It was an interesting experience at this very popular restaurant…read more
The place was located at the heart of the town, alongside many fine restaurants. We were warmly greeted at seating. Drinks and salad came shortly after ordering. Then, it took approximately 45 minutes for the lasagna and pizza to arrive. Pizza tasted great. The lasagna, on the other hand, was so tough that I couldn't cut through it with a knife. I discussed with my partner-in-crime, and decided to let the waiter know, politely, that this was too hard to chew. The waiter apologized and took the plate back. Sometime later, a handsome looking waiter came back with the same plate. His opening question was, "so, they told me you didn't want to pay for this?" We were very embarrassed. I replied, "that's not the case. We have no problem paying for it. It's just very hard to eat a lasagna this tough." The comeback of this gentleman was that, well, this is how we prepare traditional lasagna and our customers like it this way.
At that point we were not going to budge. Fine, just leave it here and we will eat it... And of course we didn't. We would have to load ourselves with Pepto-Bismol afterwards if you couldn't even cut the food with knife.
As I already lost my mood to continue eating, we were offered free gelato as compliments. The lasagna stayed on the bill even though it was barely touched when the waiter took it back. I wonder how the chef felt after he saw it. Did he get embarrassed or did he even care?
I remembered a scene from the movie "Chef" by Jon Favreau, where the father pulled the son aside after the kid said what the big deal was if he accidentally served burnt Sandwich to customers. The Dad told him, this is what I do, and I take it very seriously. A chef or a restaurant builds reputation around every dish they hand out to customers. If one has tremendous pride in what he or she does, handing out mistake is just not acceptable. We didn't want to be the "rude American tourists" to fight this on a pleasant night on foreign soil. But we've had lasagnas countless times at other fine Italian restaurants. We know what it should taste like.
I'm still giving three stars because all staff were nice and pleasant except that one waiter who took it upon himself to defend the mistake. All other items were fine too. I do believe that people learn from mistakes and improve.