Guest User
February 29, 2024
Given the new ownership, one might expect the service to be faultless at the Lansdowne Hotel - not so on a recent visit to Le Café. Our simple order of two coffees and two pastries took the best part of ten minutes to materialise - not the end of the world as it was busy at the time. These items had been paid for on ordering and a further requested takeaway coffee was paid for on delivery. The young server then returned to say that the initial order had not been paid for and he was informed that he simply needed to check again. When a different server came to ask if we required anything further I again suggested that she clarify that everything had been settled re. the bill. When we went to leave a short while after, a manager made a beeline for us with docket in hand in order to have the bill settled and took a little bit of convincing that the bill was indeed settled - this particular exchange occurred right in front of the young woman who had originally taken order and money but she remained impassive until my companion pointed out that it was she who had processed the payment. Again, this can be explained away by young, inexperienced staff and, in fairness, at no point were we made to feel uncomfortable etc. However, what was a cardinal error in my book (and in my understanding of food service) was that after we had finished our coffees and food everything single item of delph, cutlery, napkins etc. was cleared from our table - leaving us chatting over a bowl of sugar. I was almost expecting our two chairs to be lifted up and placed outside the door. Looks like management here could do with a refresher from Ireland’s celebrity hospitality experts on Service 101!