Via Veneto
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Phone: (310) 399-1843
03/15/2008 Posted by scr17
The Good-The food was very good, exceptional in some cases. Our server was wonderful, great personality, a passion for food and a wonderful Italian accent that added to his charm. The Bad-Good luck trying to have any conversation. It is IMPOSSIBLE to hear inside. The Ugly-At the end of our meal we ordered a $130 bottle of wine at the sommelier's urging to go with our dessert. As we were finishing the bottle I started to notice the owner loudly conversing with the maitr d' and looking very irritated as he appeared to be glancing at our table. At this point, it was just about 9 PM, not an excessive stay by any means given our 7:15 reservation. 5 minutes later the same thing happened, this time the two literally cursing in English and Italian while stairing at our table. At this point it dawned on me that they were angry we were not leaving (our bill was paid a few minutes earlier), but we still had wine remaining. Then, the maitr d' literally came over to our table complaining that we were taking too long. I was blown away! We spent $350 on dinner for 3, were there for less than 2 hours and STILL had wine remaining that they happily sold to us at the end of the meal and they were not only trying to rush us out, they were cursing at us! The. Of course, when confronted the owner denied doing so and blamed the maitr d' which just made the whole experience even more disgusting. Funny thing is, apparently this happens all the time. The third member of our party referenced similar experiences on multiple visits-service ultimately stopping because the owner wanted to flip a table faster. Having worked in the food and restaurant biz, I have an appreciation for the fact it is a business and time is money. But it remains a service industry and Via Veneto seems to miss this point. Unfortunately, the problem is at the top. My take: If an owner places such little value in his patrons, he doesn't deserve your business. I know he won't be getting any more of mine...
Pros: food was great
Cons: offensive service from the maitr d' and owner, a disgrace to the business
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