We had dinner last Friday at Assaggio in Cordova. I ws really looking forward to the lasagna, which I noted as one of the best items on the menu when I reviewed the restaurant in the Playbook on August 10. I wasn’t disappointed. The lasagna is fresh and spicy, hearty and flavorful without being heavy, and the serving is generous.
We noticed after a few minutes that a couple who had come into the restaurant after we did and were seated at the table next to us seemed concerned about something. The gentleman had ordered the lasagna and evidentally didn’t like it and was complaining to his wife. He called the waiter to the table and complained about the dish and said he didn’t want it. The waiter politely asked what was wrong with the lasagna, and that man said, “It’s bland.”
Well, now, it seems to me that feeling that a dish is bland is not grounds for sending it back to the kitchen. Palates are different, of course, and what was pleasantly spicy to me may indeed have tasted bland to this diner. Why didn’t he, then, have recourse to salt and pepper or perhaps some red pepper flakes.
No, sending food back to the kitchen, which is a nice way of saying “refusing to accept a dish at the table,” is a serious matter and should be done when a food item is either prepared in the wrong manner (getting a well-done steak when you ordered rare or vice versa), if there’s a foreign object in the food or if there truly is a flaw, if, say, fish smells spoiled and disgusting or meat is so tough that it’s difficult to cut or the food is so salty that it’s inedible.
The staff at Assaggio performed exactly as they should have. The waiter took the lasagna away (while I thought “Bring it to me!”) and brought the man a menu and he chose something else for his dinner. One of the chef/owners came from the kitchen and apologized. Every effort was made to accommodate the patron.
But I think he was wrong to send the food back.
Eating adventures
Responses to “When Do You Sent Food Back?”
October 25th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
I agree…I would have asked for red pepper flakes and/or cheese to kick the flavor up a notch. I’ve only sent food back a few times and for what I consider acceptable reasons (roach in my salad and steaks not prepared per my instructions).
October 26th, 2007 at 1:43 am
I’ve sent food back, but only when it was truly disgusting… water pooled in the bottom of a dish causing a soggy mess, spoiled shrimp, or otherwise so badly prepared that the chef should have been spanked for sending it out. Not too long ago I was served improperly prepared ika at the Mikasa. I’m not sure what went wrong, because in the past their sushi had always been excellent, but both my husband and I had to spit it out. It was greasy and, well, I’m getting nauseated just thinking about it. They comped it, no problem, but I haven’t been back. Bad sushi is not fun.
If I order something I just don’t like, however, that’s my problem.
However, not all people see it that way. I’ve noticed other people who seem to think that ordering a meal is an opportunity for them to taste several different things and pick the one they like best. The worst was a man who did it with mixed drinks… he tasted and sent back five specialty drinks before deciding to keep one. The waiter never batted an eyelash; it was obvious he’d seen it all before.
October 26th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
When the food is not cooked properly for the food or the specified way the customer requested.
Cold hamburgers and cold french fries are a particular issue with me.
Another gripe is overcooked or undercooked baked potatoes.
All to often food is cooked on a timer (alone) and not by observing it. This means any deviation in recipe or weight of item cook can cause it to be poorly done. This is my issue with the food at Picadilly.
Once I ordered a steak light-medium at O’Charleys, and it was brought to the table burnt to a crisp. In that cse I faulted the cook, and the server. A server should be aware of the order and not serve it.
Most food problems could be solved, if the cook and the server looked at the food.
October 26th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
I ordered black bean soup at the now closed Washington Street Bistro in Collierville. It had a delicious flavor and texture until I bit into a piece of what appeared to be round flat bone. It wasn’t painful to my teeth, so I just set the bone aside. A little while later, the chef came around to the tables & explained that the bones were in the meat that was used to flavor the soup. Apparently, there had been some questions & I appreciated his personal approach. I told him the soup was excellent but I was glad to know about the bone pieces. I’m sure this happens quite often with dishes such as gumbo where pieces of seafood shell are unavoidable. But I would not have sent the dish back for something of that sort. I agree food cooked to the wrong degree of doneness, foreign matter in a salad, or watery/off tasting things shouldn’t be tolerated. But sending food back is not the way to go about creating a tasting menu, much less every mixed drink available. I am constantly amazed when I hear stories of this type, which is another good service the blog provides its readers. I feel I am more informed & educated diner after reading experiences of others when eating in restaurants.
October 26th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Oh I agree that food should only be sent back for the reasons you stated.
I sought out Assaggio after your review - for treating some out of town friends. I thought the lasagna was bland too. I would go back though - everyone else’s dishes were fantastic.
October 26th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
I was with friends at Buckley’s recently and one in our group sent back the shrimp and grits, saying it was too soupy and too spicy. But I’m like Jennifer, unless there’s something WRONG with a dish, it wouldn’t occur to me to send it back.
October 27th, 2007 at 12:05 am
Only if an ingredient was spoiled, rotten, or just plain bad. If a piece of meat is not cooked properly…such as an undercooked chicken recently…but certainly not because you don’t like it or you felt the dish was bland. Some people!!
October 27th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
I remember that table well Fredric!
The lasagna is an interesting one…we think it’s delicious, and the vast majority of people who order it seem to agree. Once in a while we do get a “bland” comment though, and as you mentioned it all boils down to an individual’s palate. What I taste may seem fantastic, but to others may seem ordinary. Naturally at that point we wanted the guest to enjoy a meal at our restaurant, and he seemed to enjoy the spicier ribeye.
Glad you enjoyed the lasagna though!
October 27th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
I agree with you . And there is a fine line as to what is wrong or just personal taste. Unfortunately most people will not complain when something IS wrong. They feel it is their fault and not the kitchens. When you spend your hard earned money on an item that is not right - you should let the staff know. They NEED to know in order to fix it.I think the staff wants or should want to know when you are unhappy.
October 28th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
I think you have the right of it, Jennifer. I’ll send a steak back for extra cooking, but there’s a difference between something being badly prepared and just not to my taste, and the latter situation is my responsibility rather than the restaurant’s. I’ve thankfully only run into food contamination issues a couple of times, and if I just don’t like the taste of something I’ll write it off as a loss and perhaps order an additional side dish to fill up on—with a mental note not to order that particular dish when I return.
Kudos to the folks as Asiaggo’s for being gracious about the customer’s complaint. That sort of attitude will earn a lot more loyalty from me as a returning customer than an outraged “how can you not like our food/understand our policies?!?” reaction.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
One Sunday afternoon, spouse and I went to an early dinner and couldn’t believe it when four tables within our sight, yes, 4! all complained about the food in some form or fashion AFTER they had eaten. Each time the manager came and spoke to the parties, but never brought them additional food, only gave them coupons for so much off their next dining experience. I understand there was absolutely NOTHING wrong with the food and/or service, it’s just a way for certain people to try to get meals for free. I told this story to an acquaintence who happens to be a waiter and was told that is common practice for this area; thus the reason for the coupons instead of additional food.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Brenda, I’ve heard the same thing about complaining for free food from people in the service industry. I won’t go into the rant I listened to about the “5 W’s” on the subject, but I have heard likely the same thing you have concerning it.
The only time I send food back is when I get improperly cooked meat, or in the case of one local eatery, the time my appetizer arrived on a bed of unwashed romaine…covered in dry dirt and dead gnats.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
^By the way, that warranted a direct call to the Shelby County health inspector’s office for a complaint.
October 29th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
Dry dirt and dead gnats?! Auuuggghhh! Can the salad prep people in that establishment not see what they’re doing?! Bravo to you for calling the health inspector’s office, Kristin. That’s disgusting.
November 2nd, 2007 at 10:21 am
I recently sent a dish back at Grisanti’s. The shrimp was terribly overcooked. I’m not sure I would have sent it back, but the service had been so terrible (and this was for a special anniversary dinner) that it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I’ve been telling everyone that Grisanti’s may be a Memphis establishment, but they aren’t a very good restaurant. At least the server when she brought me a new dish of the pasta did say she tasted the shrimp and I was right it was really overcooked.
December 13th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
I had a bland meal at Assagios tonight but I did not send it back because it really isn’t their fault that I like my food to be flavored with a little kick of spice. One would think the garlic, basil, black olives and pine nuts would have done it for me but what I really wanted was red pepper flakes. I should have asked… Service was good, though a staff member did have to make a run to the liquor store for a bottle of Kaluha with which to make a White Russian…which was then served half-way thru the meal.
17 comment.