By: Restaurant aPos

Restaurant aPos — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:36:27 +0000

Hello Guys
I know it says reviewed 2005 but those prices are incredible, $25 for a meal including a glass of wine, and a tuna dish with all the trimmings for $10, I think I am living in the wrong Country, going for a meal in the UK can cost an arm and a leg. When I am next in San Francisco I will surely check this place out and see if it lives up to its name.
Regards UKGent

By: Rick Pearson

Rick Pearson — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 18:06:46 +0000

Upon receiving a gift card from the Doctor my wife works for from Piperade she decided to set up a nice evening at Piperade for my 51st birthday. Reservations were made well in advance. We live in Sacramento so a trip to the city is always a big deal.
Upon arriving we were seated by the window in the front. The restaurant had a nice feel to it. We brought our own bottle of wine that we had also received from my wifes Doctor. The server came over and opened our bottle for us. He told us the specials in a very short and terse way. He had absolutely no personality. He came back in about 2 minutes expecting us to have already decided what we were going to order. We had not decided. I could tell he was getting frustrated with us and we felt rushed. He came back again in another two minutes and we ordered. We had an appetizers of dungeoness crab and a shrimp, egg, and bread soup. Our entree was Seafood Stew and my wife had the Red Snapper. The soup was delicious however the crab was lacking flavor. My wife commented how bland it was. The seafood stew was very good. The fish, mussells, scallops, and prawns were all very tasty and the Red Snapper was served on a bed af spinach. There was a tasty sauce the complimented the fish and spinach. My wife loved it. For dessert I ordered the chocolate cake with whipped cream. The whipped cream was just whipped and came on cake that tasted as if it just came out of the oven. My wife had a an apple tart with vanilla ice cream and she loved it as well. Topped of with a hearty cup of coffee the food was as good as we hoped for.
Having said that, I must convey my disappointment about the service, particularly the waiter. Upon completing our meal we laid down our gift card. The waiter handled it as a credit card and closed out our ticket with nowhere to leave his tip. We had wanted to put out tip on their as well and we also expected the balance of the gift card to be returned to us in cash. Now, I expected this because for eight years we have received a gift card or certificate to some of the best restaurants in Northern California from my wifes Doctor and we have always done it this way without an issue. However not only would the waiter not reopen the ticket so that we could put his tip on there but he adamitly and demonstratively started making hand gestures and getting louder when trying to explain that the gift card was the same as a credit card causing us great embarresment as some of the other patrons were looking over at our table to see what the problem was. At that point, the manager on duty came over and we tried to explain what we wanted to do and why was this waiter acting so hostile towards us. She informed us that they had just started giving out gift cards and the waiter did not know how to handle them properly. We felt if the establishment has gift cards then its employees should be able to handle them properly. I also told her that if it is handled like a credit card as the waiter told us then why was it not returned so that I could add a tip to it just as I would do with a credit card. I informed her that it wasnt just about the gift card, but it was about how indiscreet he was about a problem and how unprofessionaly he was dealing with it. She shooed him away and she tried to appease us and said that she would open the ticket and we could put the tip on it if we liked. I said thank you and asked about the balance of the card and she said she could not do that and that she only follows the rules, she does not make them. She said that we should return again and use the gift card on our next visit. I informed her after how rude this waiter was, despite the excellent food, that we would not return. At that point we asked to see the wine list so that we could use the sixty dollar balance towards some more wine. During this time the original waiter came over and tried to make ammends at the coaxing of the manager but he was very clumsy in his attempt and only seemed to adjitate us all the more. The manager, upon seeing this returned to our table quickly and took over his duties. We had the bottle opened and and we drank it up.
My wife who had planned this evening was very disappointed in how it turned out. Eating at a nice restaurant is not just about the food and ambiance but it is also about the people. Unfortunatly, the people is where Piperade failed miserably.

Comments on: Piperade: Reviews

By: Restaurant aPos

By: Rick Pearson