Babalu

12/21/09

Slow service, undercooked food, fixed poorly!

by algancao at Citysearch

I sat down at 7:15pm. Not a busy time of the evening.

Server took my order without incident. Ordered a jerk burger.

It didn't come to the table for 20 minutes. That's a long time for a 5 minute item. (Did I mention that I used to be a line cook?)

The yam fries were fine. The onion rings were undercooked, a slight crisp, but almost white. I was willing to overlook this until I bit into the burger. I'd ordered it medium, it came rare. Not a little rare, but more like seared tartar. Crazy.

I sent it back asking for some more fire. It came back a few minutes later with the burger fully cooked.

However, the cook apparently dipped the onion rings into the oil to quickly warm them up. As such, they arrived warm, but soggy with oil.

This cook obviously sat on the order for 15 minutes before rushing it through. This is a human mistake that I can generally forgive, but when the onion rings came back having been dunked back into the oil, that's what really crossed the line and made me sick enough to my stomach to mention it here.

• Pros: Service was okay.
• Cons: I blame the cook primarily.

06/11/09

Hair in pasta

by calalak at Citysearch

Friend found a very long hair (she has short hair) mixed into her pasta. When presented to the manager, her response was not to take any responsibility. She claimed it 'flew in from the air'. This hair was NOT laying on top of the dish, it was well mixed in. She said all her cooks have short hair. Offered no compensation, free dessert nothing.

• Pros: mostly good food
• Cons: Poor customer service

04/12/09

Great Food, Service by Satan

by FoodLoverinLosAngeles at Citysearch

How is it possible that the owners of Babalu consistently produce some of the best food in Santa Monica and yet insist on hiring careless, self-absorbed, narcissistic waiters? Yes, this is Los Angeles, but the heights of inconsiderate behavior reached by the wait staff make Steve Martin's Absent-Minded Waiter look like the paragon of service. Don't ever sit at a table outside; you will be left to molder until the restaurant shuts down. Don't ever wait to ask for a refill of your drink; you are better off quenching your thirst at your neighbor's table, assuming they still have something in their glass. Don't ever worry about forgetting the name of your waiter; they will never volunteer the information in the first place for fear of future reprisals. And if your waiter should happen to look you in the eye when asking you for your order, know that this is a nervous tick and to never expect eye-contact again.

For the owners: I don't know the name of my waiter on my last visit, but it was a dark-haired woman and the time of my visit was 5:00 April 12th. I have come to expect terrible service at Babalu's, but this last experience was one for the books.