Food
Décor
Service
Value
Horrible & Abusive Owner
This is a review of my overall experience dining at Pomodoro on the evening of Monday the 3rd. I’ll get straight to the point and warn readers that this will be a negative review about the service a friend and I received. I will also do my best to inform rather than rant. I have been in the restaurant and catering business for over twelve years as a cook, chef, culinary student, kitchen manager, floor manager, executive chef, food and beverage manager, catering business owner and a customer. I have never had nor witnessed the kind of treatment we received at Pomodoro.
We arrived at Pomodoro around 6 pm to find only one other party of two waiting for a table. The hostess/server/busser/food runner/bartender (whom was extremely busy as you could imagine) popped her head out a few minutes later to tell the couple in front of us that it would be 25 minutes for a table. She did not give us an estimate but rather told us and the few folks that had gathered behind us, that we would be the last walk-in party she could take that evening. Considering the length of the wait at nearby restaurants, even doubling that estimate would have been a score, so we decided to wait……and wait……and wait some more.
We ultimately waited for a little under an hour and a half. That was what seemed to be the typical wait time at other restaurants in the area that we checked with before landing at Pomodoro, but what made this wait most frustrating was that every 15 minutes or so we would be told that it would be just another 15 minutes of wait time. So, just as time expired, the wait was extended to another 15 minutes. Even after we were told the wait would be 5 minutes, we waited one more 15 minute interval before our table was ready.
After having had an unexpectedly lengthy wait, my companion mentioned to our server that we were in a bit of a rush and would like to order right away. We split the field greens salad, I ordered the chicken carbonara and my friend ordered the seared chicken breast with papardelle and mushroom ragout. During our dining experience, our server physically moved our table, moved my friend’s purse and shuffled plates around on our table without an excuse me or pardon or please. I don’t know if that was this woman’s particular service style or if she was accommodating our request for an expeditious dinner. I did find it odd, however, that we weren’t included in the activity.
As far as I was concerned, my food was delicious. However, my dining companion stated that her chicken was dry and that the quantity of mushrooms was as much or more than the amount of pasta which was not appetizing to her. She did not want to order another entree or have a refire of her dish. To be fair, she had some of the carbonara I ordered and agreed that it was excellent. When I had finished my meal I caught the attention of our server and, being conscious of the close proximity of other diners, discretely handed her my friend’s barely touched dish, explained quietly that my friend had thought the chicken was dry (not mentioning her thoughts on the quantity of mushrooms) and asked for our check.
When she arrived back to our table she brought the bill and a to-go bag with my friend’s meal in it. This is the part that I found really stunning, she said “here is your check and the chicken that you thought was dry”. I turned and said “excuse me?” at which she repeated that the chicken was not dry because she “tested it”. I asked if she was arguing with us about the chicken being dry when she interrupted to say that she wasn’t arguing because the chicken was cooked “perfectly” and “we (the restaurant) know what we’re doing”. At that she took payment, returned with our change and was gone in a flash.
My friend and I were surprised at the exchange and sat stunned while deciding what to do. I decided that I would approach our server and return the dish and express our feelings about her attitude and gall. While my friend waited outside the restaurant, this is the exchange I had with our server.
Me: “First, I want to say that the carbonara was fantastic. My companion thought that her chicken was dry”
Server: “Well, I tested it (the chicken) with a knife and it was not dry. That’s her opinion but the chicken was cooked our standards.”
Me: “I’m sure it was and that may be, but the way you handled the situation was the rudest, most disrespectful and unprofessional thing I’ve ever experienced at a restaurant.”
Server: “Whatever, I’m not falling for your manipulation”, complete with eye roll.
At that point I handed her the to-go box and said she could have it back because we didn’t want it to which she replied, “Oh, you don’t want this now?” with a big smirk on her face. I met my friend outside and relayed the exchange and she went in this time. A shouting match ensued between the two in which our server reiterated that (the chicken being dry) was just my friend’s opinion and insinuated we just wanted a free meal.
In the aftermath (my friend said that she felt like she had been mugged), and a little more internet research, it appears that this woman is the owner of Pomodoro and this type of service is not unusual from her or other members of her staff. Sort by star rating and you’ll see what I mean.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60745-d322983-Reviews-Pomodoro-Boston_Massachusetts.html
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pomodoro-boston?sort_by=rating_asc
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/4/53701/restaurant/North-End/Pomodoro-Boston
http://boston.citysearch.com/review/4726022#{"history":
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http://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/massachusetts/boston/review-44971.html
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/154150
It is difficult for me to fathom that this restaurant has such high ratings (and is still in business) with as frequent as the abusive service seems to be. This woman must have plenty of customers in hand to be continually alienating potential new ones. The most important form of advertising in this business is word of mouth. For those of you not familiar with the area, I want to iterate that this woman’s attitude and behavior is highly atypical of the type of service and welcome to be had from Bostonians in general. I love Boston. I do not live there, but my friend does and I visit quite frequently and we will both be sharing our experience with as many people as will listen. Feel free to comment or contact me regarding this post.
