Rue Saint Jacques

This restaurant has the slowest serves I have ever seen! And everyone can not speak English well… hard to communicate. Oh, one more thing the food comes cold and not that tasty

Had a great time tonight. Food was delicious. Love the monkfish. Best duck confit with crispy skin, perfectly prepared. Yummy Cassoulet. Best of the four dinners I had here.

Bought a Groupon for $ 30 and was excited to use it for a pre-​Jersey Boys dinner on 4÷10÷13. Last Thursday 4/​4, I called the restaurant and got their voicemail, so I left a message saying I wanted to make a reservation. I gave the date and time that I wanted it for and made sure I repeated all the information (including my callback #) in case at any point my cell phone had cut out while I was leaving the message. I NEVER GOT A CALLBACK.
I thought maybe they forgot about me, so I left another message on their voicemail on Monday ⁴⁄₈ and stated that this was my second message and that I would like a call back. Still no call back as of Tuesday ⁴⁄₉. I Googled the restaurant. They don’t have their own website. Finally after scrolling down several entries later, I found that the restaurant is up on
. Luckily, I was able to make a reservation easily enough on this website for Wednesday ⁴⁄₁₀. No thanks to the restaurant.
My point is, if they’re too busy to pick up the phone, that’s fine. But to not call people back… people willing to spend money at your restaurant… well that is just poor customer service. Perhaps they should put some effort into putting up an actual website for their restaurant that explicitly says they accept reservations through
!
The day of our reservation (⁴⁄₁₀), we arrived at the restaurant at about 6:10pm. Our reservation was for 6pm. We get to the door, and the restaurant is CLOSED! We see a worker and try to communicate with him through the glass door. Of course, we can’t hear him. We tell him very loudly through the door that we can’t hear him. He doesn’t even bother to open the door to tell us what is going on. He’s gesturing with his hands hoping that will help us understand what he’s trying to say. In any event, we THINK he said the restaurant was closed for a few days.
I’m not really upset at Groupon. I’m more upset with the restaurant. If there was some sort of emergency… and if that’s why they were closed for a few days…#1 they should’ve mentioned that on
, so that I wouldn’t have been able to make the reservation in the first place…#2 they should’ve had a voicemail greeting on their restaurant phone # telling people they are closed for several days and to NOT leave a message.

The place is very cute on the inside — décor and ambiance. As far as location — terrible parking. All the yuppie wannabes who spend long time looking for parking will be competing with you trying to find a spot. I knew the neighborhood very well so I expected a Richmond-​like lack of parking but my expectations were exceeded.
However a far more elegant approach would have been to take the cable car up the hill — it stops right in front of the restaurant. I literally mean in front — the track runs on Jackson and the stop is about 30 feet from the front door. You might have to fight the tourists hanging off the cable car year round but I should have planned a cable car ride rather than «look at me I can afford a car and sustain living in the city» experience.
ok the food: beware the Groupon menu is different than the «paying customers» and it is laughable. There is only ONE choice for desert; ONE choice of appetizer and 2 choices of main course — the second one being fillet mignon BUT. for an additional $ 18
The place was practically empty on Friday night which would explain the Groupon promotion. Service was slower than normal but the food was good. Wine selection is excellent. Very upscale and definitely worth what some might characterize as pretentious French overpriced wine but trust me — it isn’t. It is excellent. You do get what you pay for on the wine side of the house at Rue Saint Jacques!

I keep coming back here. My husband is French. (not an American french «my grandma was french» but a really 100% french)
And, A quite picky French too if I may say. Not all French Restaurants are approved by him, but this one definitely is.
The location is great! I love that part of Nob Hill, and Cable cars passing by. Its very idyllic. Though, might not be the best location for them, its not like people just «pass by» and walk in. You need to know about this place.
Ambiance is very nice! Very cozy which is important for me. (I would NEVER eat dinner inside a Chinese restaurant with bright dentist lights)
Service is very attentive. I like the all the time we have been there, they have been french. It definitely makes my experience better.
Food is impeccable. Its presented very nicely. Typical french style. Less is more.
Together we have tried many different things on the menu and I have NEVER been disappointed. I trusted them with my first escargots experience. Which was a pleasant surprise. The meat is always cooked to perfection, The times we had seafood it has been very tasteful as well. Scallops are perfect. Really, I cannot complain about anything. Its so good!
For people going here with a «deal» (Like we have too some times) Yes usually they have a special menu for those kind of deals. NO you will not be treated worse than any other customer. That has at least never happened to us.
Perhaps if you are one of those annoying customers that complains that you only get a limited choice of the menu and you made a big deal about that, yes, they might be «cold» with you, but if you just accept that you are getting a good deal and therefore not get the selection of the whole menu, they will treat you like any other customer.
Go here. Its a good restaurant. Good food. Good produce. They know what they’re doing.
The only negative part is that its hell of a job to find parking.

Rue Saint Jacques is a lovely neighborhood restaurant in the Nob Hill area but don’t be fooled thinking that you can order from their normal menu w/​your Groupon like how you normally can w/​other restaurants promoting through Groupon because when my date and I arrived to this restaurant… we were given a Groupon menu that had a choice of two items for appetizers, three items for entrees and two items for dessert which was quite disappointing but being the trooper that I am, I still found the strength to move forward especially since I was hungry and I wanted to eat!
FILLET MIGNON: I thought fillet mignon suppose to melt in your mouth like butter?! then this must of been the chewiest fillet ever. it wasn’t chewing gum chewy but the meat wasn’t that soft and tender and it was ordered medium rare too! another downside was that there was a (+18) dollar charge to order this item! big mistake on my part! 2.5 STARS!
CHILEAN SEA BASS: Thank goodness this dish saved dinner! my date and I should of just ordered two of these but who knew, right?! but WOW! this fish dish was pure amazing from the crispy exterior to the tender meaty interior! I had a moment of foodgasm! 5 STARS!!!
TOMATO BISQUE: really good soup (the much better starter of the two!) 4 STARS!
HOUSE VEAL TERRINE: imagine home made spam and this is what this is. I don’t think it was very good. I was hoping for something more like pâté when the server told me that’s what this is like. 2 STARS!
CREME BRULEE: Wow! this is some damn good crème brûlée. i’m not usually a fan of crème brûlée but this evening made me a fan! I wanted to lick the bowl but held myself back from not embarassing my date! I was tempted though! =0P
Not the best french restaurant I’ve had but it was the worst either. 3 out of the 5 items were very good so that’s why I gave the restaurant 3 stars. 4 stars if they didn’t have a super limited Groupon menu.

I have a riddle for you:
What do you get when you cross a small restaurant, slow service, 1 rude French chef and 1 useless Groupon?
You got it– a ruined or (Rue-​ned) Valentines day.
Seriously, I don’t typically give 1 star reviews (fact check me), and I never walk out of restaurants… tonight I did both.
Read other reviews, insert here:
*****************************
And then read my other (5 star) review on Yemeni Restaurant where we repaired that Valentines day dinner gone wrong.
AND I hope this one day gets ROTD so everyone can avoid disaster at the Rue…

My girlfriend and I finally tried to redeem our bloomspot deal to Rue St Jaques last night in San Francisco and literally had one of our worst dining experiences ever.
First of all, we made reservations for 8:30 last night, got there at 8:30 and waited in the front area for over 10 minutes before the waitress even acknowledged that we were there (she was obviously very busy and the restaurant was understaffed). Once the waitress greeted us, she told us to «just wait» and she’d get back to us to seat us «later». We waited there for another 10 minutes before we were given a seat. (The restaurant was mostly empty).
Again, the trend continued — it took way too long to put in our order — drinks didn’t come out until another 10 – 15. When drinks came out the waitress said they didn’t have enough of the wine I ordered for a full glass, but asked if I was okay with the little bit they had left. … No I’m not okay with paying full price for a half glass of wine, so I cancelled (not that big a deal).
Appetizers took another 10 – 15 minutes to come. The appetizers were pretty tasty so there are not many complaints about this course of food. After the appetizers were finished and we waited another 15 minutes or so, the waitress came by and asked if we were ready for our check? We had not received our main dish yet… so no, we were not ready. At which point she said, oh, right, your food will come shortly.
Next, another table was trying to redeem their «groupon deal» that had expired for its face value, as its stated on their terms. The waitress didn’t understand, so she had to ask the chef. The chef comes out and talks to them and freaks out at the customers saying that he doesn’t want their business or their money and for them just to leave… Not really sure how any of this could happen given that the value of one of these coupons can be used as cash value at these restaurants after they expire. Obviously the customer was insistant on the cash value of their groupon, but they were not being rude. So basically the chef caused a huge scene in front of everyone and blamed the scene on the customers and kicked them out of the restaurant, while the customers were trying their hardest to pay him with the groupon and the difference in cash because they enjoyed the food they ate.
Anyways, terrible experience seeing the chef (maybe owner?) come out and yell at customers.
At this point it was past 10PM and we still hadn’t received our main dish and we knew the food wasn’t being cooked because the chef was out yelling at customers. At this point I just wanted to leave the restaurant and go home, so I asked for the check, the waitress assured me food would be out in «1 minute». I asked for the check anyways, and the food came out 10 minutes later. We paid before the food got there, ate our food, and left as fast as we could.
Again, the main problem with this restaurant isn’t that the food is bad. The food is actually pretty good. Its the service & timing that is terrible. My dinner dish came out piping hot, which is good, but my girlfriend’s steak came out cold — not good.
Just a heads up, don’t expect anything great from this restaurant — its very expensive (I paid about $ 80 AFTER the $ 50 bloomspot deal) for terrible service and just «pretty good» food.

Great little restaurant with a fantastic collection of wines. The staff were lovely and friendly and you really can’t find better value in Nob Hill.
The owner, Eric is a true cook who follows the the very european idea of less is better. The menu is 4 or 5 dishes and thats it. No stupid options, no stupid combinations, and the food is cooked to perfection.
The wine is also, some of the best you can get in the bay area and very reasonably priced.
Needless to say — if you are looking for a good first date location or even a place for a glass of wine, this is where to go!

Do not come here hungry. I imagine the best time to dine at Rue St. Jacques would be right after you had a meal, since after all the waiting to be seated, waiting to order, and waiting for your dishes, you will be famished and ready to devour the food when it arrives. I’m sorry for being impatient, but I’m not accustomed to waiting an hour for my dishes.
Things were going alright for a while until we played the «Guess What Time it is?» game. Our reservation was at 8PM, we probably got seated at around 8:05PM, probably ordered at around 8:15PM. We guessed 8:36 and 8:47. WRONG. 8:52PM. We didn’t order appetizers. Were they punishing us?
The food finally arrived and was tastier than expected. The risotto was a good and cheesy with a welcoming taste of truffle. The scallops, however beautifully plated, were COLD! Must have sat out on the counter for too long. I let this one slide — I really didn’t want to return anything or make a fuss. One waitress, who looked to be the head waitress, did not seem to be apologetic about anything, after seeing how she treated another table who waited over an hour and 45 minutes for one of their dishes.
The dining experience wasn’t as bad as expected and the food was decent. It wasn’t until I saw this fly at the edge of the booth where my feelings started to turn. I swatted this fly away, but it didn’t fly. Could this fly actually be a… COCKROACH? Indeed, it was. It scurried away… and then came back. We told the head waitress who a) did not care, b) did not believe us, or c) wasn’t surprised. She didn’t do anything. She didn’t apologize, she didn’t try to remedy the issue. She just let it go, literally. To be honest, I’m not sure what she should have done, but something would have been better than nothing. I’ve lived in the City for over 20 years and have never, ever seen a cockroach in plain site in any restaurant in the City, including the dungeons of Chinatown and in the depths of the Mission. This is just unacceptable at a restaurant that touts high dining standards.

As a frenchie, I love french cooking, and I had high hopes for our neighborhood french style café/​restaurant. We had the chefs menu, 5 courses.
Waiter was nice, and the service was Ok.
The meal was ok, it wasn’t bad, but I just can’t say it even comes close to justifying the price. It’s definitely a very pricey place, and for the cost of eating here I would really expect to be impressed by everything they but in front of me. Unfortunately, it was all extremely underwhelming.
I would not recommend this restaurant at all. Keiko is down the street and is in an entirely different class, but the prices are about the same.
Overall, Very Disappointed. Would not recommend to my enemies.

DO NOT EAT HERE, 6 REASONS WHY!
So my fiancée and I came here with a ‘bloomspot’ deal for a 50% off taster menu.
1. Asked the French waiter 3 times for water. The restaurant was not busy.
2. The amuse bouche, was certainly not mouth amusing, more mouth abusing. Like being molested by a drunk uncle; the salmon and figs were not welcome on the tongue.
3. This was followed by a black truffle risotto. This was beautifully aromatic but under seasoned and bland. By far the best part of the meal.
4. Then we had the escargot, a mainstay of French cuisine. This was awful and yet good material for a great anecdote. My fiancée heard that I was biting through the dirt of my unwashed snails. I was tempted to keep a stiff upper lip but the secret was out; crunchy dirt-​snails. After saying something to the waiter he assured me that in fact I was crunching on sea salt and not dirt. Wow!!! He then proceeded to bring me sea salt so that my ignorant face would understand the difference between sea salt and dirt (honestly he bought me a salt shaker and asked me to taste it).
‘Well’ I said, ‘that did taste like sea salt and my snails did taste of dirt’.
‘Je suis desole, I’ll tell the chef’ he helped.
5. Terrible main course. Scallops tasted wrong, just rubbery with a really grim after-​taste. The fillet of beef was terrible with a chewiness that comes with low quality meat.
6. Two of the four selection of cheeses were identical.
Verdict: terrible food and a complete waste of time and money. At least now I am 100% sure the difference between sea salt and dirt

Nice dinner date at this quaint corner French restaurant that I immediately commented, could have been lifted from any little street in Fr… charmed.
Early reservation before opera. Not knowing how long our chef tasting menu would take, we ordered glasses of a mkst beautiful Cotes du Rhone… excellent. So much so, need to phone back that handsome Francophile and ask the vintner and year.
Wish there was some nice soft music playing to lend plushness towhat was a bit austere for me…
Breton oyster as amuse… not warm enough. The buttered contents congealed.
Black truffle risotto. expected the risotto to be much creamier and the rice more voluminous… he finished off my bowl.
Escargots…yum. Though small, liked v much the wonderful flavor. He def wasnt having any at all (my protestations were beginning to annoy).thus single-​handedly polished off two small bowls of tasty snails.
He the saddle of lamb, me the barely seared, as-​yet undercooked slivers of sockeye salmon amidst a bed of veg, including courgettes and fig. Buerre blanc sauce was alright. Just the right amount of food.
The crème brûlée was a bit bungled… both of ours was inconsistent in presentation, and in further need of even caramelization for that classic cracked top of caramel. Within the ramekin, texture was slightly off. I know, I know. i’m incorrigible, right?
With a fab Bloomspot, this above average dinner with smart wine ran just tad over $ 120. Love conversations that are comfortable and afford the comfort amd privacy of real conversation — life events that significantly shape and carve our future selves.
Charmed space.
PS i found parking!!! Major feat of the day… just there, on Taylor, around the corner, by the two postal boxes! :) extra nice treat for Nob Hill.

This could have easily been a 5 star review… this is why its not. 210 $ for dinner for 2… really?
I bought a 90 $ Tasting menu on Groupon. 5 courses, 2 people, 90 $ Value for 45 $. Great.
We go there and they give us the menu, it all sounds amazing, there’s a few points on the menu that would be «extra» should we want this — such as extra truffle sauce for the fillet mingon and Rack of Lamb instead of the fish etc.
First Item: 1 Oyster in champagne sauce — amazing — and i dont even like Oysters.
Second Item: 1 day scallop over eggplant — good — but a little fishy for my taste.
3^rd item: the hands down best Risotto i’ve ever had (black truffel risotto — this was simply amazing. (you only get like 4 table spoons of each item as it’s a tasting menu.)
4^th item — my girlfriend had the Rack of Lamb which was 1 tiny tiny little sliver of lamb over some cheesy potatoes — she chose the lamb so there’s an extra 12,95 $ fee — for a menu item so tiny 12,95 should have probably been the normal total price for this item.
I got the Filet Mignon over masted potatoes — the menu said it would be 12.95 $ extra should you want the «black truffle» sauce with the item — i did not ask for this however, they still brought it — and charged us 12.95 — again, a portion so small 12,95 should have been the price for the entire item all together.
both of the above menu items we’re super delicious — really amazing food — this must be mentioned.
For desert we had the Crème Brule which was burned, unfortunately — so it tasted smoky and the inside wasn’t «crème brule’y» enough — so this item wasn’t the top of the meal unfortunately — i would have gotten the cheese plate which was also one of the options, but again — like all the previous menu items — theres an 12.95 $ «Extra» fee — for 2 tiny slices of cheese — a little insane.
We had coffee with the desert– which was free — however this was the worst brew coffee i’ve had in a while. similar to ⁷⁄₁₁ coffee. I asked for an americano and our waiter said that they were serving espresso — however it was watered down regular brew coffee (the brewer was standing on one of the side tables.)
With our meal, we each had 2 glasses of wine — so 4 glasses total — i had the Coet du Rohn my girlfriend had the Bourdeaux — both really deliscious wines, however at 13 $ a glass it better be.
the Waiter was actually french and very nice so thats a plus.
we sat by the wall on some quite uncomfortable couch like benches that you sunk in to so you had to sit on the hard edge in order to eat your food.
Our final bill came, and — the top it said 189 $ — minus the 90 $ Groupon so we still ended up paying 110 $ cash (with tip — only tipped 20 $ since i was still in shock about the price) + the 45 $ Groupon, which suddenly completely defeats the purpose of the Groupon.
The décor of the resturant also wasn’t that of a 200 $/​for 2 resturant — not by a stretch.

The rating isn’t a knock on their food, but the restaurant is simply not priced competitively and I feel that their advertising (on Groupon and their website) was deceptive. I got a coupon for a 2-​for-​1 deal on their tasting menu (regularly priced at $ 85 per person). With tax, tips and a bottle of wine (their cheapest white), even with the groupon, our tab totaled more than $ 150 (so that’s around $ 250ish w/​o the coupon). For that price (or maybe ~10% more), I could easily go to one of the top tier restaurants in the city and have a better meal and service.
As for the food, the offerings are rustic and well prepared. The service was fairly minimal — it wasn’t bad, but the staff certainly didn’t make any effort to enhance our dining experience. We were offered the «Groupon Tasting Menu», not sure if non-​Groupon guests had a different tasting menu.
The amuse bouche was a bit of ratatouille, the appetizer was a truffle risotto, the fish was salmon and we had three choice for entrees — mussels (what I got), filet ($ 12 extra, my boyfriend got that) and lamb (also $ 12 extra) and crème brûlée for dessert.
When I looked at their tasting menu online, the restaurant made it look like a 6 course dinner because they didn’t put the «or» between the 3 entrée choices. I thought that was pretty sneaky because the Groupon didn’t specify the number of courses for the tasting menu. So if you go by their menu online, you would expect a 6 course dinner instead of 4. My other complaint is that the portion size was VERY small. I understand that French restaurants favor big plates/​small portions, but the portion here is the same as 8 – 9 course dinner at other French places that I’ve been to. My last gripe is that on their online tasting menu, there was no mention of the $ 12 addition to any of the entrees.
The risotto was creamy, although I noticed that some of the rice still was a bit crunchy in the middle on my plate. I would rate it ³⁄₅.
The salmon was a small sliver of fish but it was perfectly cooked. It was nicely charred on the outside and medium rare on the inside. The fish was moist and tasted very fresh. I wish there were more of it. 4.5÷5
The filet was so tender and flavorful. it was a tiny portion, but damn it was good! You could almost cut it with a fork. My mussels are arguably the most complex mussels in broth dish that I’ve tried, and I consider myself quite the connoisseur. They put salted fish in the broth to lend it more depth and the white sausage added more flavor. I wish they provided some toasted bread to accompany the dish. ⁵⁄₅
The crème brûlée had a subtle rose flavoring. I really liked that it provided an extra note to the dessert without that overpowering, soapy taste some flowery desserts can have. The custard was runnier than the ones that I’ve seen in the past and the sugar top wasn’t evenly caramelized. 3.5÷5
All in all, given the price of the place, even though the food was well prepared, it simply doesn’t seem worth it to me.

We came here for date night this past Friday.
The location was quaint — corner spot in Nob HIll.
The server was charming and somehow managed to service the entire restaurant by himself. Although, on a Friday night, it would have beem nice to have additional staff.
The food was delcious. but the wait time between each course was excruciatingly long and the portions were quite small.
We still enjoyed our meal and would come back.

Did the Bloomspot tasting menu, so maybe we were second tier customers in their eyes, but i expected more. the dishes were tasty, but for some reason the waiter kept telling us we ran out of the real menu so we’re giving you something else. the «something else’s» were definitely not as good as the other parts of the menu so i felt let down.
not to mention someone thought she was having a fashion show during our dinner. how many pictures can you take in front of the flower arrangement in the middle of the room?
plus he slapped on an 18% tip to our two person table. i always overtip on bloomspots bc it’s a great deal. i think it’s tacky to write it on someone’s check and say that’s the way it is, implying we’re the cheapos.
finally, they only have wine and water, why so limited? don’t think we’ll be back.

Oh man. I originally planned on coming in here with a friend of mine on a Friday night, and there was 1 man dining alone, and 1 other couple. That’s it. On a Friday night in the city. And, the restaurant had this peculiar smell to it – like — mop water (?). My instincts told me that something was off — especially when the neighborhood staples like Venticello and Nob Hill Café are usually packed on weekend nights.
My friend shortly thereafter and we decided to head elsewhere — just too bizarre. Admittedly I’m just writing a review for the initial experience, but based on some of the reviews I’m reading here, I think we made the right decision.

Went here to celebrate a very special birthday. I made the reservation without a hitch via open table and requested the best seat in the house for two.
The Vibe:
We got the most private table that faced the window. The ambiance was homey and warm with a modern elegance.
The Service:
The service was through the roof amazing! Our waitress was so accommodating and helpful with choosing our food. The manager was also very proactive and friendly. We felt right at home. We got a candle in the birthday crème burlee which was also so sweet! They even called a friend who was a cab driver when two taxi agencies failed to show up! I just adore the staff there.
The Food:
Beef Tartare–
Quail egg added richness and the toasts very nice. I would have liked it a little colder with a bit more acidity, but overall it was a solid dish.
Crab Soup–
Much like a lobster bisque without the cream. The flavors were well developed and very yummy!
Lamb Wrapped in Puff Pastry–
This was by far the most amazing thing we had that night. The lamb was tender, juicy, and full of natural flavor that comes from highest quality ingredients. The puff pastry around it was rich and highlighted this perfect piece of meat!
Seared Duck Breast–
Everything a duck breast should be! I was so pleased with the tenderness, seasoning, and great flavors.
Poached Pear Dessert–
It’s a fruit so it’s healthy right?
Vanilla Crème burlee–
Warm and oh so vanilla!
Don’t forget to check out their website for deals like early bird 3 course meals and free glasses of champagne!
I am in love with this hidden gem!

DO NOT EAT HERE IF YOU WANT TO TREATED LIKE A CUSTOMER AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A GROUPON!
You must read all of the fine print of the rules, both written and UNWRITTEN.
Comments about the food will come at the end of this review should you still feel the need to dine at Rue Saint Jacques or the urge to have an argument with the owner/​chef over his rules of the house.
Wife and I was looking forward to using the first of TWO Groupons purchased several months ago. We made our reservations for 6:30 but arrived early because we lucked out on parking. Upon arrival, we noticed they had an early bird menu which was soup, turkey and dessert for $ 25, not bad. So, we opted to order one early bird and one regular Ala carte dinner.
Having dined everywhere in and out of the city, with and without Groupons, I typically mention to the server that I had a Groupon before ordering and have always been told to not worry, just present it when the bill comes and it will be taken care of then.
Here’s where our 2.5 star dinner rating begins to slide towards a 0 rating (I wish!).
Server presents our bill and I present my Groupon and credit card, she takes the bill back to ‘recalculate’ and comes back 5 minutes later to state that they could not honor the Groupon because we ordered a special. I calmly asked if she could merely apply the Groupon towards my full price dinner and she said NO.
When I said I didn’t understand, she stated that the Groupon indicates no specials could be included. I asked to be shown the rules and she could not find it, except in fine, fine print ‘Can’t be combined with any other offers’. So, I asked (calmly) if she could charge the normal price of the early bird so that we would essentially negate the early bird ‘offer’ and she said she needed to ask. Five minutes later she returns and says NO.
At this point, a fine day and evening is quickly turning into a completely unreasonable battle between patron and business establishment. We asked if we could speak to the manager or owner.
Eric Lanvert — Chef Owner stomps to our table and asks what is the problem? I tried to tactfully say the his food was good but didn’t understand why our Groupon was being denied. Monsieur Lanvert would not even let me finish my sentence and said that Groupon cannot be combined with specials. My explanation about full price dinner was futile and he said in a rather animated and loud tone that ‘Rules are the Rules and I need to make a profit!’ Off he went back into kitchen!
The server sheepishly comes back to present the check and asked what we want to do with Groupon??? I must have given her my best ‘deer in the headlight’ impression but in a split second, I snapped out of it and asked her to go ahead and charge us the full price for the early bird and let us use the Groupon… She said that the owner told her not to honor it at all!
So, essentially Groupon has honored their commitment by paying RSJ in advance on all of the Groupons purchased. I understand there is common ‘breakage’ when all Groupons are not redeemed — Advantage establishment. When establishments make it a point to make up their own rules to TAKE ADVANTAGE of potential new customers or even referrals, it’s a sign of desperation or a simply, an attitude of not caring for your customers or for any future referrals, in my opinion.
I am extremely glad to have read several other Unilocal reviews that describe the exact same scenario as what we experienced.
So, there you have it, my first 1 STAR review in over 150 reviews. I don’t want others to have the same bad experience.
As for the food, my Veal Osso Buco was good on a bed of lentils (bland) and the Turkey stuffed with sausage was probably left over ingredients from Thanksgiving… Turkey was dry and presentation was poor. The butternut squash soup with crème fraîche was exceptionally good and plentiful.
Yes, we still left a tip to the server since it was not her intent to treat us badly. In this case, our encounter with the owner made the situation 3X worse!
I feel better now. I am sure glad that Groupon has a total satisfaction guarantee, I’ll let them know of our experience next.