Wow.
I mean, wow.
I was so upset about my first visit to this restaurant this morning that I felt compelled to curb my other plans to come home and write this review.
A little back story...
My girlfirend and I recently moved to Billerica from Waltham. Most weekends, we like to go out and have a nice little breakfast together at whatever local diner we come to love. Being new to Billerica, we decided to head out this morning in search of a new local favorite. While cycling, I'd ridden past Riverview and thought it looked like a nice little place, so at my suggestion, we headed there.
When we arrived, we seated ourselves at a window with a demi-view of the Concord River. The restaurant was maybe 1/4 full; no line at the door or anything.
Our waitress - who looked like a 50-something - came over to our table and asked the usual, "can I start you off with drinks?" question.
"Sure - hot chocolate, please," asked the girlfriend.
"Hi, coffee and a glass of water, please," I added.
About two minutes later, coffee and hot chocolate arrived at the table. So far, so good; the water would be coming soon for sure. We then placed our orders.
I ordered three eggs - two egg whites, one regular egg - and bacon, which came with a side of pancakes. My girlfriend also ordered something basic; scrambled eggs, bacon and home fries.
The waitress waltzed off, and so began our wait.
*The following timeline is as accurate as my memory allows.*
~12 minutes, nothing. People who came in after us are being served. "Eh, it's gotten a little busy," we thought, so no biggie. We both worked as servers in college, so we're more than understanding about long waits (I don't think I've ever once complained at a restaurant).
~15-20 minutes, still nothing. "Eh, the waitress is probably new and just put the order in a little late," we thought.
~25-30 minutes, two pairs of customers who came in after us had both eaten and headed out the door. We started to think maybe our order was never submitted.
~30 minutes, still nothing. The waitress has not so much as acknowledged our existence since we placed our order. A couple more groups of people who arrived about ten minutes after us get up and leave after enjoying their meals.
~35 minutes in, I make eye contact with our waitress, who then walked back toward the kitchen area.
~36 minutes in, she walks halfway between us and the kitchen and shouts, "yours should be out soon!!," then shrugs and shouts, "I dunno!"
EVEN STILL, my girlfriend and I look at each other and say, "Eh, stuff happens, whatever." In fact, we were talking about how we shouldn't judge a restaurant by one server.
~45 minutes in, our food arrives (which makes it pretty obvious that our order wasn't submitted until aforementioned 36-minute mark). My girlfriend is given wheat toast to go along with her French Toast (she asked for French Toast made with wheat bread), and I receive three fried egg whites (not what I ordered). The food is not served by our waitress, but by one who'd been serving people on the other side of the restaurant. THIS waitress was pleasant and asked, "Is there anything else I can do?" So, you know, she COMMUNICATED.
~55 minutes in, our initial waitress is seen being told by someone (a manager?) that she should apologize. No apology is ever given, by anyone.
~60 minutes in, our initial waitress comes back, doesn't say a word to us, and takes one of our empty plates away. We were never asked how the food was, or communicated to in any such way at all. The only time she spoke to us beyond taking our orders was when she shouted at us from three tables away at the previously mentioned 36 minute mark.
~70 minutes in, she returns, and slaps a bill on our table. That's it; nothing about the food, no apologies, just an attitude (toward US, for some reason, who haven't complained about any of this at all).
The bill, which was something like $19.35, was paid for with a $20 bill. The waitress walked up to our table, took the $20 bill (keep in mind, we have change owed to us), and NEVER RETURNED.
~75-80 minutes in, still no change. We decide that she must have tipped herself, so we have no reason to leave any additional tip. We stand up to leave.
As I look over to my side, about five waitresses/servers in the kitchen area are staring right at me. They all know what went on. Is there one apology issued by any of them for anything that occurred? Nope.
We leave the restaurant, walk out and vow to never return again.
So what did we learn? Apparently, at Riverview, the customers aren't a top priority - or priority at all - even when they're beyond understanding about all of the screw ups that occurred by the waitstaff.
By far the worst restaurant experience I've ever had in terms of service, and I eat out pretty frequently.
Oh, and I still don't have my water. read more