it's very sad
sad for me,…read moreAnd eventually, probably sad for them, the owners
i've been coming to this restaurant probably since they opened, certainly I've been coming there for over 15 years
The food is still as good, the waiters and waitresses are still as helpful & charming, but it is the attitude from the management has changed. Dollars yet no appreciation to loyalty.
First of all, unlike all of the other expensive restaurants in St. John, The Teressa doesn't use Resy or OpenTable. When you call, the machine tell you to NOT leave a message for a reservation. The record tell you, you can email or call.(assuming you can get in touch with them) but when you do make a reservation with an email, it's not quick to get a reply over the email. Apparently they only reply ONCE a day.
They don't allow American Express, and if I remember correctly, even if you use a Visa or a Mastercard, I believe they charge you for using a credit card! I could be mistaken about that, but my memory is they do charge now for paying with a credit card
The restaurant is my opinion is now gotten very pennywise pound foolish.
What I mean by that is when I order escargot, let's face it people who eat escargot, love it for the butter and garlic. At this restaurant they give you ONE roll with the escargot, if you want another if I remember last year, it was a DOLLAR, maybe more. Keep in mind there's nothing cheap about eating at this restaurant.
but the worst problem is, they just don't seem to CARE. They believe they know business much better than every other restaurants in St. John. Restaurants like Extra-virgin, Zozo's, Morgan's Mango, and La Tapa, because all of those restaurants put the customers ahead of the dollars.
I won't say that I was treated RUDELY , but be certain if you check the most recent YELP reviews in the last two years you will notice that many of the people that were unhappy, felt that they were VERY rude.
all that I will say is over a decade of being a loyal customer they make me feel like I'm nothing special to them
I'm coming back to St. John for the next six weeks, and yes, I will be going to the terrace, but a lot of the charm from dealing with the management makes me less excited for going there. Sad, because this has up to recently, one of my favorite restaurants. The owner, the woman in my case, is killing her gem.
Almost all restaurants I go to tell us they consider my wife and I, a very low maintenance easy going customer. Many have told me they wish all their customers were as easy as my wife and I.
I hope things will change, but after patiently tried to explain my problems with getting a reservation I have a feeling their ego is much bigger then my relatively small needs.
A FOLLOW UP
when I made the most recent reservation, I explained to this woman, likely an owner, how difficult it's been for me to make a reservation. I also told her that I only have problems making reservation at The Terrace now, and that I go to all of the best restaurants every year. I thought I was giving her useful information, as if it's hard for me, chances are it's also hard for others. If you check recent reviews, you will see I must be right about a lot of what I felt.
I wasn't yelling. I would never yell at any restaurant let alone a restaurant I'm planning on going to eat at, a restaurant I used to adore. I was just explaining why it's difficult for myself, and very, possibly many other people. I then said Ok, I guess I'll keep the reservation I had, even though it was not what I was trying to accomplish. I said OK. Have a nice day.
That's It!
10 minutes later I got an email saying she'll PASS ON MY RESERVATION ALTOGETHER!
I immediately called and ask, was my reservation canceled?!
The girl said YES you were yelling at me, she said.
I said I wasn't yelling, I would never yell at a restaurant, in fact as a kidI used to work at top level places. you learn as a kid, especially in this business you need to be charming.
I said I never yelled, I was just trying to EXPLAIN how I'm having problems with ONLY your restaurant. I said am I not allowed to tell you what I consider a problem? Am I only allowed to give you compliments?
I said what do you think I said that was yelling, I asked? To that she said, i'm too busy, and hung up!
By the way, when I called, it was about three in the afternoon maybe 4 o'clock their time I'm sure it was extremely busy (rolling eyes)