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AIBU?

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Original poster

WIBU to leave a 3 star review on this meal?

67 replies

TAReview · 03/09/2023 21:50

Dined at a fine dining restaurant and each had a meal costing £60 per person for a 3 course meal (including soft drinks). The food was nice but the portions were very small. They spread the food out over the plate to make it look more. At the end of the meal, I still felt hungry.
As the restaurant emailed asking us to leave a review on TripAdvisor, I did. I gave a 3 star review stating that the food was nice enough, but I was still hungry at the end of the meal.
The restaurant has reacted by calling me a keyboard warrior and suggesting that in future I eat at a burger bar. I am shocked by her reaction. Reading through the restaurant's responses to other reviews, she has responded very viciously to anyone giving any kind of negative feedback.
Has anyone else had this kind of response to a review?

OP posts:
zusje · 04/09/2023 01:10

I suppose the only way I can see you being (a little bit) unreasonable is if you were asked during/at the end of your meal if everything was alright and you didn't say anything. This means that you didn't give the restaurant an opportunity to rectify the problem (not that I neccessarily think they would have, given the owner's reaction). But if they asked and you said "Oh yes, thank you, everything was lovely, we really enjoyed everything, fabulous meal" only for you then to turn around and make a negative commet online I can get the aggravation a bit. Still an unprofessional response from the owner though.

poetryandwine · 04/09/2023 02:38

@VeniVidiWeeWee

I take your point about gastropub prices. I am on the OP’s side but admit to being curious about the food consumed.

’Fine dining’ is not a well defined term. Many mediocre restaurants claim to be ‘fine dining establishments’. We have no reason to assume the description originates with the OP.

OP says that this restaurant is in the Guide Michelin; usually that is a reasonable indicator of quality, even if the restaurant is not starred.

I don’t understand why people are being distracted from the minginess of the owner, who doesn’t seem to care that her staff have violated the rule Don’t Leave the Guests Hungry, by the question of whether the restaurant meets some meaningless, subjective standard

MonumentalLentil · 04/09/2023 08:00

In the 80's there was a trend for tiny portions of excellent food. The Belvedere in Holland Park specialised in starving their customers, it was the only place I ever left feeling very hungry after 3 courses.

They would also, in the 90's charge extra for a second bread roll, I don't recall the price but it was a ridiculous amount for one roll,

It is possible that the owners of the restaurant the OP went to are trying to initiate this style and pretend it's not because they want to overcharge their customers. However, 'fine dining' is a term that is commonly used these days regardless of quality and portion size, so means pretty much nothing any more.

£60 sounds like a set price menu/tasting menu which I would assume to be smaller portions if I ordered it. Individually priced items would indicate that it was not a set menu. It may be that OP is not experienced in this type of menu, or it wasn't clear that it was a menu suitable for pre-theatre or a short lunch type thing.

True fine dining in a top restaurant, a full size meal would be a great deal more.
This was one of my favourites. https://restaurantguru.com/Julies-London/menu

Argumentative owners or chef would be another matter.

Menu at Julie's Restaurant, London, 135 Portland Rd

The actual menu of the Julie's Restaurant. Prices and visitors' opinions on dishes.

https://restaurantguru.com/Julies-London/menu

Doingmybest12 · 04/09/2023 08:15

It doesn't matter what you spent or what you describe the food as. If your review was factual and polite then that's fine. The owner's response is what will put people off going especially if she does it routinely to answer reviews. I hope you had a nice time with your daughter.

FullFatPhil · 04/09/2023 08:33

Presumably you NC'd so you could tell us the name of the place and let us have a read of the owners rantings?

mondaytosunday · 04/09/2023 08:39

I left a negative review once. It was just a sandwich place but she got our order wrong (even after checking), the soup was tinned - it did say so and I was criticising the price not the fact it was. The woman wrote underneath and said she remembered us and that it wasn't fair as we accepted the error (in that we said it was ok , didn't see the point in her having to remake it), and that her Dad was ill and she had had a busy day... at the time we were her only customers.
I thought that's no excuse for anything. I stood by my review. Service was poor, the food was average and overpriced for what it was.
Reviews are your opinions. As long as you aren't abusive or unreasonable they stand.

HennyPenny1234 · 04/09/2023 08:46

The response to your review from the restaurant tells you everything that you need to know about them

A review should always be honest otherwise what's the point?

They can't handle criticism, that's not your problem

My partner left a negative review once and was called and asked to take the review down. They declined

CornedBeef451 · 04/09/2023 09:01

There's a Michelin starred restaurant near me that does a 3 course set lunch for £60.

It's actually more like 6 courses and whenever I have been there I've found it more than enough food, as has DH who can eat much more than me.

Usually it's tiny portions but very rich and filling so if you were hungry when you left I think 3 stars is more than adequate.

DemBonesDemBones · 04/09/2023 09:02

Unprofessional for them to reply as they did to your review but I see where they're coming from. Fine dining is quality over quantity. What you saw on your plate would cost more for them to source and pay very good Chefs to prepare than it would for a mediocre restaurant to fill your plate.

Dolores87 · 04/09/2023 09:04

At this point I would change my review to 1 star due to aggressive business owner

£60 per head and I'd expect to be full no matter where we were tbh. They should at least supply bread as a filler. I've eaten at fancy restaurants but never left hungry.

poetryandwine · 04/09/2023 09:06

However, @DemBonesDemBones , your assumption is that this was indeed proper fine dining. We all know the term is badly over-used. Three well designed courses do not leave even my DH, a man of excellent appetite who knows his way around great restaurants, hungry.

Handsnotwands · 04/09/2023 09:09

VeniVidiWeeWee · 04/09/2023 00:18

@poetryandwine

"£60/head will not buy you the meal of a gourmet’s dream but it is plenty for three proper courses plus the soft drinks OP mentioned."

Yes, you're right, but it still can't be called fine dining.

A pub/restaurant near me, very nice but not fine dining, sells their cheapest starter at 6.95. The cheapest pasta is at 12.50.

The cheapest steak is 8oz at 25.95.

But the restaurant promotes itself as fine dining, and it’s nothing to do with the poster that they “only” charge £60. What’s she to do, insist she pays more? Neither of those two things are the problem here that is being discussed.

AngelsWithSilverWings · 04/09/2023 09:18

I always avoid places where the owners leave passive aggressive or outright aggressive replies to reviews. You gave your own opinion and others can decide if that matters to them. I'm never put off by mention of small portions in a higher end restaurant as I prefer that as I get overwhelmed by too much food on a plate.

I recently wrote a three star review for a holiday park. I complemented the comfort and cleanliness , gave a factual description of our accommodation so that others would know exactly what to expect when deciding what to pack and mentioned that we hadn't been able to use the dog friendly section of the bar as the weather was cold and windy and there were missing/broken windows making it too cold and windy to sit there. Maybe the three star rating annoyed them but it means average and that's exactly what it was.

The reply I got was awful! Accused me of not being the kind of person who would ever enjoy their nice family run holiday park and that I should stick to Haven parks in future! I did enjoy it but not being able to enjoy a drink and the entertainment in the bar of an evening did spoil things a little.

DailyEnergyCrisis · 04/09/2023 09:22

Hufflepods · 03/09/2023 21:57

I wouldn’t really call £60 for 3 courses including drinks “fine dining”.

Regardless it’s totally unprofessional for a business to reply to negative reviews like this.

Really? That’s a £15 starter and dessert and a £30 main (minus a few £££ on soft drinks). I’ve paid less in Michelin starred places and not left feeling hungry.

SausageAndEggSandwich · 04/09/2023 09:28

poetryandwine · 03/09/2023 23:58

I think PPs who are saying, to paraphrase, ‘£60 per person is a lot of money, but not for ‘fine dining’ are missing the point.

The first rule of meal planning is Not to Leave the Guests Hungry, ‘fine dining’ or not. It is perfectly possible to do that with moderate portions of good food. £60/head will not buy you the meal of a gourmet’s dream but it is plenty for three proper courses plus the soft drinks OP mentioned.

Anyone lucky enough to have a generous entertainment budget who chooses to spend some of that budget experimenting with restaurants sometimes comes across poor value for money. That’s what happened here, unless OP has an exceptionally large appetite. It happened to me with my distinctly moderate appetite at that starred restaurant with the stale fish, see above.

This meal was meant to be special to the OP, and a bourgeois attempt to suggest that the basic problem is that she doesn’t know ‘fine dining does her a disservice.

Very much agree with this

People are getting distracted with the definition of "fine dining"

Whereas the issue is that you shouldn't leave hungry after spending £60 on 3 courses, no matter where it is.

The manager's response is disgusting.

Whenwillglorioussummercome · 04/09/2023 09:31

You were totally reasonable. The whole ‘posh restaurants serve tiny portions - I had to stop for chips on the way home’ schtick should never be true. If it is, then the restaurant is doing something wrong. There will always be personal preferences and some people just won’t like the sort of food you get in certain restaurants, and that’s fine. But if you go somewhere and eat what’s on a menu and still feel hungry, that’s down to the menu and not you.

Hufflepods · 04/09/2023 09:31

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

A bitch for stating that £60 for a 3 course meal plus drinks and service is not fine dining and that restaurant owners who rant at bad reviews are unprofessional? Okay cool 👌

Hufflepods · 04/09/2023 09:33

@Whenwillglorioussummercome But if you go somewhere and eat what’s on a menu and still feel hungry, that’s down to the menu and not you.

Thats not true though, the restaurant is selling a specific thing. They aren’t making a promise that everyone will like it or feel full after, that’s why there’s a menu with various options for tastes, diets, budgets and appetites.
It’s only down to the restaurant if everyone who orders 3 courses is still hungry, not one person.

Whenwillglorioussummercome · 04/09/2023 09:38

Hufflepods · 04/09/2023 09:33

@Whenwillglorioussummercome But if you go somewhere and eat what’s on a menu and still feel hungry, that’s down to the menu and not you.

Thats not true though, the restaurant is selling a specific thing. They aren’t making a promise that everyone will like it or feel full after, that’s why there’s a menu with various options for tastes, diets, budgets and appetites.
It’s only down to the restaurant if everyone who orders 3 courses is still hungry, not one person.

I’m talking about a set menu, such as the one that the OP had. And I disagree - a well designed set menu should have the right balance of food on it that no one leaves hungry or it’s failed. Some people might leave fuller than others, but unless someone has a gargantuan appetite, no one should feel actually hungry.

HoneyPotts · 04/09/2023 09:42

Everyone wants feedback and reviews….. until they get a review they don’t like.

junbean · 04/09/2023 09:49

I always read reviews before I go anywhere even slightly special or expensive. Quite often I see replies like this. It’s incredibly unprofessional and makes me wonder what else is going on, so I don’t go there. I’ve been to plenty of upscale places and yes the portions are small, but there should be enough courses to be filling. I would have left the same review!

grass321 · 04/09/2023 09:50

I agree with PPs, a snide reply from the owner is far worse than the actual review.

Reviews should be honest and you have the right to say you felt portions were inadequate.

TheFutureMrsWolowitz · 04/09/2023 09:52

lilmadmel · 03/09/2023 22:58

If I read your review it wouldn’t have put me off going to the place. Her reaction in her reply would definitely make me avoid it like the plague.

yes I agree with this.

There are two local restaurants near us who respond very badly to even mild criticism and become very personal about it.

I won't go anywhere near them based on their responses alone.

Daftasabroom · 04/09/2023 09:54

Look up Michelin Bib Gourmand.

CoffeeCantata · 04/09/2023 10:25

They won't last long with that attitude!!

But....I'm sorry...'faine daining'...oh dear - Hyacinth Bucket is alive and well!

Honest, well-cooked food with quality ingredients made with love and skill served unpretentiously is my idea of a good time and I've often had this in inexpensive independent places.