Abacus

08/21/09

A Restaurant With Bad Customer Service

by chinina at Citysearch

Came to Abacus which coincidentally fell on Restaurant Week. This review comes from somebody that is in the restaurant industry.

To make reservations, I had to give a credit card number to be charged $25/person in case of no show. I asked the hostess if Restaurant Week menus were offered at 5PM and she repeated the $25 no show policy. Thanks for answering my question.

We ordered the RW 3-course meal and also did the wine pairing which was an extra $30 more. We also tried the Lobster Shooters that are so popular (another $20) and found it to be different, but not as great as everyone else has been raving. Fried, chewy lobster soaking in sake cups of orange colored sweet n'sour sauce.

The food was good, not spectacular and I guess the incident that taints this whole experience was when the hostess (an older lady) came to our table during the main course and informed us that we were taking too long to eat and "As stated to you on the phone, we need to have the table back for another reservation." First of all, no one even mentioned that we were being timed, they were too busy making sure I knew the no-show policy. Secondly, we spent a good deal of money so far and you're going to tell us to rush through our main course, dessert and wine accompaniments? I don't care how classy or exclusive you think your restaurant is, that is rude in all etiquette circles. Perhaps they need to re-think how they're scheduling their tables to allow ample time for their guests to enjoy their food.

The food was good, not great. The attitude needs to be checked. Abacus needs to be honored to have guests, not the other way around. And this one experience has made me not want to come back ever again.

• Pros: The GOOD food, not great, but good.
• Cons: Told us to eat faster so they could give our table away

03/09/09

Abacus...How Disappointing

by ReedDallas at Citysearch

Put me in the column of reviewers that say this is a highly overated restaurant that does not deserve its 'Five Star' Zagat rating. We were a party of two and we had booked our reservation a month in advance. The service was horrible. A party of sixteen booked a reservation one hour before being seated and our waiter, who happened to be the Wait Captain, was incapacitated when this party of sixteen was seated in our section. He was serving twenty people single-handed. We were having the nine course chef's wine pairing with a fixed price of $300.00 plus tax each. It was a dinning nightmare. The wines were served from 'Splits' and the waiter was so harried that he would open the wine and pour them immediately; as a result, the wines were so tight that over half of them never opened-up and were either tooth-ache sweet or just this side of turpentine. Certainly not worth the $600.00 we paid for an advertised Five Star "Wine Pairings" experience. The restaurant manager and the waiter kept apologizing citing the economy as the reason for the poor service, ironically not enough customers, and offering to give us " the experience we should have gotten on our next visit". Fat chance that is ever going to happen. The restaurant was as noisey as an internet cafe and had the ambiance of one, with all the I-Phone and Blackberry's going off. The service was so bad that the plates could not be handled when served due to the long wait on the keep-warm shelf. Kent Rathbun promises a five star backyard barbeque experience, and, on that promise he delivered: After the first three fish courses which were delightful, everything tasted like pasty grits and liquid smoke. On the plus side, the presentations were beautiful when they arrived. Most often the nine courses were served by impersonal kitchen help. My suggestion is that if you are one who has to find out for themself, as I am, go lightly and stick to a menu selection and select your own wine from their wine list.

05/23/05

Does not live up to claims...

by ThumperStl at Citysearch

Abacus didn't live up to its proclaims. Our table was not ready upon arrival. We had to wait 15 minutes to be seated for our reservation - with no recompense. Where I come from, if your reserved table it not ready, you are offered a drink on the house or complimentary dessert or something. The decor was nice, however, it was far too noisy for anything romantic or even conversation that was not screaming. If I were to return, I'd bring a group of people. The food was good, if you have not had anything better before. The Lobster Shooters were the best thing we had. The entrees (Diver Scallops and Jumbo Prawns) were "all-right" - I've definitely had better Asian fusion in town. The food was over-seasoned, taking away from the inherent flavor of the seafood. The Truffled Mac-N-Cheese, not as great as it sounded, but worth a try.