Hi Boys and Girls!
As many of you know, I have lived near Gruene, Texas for 16 years. Gruene is a quaint little town famous for it's wonderful gift shops and the oldest dance hall in Texas. There are many restaurants and lots of tourists. http://www.gruenetexas.com/ This is where we take anyone from out of town to shop, eat and dance. There are lots of antiques shops, a wine tasting room and a world-famous fish and tackle shop. If one needs a special gift on a short notice, Gruene is the place to find it.
Well, this evening Gruene really disappointed me. I, along with another quilt guild member, was hosting our out of town guest presenter and went to Gruene River Grill for dinner. http://www.gruenerivergrill.com/ This restaurant overlooks the river. It has a massive floor to ceiling fireplace (husband of a friend of mine built the fireplace), nice bar, impressive menu and on and on. It is a very popular restaurant. We started off with drinks and appetizer in the bar area around 4:40 pm.We told the "waiter" we intended to have dinner in a little while.I have quotes around the word "waiter" because he acted like he could not "wait" for us to leave.
The drinks were delivered without napkins. The chips and picante sauce came with no spoon. No limes for the margaritas. It was at least 30 minutes later when we saw our "waiter" again. After another 30 minutes, one guest got up and looked for him in the bar area to request a dinner menu. We had not been given menus and were getting hungry. Then we found out dinner is not served in the bar area on weekends!We clearly told the young man that we intended to order dinner there.
By this time, the restaurant is packed with lots of people waiting for tables. We had been there almost 2 hours already. We explained our situation to the hostess and told her the "waiter" in the bar area never told us we could not be served dinner there. The hostess apologized and put us next on the seating list.
Finally, we got a table and a very nice waiter. We did not need to read the menu again...we knew what we wanted. You see, the "waiter" in the bar gave us a dinner menu. So, why didn't it register with him that we were going to order dinner?
We had a good meal but the impression left with our out of town guest was not good. We live here. We are not tourists. We are not eating and leaving Gruene not to return for a year or two. The Gruene River Grill has insulted local citizens. This is a big mistake.
The Gruene River Grill needs to train wait staff personnel. The kid that "waited" on us in the bar could not have cared less about our needs. That is unacceptable. After speaking with the manager, I may consider making another visit in a couple of months.
For now, I highly recommend The Gruene Onion. http://www.thegrueneonion.com/ I have never had a bad meal there and more important, have never been ignored.
Until next time, plant your basil and other herbs and trim your roses (if they are still alive)!
First you said you weren't given menus, then you said you didn't need to read the menu "agaim" ....where did you read the first menu if you weren't given them......chips and hot sauce don't always come with a spoon - you are supposed to dip your chips into the hot suace. If you were sitting in a crowded bar for 2 hours, that is very rude to the waiting customrs. Sounds like you just want to complain. Did you get a free meal out of it?
ReplyDeleteNormally, I would not use a spoon for dipping hot sauce. We had a guest and we each had individual plates. So, we needed a spoon to dish the picante on our plate. The bar was not crowded at 4:30. However, by the time we were told we could not eat dinner at our table, the restaurant was packed. No, I did not get a free meal and I did not ask for one. This complaint I am making is in hopes The Gruene River Grill improves their customer/staff relationships. Thanks for your comment. Mary
ReplyDeleteThank you for the link to Zhi Tea Mary. I'm heading over for a look now.
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