sat down we asked for two glasses of water that never arrived, perhaps that should have been a sign we'd be taken for a ride.
After the mussels came the penne with sausage and broccoli rabe, another superb dish that left me with nothing but kind things to say. We ordered one more glass of wine for the table and split it between the two. A few sips in our server came back and asked if we'd be interested in purchasing the bottle as she had opened it for us and there was "only a glass left", she let us know it would be $10 more than what we had already ordered. I asked how much the wine was per glass and our server said "$10 each". Again, with our faith in a woman who had already served us a delicious meal, we accepted.
We enjoyed another glass each from the bottle, but before we had even made it half way through our server arrived again looking antsy. She said that the owner pulled her aside to let her know that the bottle of wine of wine she had opened was more expensive than she thought. It was actually one of the most expensive bottles they had in the restaurant. She said the owner wouldn't charge us full price, but that we'd be expected to pay $90 despite accepting total responsibility for the mix up.
We empathized but said we were uncomfortable paying more than double the price we she'd said initially. Our server went to the back of the restaurant to discuss it with the owner and returned letting us know that the bottle was $150 but because the owner was willing to charge us $90 we were getting a good deal -- when we objected she let us know we'd have to pay at least $60 and that the rest would come out of her pocket. We asked why we'd be charged $60 when she had said $40 originally ($10 for 3 glasses each plus $10 for the bottle) she said what she meant by $10 more was an additional $10 per glass. What a switch up!
We told her we felt bad, but again, that we weren't willing to pay for the restaurant's mistake. She offered to charge us $50 again and we agreed before she flipped the script and said "okay so $60?" I reminded her she just said $50. Our server proceeded to roll her eyes and try to make us feel guilty by explaining she'd have to pay for her mistake. We paid $50 but left a 24.48% tip due to the clear distress in our server's eyes.
The saddest part is I love Desy's and will be back, I just pray no one is taken advantage of the way we were. read more