02/09/09

Better Service at Olive Garden

by cfk906

Absolutely terrible service. We recently held a group dinner at August and were aghast at the poor service. I would never return to this restaurant.

Put into context, we spent approximately $270 per person. Not an inexpensive meal. The food was spectacular, truly wonderful. However, I get better service at my local Olive Garden.

We had a prix fixe for the entire table, same menu. (1) The plating was horrific. For each of our dishes, it took on average 8 minutes between the first plate set down and the last plate sent down. Unacceptable. And, the food was clearly cold, had been sitting under a heat lamp. (2) The waiter was useless & unfriendly. Not once did he offer suggestions nor did he ever take the time to describe to us what we were eating. Lastly, his shirt looked like it came straight out of the laundry bin. (3) I ordered a Gin Fizz, a local New Orleans specialty, and after a 15 minute wait was told that they didn't have the ingredients to make my drink. Ridiculous. Furthermore, our waiter wasn't tactful enough to even recommend a suitable alternative. (4) When it came time for the bill, our waiter simply handed it to us with no "thanks for coming" and said that he couldn't take more than 6 credit cards. Hmm.. On a $4500 bill that seems a bit short-changed.

Stay away from this place.

• Pros: Succulent food, Nice decor
• Cons: Terrible service, Unfriendly staff

11/14/08

A wonderful experience

by amanda2011

My fiance's family were in town and wanted the "gourmet" tour. So we went to August. We were not disappointed at all. The food was inventive and amazing, just amazing. My fiance just eats meat. I am working on that!!! But just about every part of his meal was smile driven. My appetizers and the other parties ware so unusual and great. My main course could have not been better and the service was fabulous. If you can I would suggest a trip to August for any "foodie" out there.

08/17/08

Impressive, elegant

by brdave

This was a beautiful dining experience in New Orleans. We dined here on a busy Saturday night. We had a reservation, and were seated immediately. The entire restaurant is gorgeous- it's worth a trip to the upstairs restrooms just to get look at more of the building. The wait staff was perfect. Timing was perfect: we didn't feel rushed, but also didn't feel like we had to wait for each course. We both had the 5 course tasting menu. The food was above average, but not amazing. The fish wrapped in ham was tasty, but the salty ham was a little over powering. Every item we had was like that.. there was always either something missing, or just a little (and I mean, a LITTLE off). We joked that it was like we were judging on Iron Chef- it was all great, but there were minor flaws.

Overall, if you're judging a restaurant on the total dining experience, this is a great place. What a great night out! If you're going to slam it because the food wasn't the absolute best you've ever had, choose another option in New Orleans.

• Pros: Wait staff (!!!!!!!!!), beautiful setting
• Cons: Very expensive