OWNER (Paul Itti) NEEDS TO BE EXPOSED!!! I will mention first, yes, the food here is good and if the owner and staff could be replaced...this restaurant would be the greatest. The service, because of the ownership, is the most disgraceful. I write this review so that locals, tourists and other good folks looking for a special dining experience know exactly what is going on behind closed doors. Additionally, don't consider my review as an anomaly, read all the other Yelp reviews that speak about customer service.
I am a Bend local for over 25 years and a successful business owner. I am not the type that likes to bad mouth local hard working business
owners...but this owner, Paul Itti, and his morals need to be exposed. Don't let the busyness of the place fool you...they are up to some frowned upon practices.
Without wasting your time!!!... Paul collects a percentage of the employees tips that are fed into a tip pool!!! The servers, who are roaming servers that aren't specific to any one table do a very lack luster job of taking care of customers. All the tips are collected and are then put into a tip pool that Paul controls. I have been told personally by one current employee, a past manager, as well as former employees I know personally, that they know for a fact that the tips are skimmed off the top for Paul and the family owners. As this is legal, it is disgraceful and reflects on the service. Paul leads by example by speaking rude to guests, actually making fun of guests in front of the other diners. If you have a question(concern) either in person or by phone, no manager will show up to your table or return any calls. It is their strategy to avoid people. They know that they can get away with this because, in Bend, there is no Thai food that compares to them. Still, doesn't give them any right to treat people the way they do.
You can't blame the servers for being so rude...it is the focus of Paul that transcends over to his staff. His daughter Rosie and son-in-law Tyler are victim to what Paul has created. As they unsuccessfully try to be kind, they have to live up to the practices Paul has put in place. Paul's wife roams the floor and tries to hold her tongue as she (with very little English dialogue) delivers food.
Their reputation in Bend is known to have a huge employee turn-over. If you go in there on a regular basis, you will see new people working there all the time. Paul is extremely rude, from reports I have received, to his staff and the chefs. He harasses them and treats them like he is an entitled owner. He even bad-mouths other restaurants...I heard him saying rude things about a local Vietnamese restaurant.
The small sign(their guidelines) that sits on every table, certainly portrays the way they feel about their customers. You are given "an hour and a half" to eat from the rules put in place! Soy Sauce and Sriracha are not served and "you will not need them" as the sign tells you. Paul uses the word "patrons" on this sign which tells you...you are not a guest...you are a customer...like someone going to a grocery or convenience store. They, like many establishments, state that they have the right to refuse service to anyone who is disrespecting their food, family or staff. On the contrary, they find it necessary to treat their patrons like sheep funneling through the restaurant.
OK...this is enough information for YOU to make your own judgement call. With the factual information I have provided, you make the call. Support a restaurant that treats staff and 'patrons' the way Paul does or take your hard earned dollars to another location, as there are many many to choose from in Bend, who want to give you a dining experience you deserve. read more