Well, we know people are reading. Half the calls I took on Friday were from people wanting to know if Maya’s, the Mexican restaurant I reviewed in Playbook that day, was open–because the phone was temporarily disconnected. This is particularly unfortunate because if it had been connected, perhaps the folks at Maya’s would’ve had an idea of how much busier than usual they were going to be Friday night.
I wasn’t there, but I’ve been there four times and each time ate delightful food and had courteous and speedy service–although it’s never been busy when I was there. I gather from the phone calls on my voice mail over the weekend that Friday was a different story. A wife called around 6 wondering if it was still open; her husband called around 9 and said he would never go to a restaurant I recommend again. Online the comments were that the food was great, but that the service was dreadful. Or that it took so long to get served that they left.
I hate this, for the people who will miss out on good food and for the folks at Maya’s–but there’s nothing I can do. We tell people when a review is running, but obviously our job doesn’t include going in and helping them clear tables when it does. When Fredric gets a minute, I hope he’ll tell you about how a good review he gave years ago ended up shuttering a restaurant. This is a strange business…
Anyway, I don’t know what happened at Maya’s this weekend, but I hope if you left with a bad impression, you’ll give them another chance.
Restaurant business
Responses to “Restaurant reviewing”
January 22nd, 2008 at 9:40 am
I remember going to a restaurant the night after it had been reviewed - it was a Mexican restaurant (still open) that Koepple had raved over a couple years ago. The restaurant was obviously unprepared for the volume of customers brought in by the review, so it was a long wait for a table and the service was less than snappy. But the food was as good as the review said, and on subsequent visits the place was more than able to handle the larger volume of customers (though it was never as voluminous as that night).
Now, we don’t go to a restaurant the weekend of a good review. Wait a week or two so the crowds will level off and the service will be better adapted to having more diners.
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:08 am
I live in the neighborhood near Maya’s and frequent my local eateries. I’m not surprised that they weren’t prepared for a deluge of folks coming in. This area isn’t an entertainment hotspot by any stretch and restaurant owners generally staff their businesses accordingly. Around here, we don’t see a big rush like you get in Midtown or Downtown every night, or really any night. Maya’s and the other little restaurants in the area generally get the usual locals, and staff to take care of them. Even if they’d brought in every person they employ, chances are they’d have still fallen behind the curve.
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:11 am
Here’s the rule, readers: Never go to a restaurant the weekend a favorable review comes out. Even a warning that the review is being published on Friday doesn’t give restaurants, especially small ones, the chance to prepare for an onslaught of hungry and sometimes impatient diners. So give these places a chance, and follow my and Al’s sage advice.
Many years ago I reviewed a little place off Getwell called Tom’s Tamales. There was just one fairly elderly guy, Tom Blackwell, and he made tamales in a little storefront operation. The tamales were great, best I’ve ever had, and I said so in the review. A few days later Tom called and said, “I’m closing down. I can’t handle the crowds. Thanks for the review, but it ruined me. I’m just one old man, and I can’t do this.”
Another time, I think in 1994, I reviewed a restaurant in Arlington called Vinegar Jim’s (anybody remember this?) Great home style southern food with some flair, and the restaurant was in a very handsome restored log cabin-like building. Anyway, the night of the Saturday after the Friday that the review came we had driven out into the county for something and decided to go back on Summer and stop at Vinegar Jin’s for dessert. Once we crossed the tracks into Arlington, I said to LL, “Uh-oh.” The whole town was a sea of cars parked everywhere that a car could park, legally or not. The front yard of the restaurant and the porch were crammed with people waiting for tables. We made our way through the crowd and into the restaurant and found the owner, who said, “This is the best and worst day of my life. Thanks for the review, but we’ve served a thousand meals since yesterday afternoon in a restaurtant designed to serve 100 meals a day. We had to call the wholesaler twice and beg them to open the doors so we could get more food.”
SO: don’t go to the restaurant the weekend a review comes out. Wait a few weeks. Give them a chance.
And responders to the Maya review on the website, I can’t believe that no one mentioned Las Delicias, down on Mendenhall just south of Winchester. We love that place!
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Heh, I thought about going to Maya’s and decided it would be crowded because of the review. Good call, I guess.
Mendenhall south of Winchester? I can do that.
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:56 pm
I remember being dismayed that the most recent review of Cafe 1912 happened on a Friday when I was already planning to eat there. No thanks, 2-hour wait for overcrowded dining room!
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:38 pm
I totally agree about Las Delicias. The people are very nice & the food is a real treat. Be sure & try several flavors of agua drinks made in the restaurant. My favorite is the rice flavor - very unusual & refreshing. But they were nice enough to let me have a taste of several so I could make up my mind which one I wanted. The guacamole was also quite good there. Look for the restaurant in a small strip shopping center on the west side of Mendenhall or you might miss it.
January 27th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
I was one of the complainers about Maya’s and I stand by it. It’s one thing to be busy. Fine. Have someone tell us that and we’ll gladly come back. Even if you don’t normally have someone at the door, it’s OK during busy times. It’s NEVER acceptable to allow several tables of people to sit there for 15-20 minutes COMPLETELY ignored. I don’t blame the reviewer. She is paid to write a review based on her experiences. The fault is solely at the feet of the owners/managers.
March 19th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Alfred, I think that is a little harsh. A good review for a small place doesn’t even give them time to hire and train enough staff to keep up. They just can’t read the review in the morning and then triple their wait staff and diswashers by dinner. Could they have handled it better? Probably. But to state that you’ll never set foot in there again is probably depriving yourself of a nice dining experience.
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