I am on holiday with my family and we decided to be a bit adventurous and try out a local spot that at first blush seemed highly rated. Located just outside the rather obviously touristy Old Town Square. We came upon Divinis, browsed a few of the more recent ratings, noted that it was a Michelin starred place and figured lets make a go of it. So we were in high spirits and ready to enjoy the night.
Perhaps a small note to offer a bit of context. I am a lifelong New Yorker and one who has had the honor of owning a restaurant in the East Village for a brief period of time. And not to get into the weeds here but I'll just say that some food was a hit, some misses. [Thumbs up on the grilled calamari and goat cheese in a truffle mouse.] But thats when things took a turn towards the petty and shabby. We waited quite a bit of time between our apps and our mains. The mains were fair. My deer pasta was a bit too salty and not enough deer to warrant that title. My sons egg pasta with shrimp contained 2 [count them two] shrimps. The other two meat dishes were fair to better than fair.
But here is what grated on me. Again, I was in the business so I know upselling when it is so obvious. Our waiter kept asking us to pour another glass of wine for my wife despite only being 1/2 finished with it. [this happened at her second glass and when she said, 'no thank you' an audible sigh of disappointment could be heard emanating from our waiters pursed lips. Then there was my martini. Simple enough drink right? The waiter [who conveyed that there was no bartender and he would be making it] said.. sure I can do that, i guess its a double shot of Beluga Vodka. [Punchline up front. This is THE most expensive martini I have ever been served in my life and thats saying something having had $25 dollar versions at some of the more elegant hotels back home] Then add on the 'can I bring you some olives' and 'let me get you some more water...both sparkling and still right' which were constantly being poured despite not having completely finished the one from before, and the end result was padding the bill with about an additional 1800 Kc. And of course the second sigh came when we skipped out on desert and then once the charade was over the check was presented.
The entire experience was petty and cheap and the obvious upselling was unsettling at best and just poor behavior at worse. In the end, the night felt impoverished, less than the OK food but more from the silly and horrific service. A few other posts I now took to reading seem to reinforce this attitude as I was not alone in this feeling. So, my takeaway is: If you don't care about being respected as a customer. Bon Appetite. read more
