Really? I said that?

Yesterday was Mondo's 29th birthday. We went to Carraba's for dinner to celebrate. The evening did not start out well...

6:00pm - Phoned in a call-ahead reservation for 11 at 7pm

6:45pm - Arrived and checked in. Told by hostess that we should have been told at the time our call-ahead reservation was accepted, that another larger party was already booked and we probably wouldn't be able to be sat for another half hour.

We asked if breaking up our table would make it faster. She replied no, it will still be about the same time. We said okay, we'll wait for the table.

7:25 - We're taken to two tables. And although you could argue that these tables were side by side, there was clearly a partition separating them.

I went back up to the hostess and told her that we didn't realize they were going to break us up. We were under the impression we had been waiting for so long because we were going to be seated together.

Here's where it started going bad...

The hostess replied "no, you said you would like to be seated at separate tables if it would be faster". "Yes, and I meant like it will take 15 minutes instead of a half hour faster.... but it wasn't faster, it's actually been longer than you said. And since we've waited this long, what we would rather do is continue to wait for the large table so we can sit together." She kept on saying how I said we wanted separate tables - which brought up another point in my mind that ticked me off. We've taken separate tables before in cases like this (and actually were seated faster) - but I've never been seated at separate tables that were so separate you couldn't see the other people in your party. It just wasn't going to work and I didn't understand why I had to ask three times to wait for the big table.

I was already writing a blog in my head. It makes me so mad when someone in a customer service type roll - like a restaurant hostess - would argue with a customer like that. It makes no sense.

But Mondo said "let it go".

Wait. It gets better....

It was Mondo's birthday, so I did let it go and we went on talking and waiting for the big table. Soon after, a woman named Kim (I think) stopped by and let us know she was a manager on duty and she heard there was a mix up with our tables.

I told her what happened and how not being told about the party when I called and waiting for the table was not the issue (I've worked in a restaurant before, and I know you have no control over how long a party sits at a table. I also know that the bigger the party, the more they might sit around and talk), but the argument from the hostess was a bit much on top of it. She acknowledged it as an error and offered to get our party an appetizer while we continued to wait.

That turned things around. I like that they took the initiative to better a situation that was giving me a bad taste in my mouth before I even sat down to eat.

At about 8pm, we were finally seated - together.

Our waitress was rockin'. She was extremely friendly and did everything right. And when Darren's order came out as bruschetta instead of shrimp scampi, she took it away without any issue and quickly had the correct dish made up for him. ....Which, he didn't like at all! Doh! So she brought him some noodles with butter, which made him happy. It was such good service in fact, that it didn't even bother me when she offered dessert mini's to us and then came back and said they were all out. Or that when she asked us if we wanted to try anything else and Darren ordered a regular dessert - and she came back and said they were all out of those too - didn't bother me.

So, the night didn't start out so well. But it was quickly fixed and made all the difference in the world. The family enjoyed the birthday dinner and had a good time. And their Customer Service Rating went way up in my book.

About the food...
Appetizer: Calamari (how can you complain about free food. The manager sent out a double order and it was great to have a munchie while we waited. Even my niece Aubrey tried some - way to go!)
Drink: Italian Margarita (I think they call it a Rabbarita or something like that). Very tasty, except I like them with sugar on the rim and it was served salted. Mondo had a Mojito (de uva?) - it was a grape Mojito and he liked it too.
Entree: I had the Spiedino di Mare which was good, although I'm not sure I would order it again. Mondo had the Pollo Rosa Maria, which I would order. Karen and my dad had the Lasagne and weren't very impressed. I never order lasagne out - homemade is too good :)

Carrabba's Italian Grill
http://www.carrabbas.com/
303-940-5620
7401 West 92nd Ave
Westminster, CO 80021