12/03/08

Rude -- Insulting -- Horrible Experience

by scarletdisco

The Food and Ambiance would have been the some of the best in the city, were it not for the hideously rude Maitre d', Harper, who singlehandedly ruined our romantic dinner.

I've never been so insulted in all my life--- I'm not even going to say what he said to my wife, it was that personal, and that bad.

My biggest regret is not starching him in front of all his customers and staff. The man came up to our table mid-meal, insulted my wife, and physically lifted and re-cornered the table to it's original straight position while the whole restaurant watched, horrified. This is of course after a server had offered at the start of our meal to re-position it for us to make us more comfortable and as a matter of fact insisted on turning it caty-corner so we could sit closer together. Makes sense when they advertise the hell out of this place being "hip, romantic, trendy and intimate." It is a joke if they think they are hip or romantic. If I could have driven a bulldozer through the front window that night and gotten away with it I would have.

Harper was the name of the grade C host who seated us and also the manager on duty; he was just heinous from the moment we walked in, and apparently it's okay for him to be openly condescending to the latino help staff that tirelessly work there. We felt bad for them. He demeaned them in front of us. That was tough to witness.

The first thing we did was ask about the upstairs function room for party rentals as I often times need party venues for my business and he decided we didn't look like the type of people that would be renting a room I suppose and scoffingly retorted, "I guess if you had the money for it it would be worth it." Not only rude and unacceptable, but incredibly dumb from a business standpoint. And that was just the first thing he got away with out of me not wanting to turn the night into a negative experience for me and my wife, especially it actually being two days before our wedding.

• Pros: Food is wonderful
• Cons: Management allows condescending, rude and rascist staff to run things

09/18/08

Excellent Happy Hour

by AngelenoFoodie

Check out the review of this and many other happy hours at: happiest hours(dot)blog spot(dot)com - no spaces between words, but City Search won't allow it any other way. Barefoot Bar and Grill is a terrible misnomer for this stylish place. I was expecting something akin to Duke's in Malibu, but this place, next to the Bread Bar on Third, was much nicer. The bar area was big and comfy, and my friend and I were the only two people there, so we got a couch in the corner and started ordering.

He had a beer ($3), I had a glass of Zin ($5), and we got a brie and crab quesadilla, mac and cheese, spicy tuna roll, chicken potstickers, and they generously brought us a variety of bread (which I believe was from next door - and it was GREAT) with pesto and butter. We also had water and those glasses were kept full.

Without question, this was the best food of the entire Happy Hour survey to date. The quesadilla was divine, and the portions of everything were huge. We got very full. The only ding at this Happy Hour was that the prices seems a tad steep, with the apps ranging from $4 for french fries to $8 for calamari (the amount you'd expect on a dinner menu). That said, we left VERY full (didn't even finish the mac and cheese, which was delish) and spent a total of $40. For two people on a great evening out with stellar service, that's nothing to sneeze at. This place is definitely worth checking out and will get a return trip, once all the others have been sampled.

07/20/08

Great food and service

by maybell

Our waitress was friendly and attentive. I had a few special requests which she took in stride and delivered on.

My salmon filet was cooked perfectly and my husbands risotto with scallops was hearty and again cooked to perfection. I would go back in a heartbeat.

• Pros: menu, food, service
• Cons: nonoe