Restaurants you should avoid

**jolog1** · September 15th, 2004 12:29 PM

Let's put together a list of restaurants you do not recommend. I'll start by not recommending Cabellen. We've eaten at SM Manila branch maybe 10 times the last year and once at Megamall branch. I can tell you what they have in common - bad service. SM Manila branch is the worst and it's been like this since the first time we've eaten there. When you get there, the waiter/host will point to you where to sit. After that, you're on your own. They don't ask you what you want to drink. They avoid eye contact because they know you'll want something. When the place is packed, they wait the last possible moment before they refill the buffet table. They rarely pick up the plates off your table when you're done with it. I think the problem is either bad training or short staff. For P250 per person, there's always somewhere else better.

**1D4LV** · September 15th, 2004 12:50 PM

jolog, i am also not recommending cabalen (glorietta). one time, me and my friends went there for dinner. langya, stale na pala yung pusit na sinerve nila sa buffet. ayun. na food poison kami lahat. spent a week in the hospital. tapos nung nakikipag settle kami, ayaw kami bayaran. binigyan lang kami ng tig 7 tau to cover daw cost of hospitalization.

**Altis6453** · September 15th, 2004 12:53 PM

My bad experience is with Dulcinea at the Powerplant Mall. Me and my officemates went to eat there at one time and we were like seated already for 10 min. and still no one waited on us. We called the attention of the staff behind the counter but they seemed content on ignoring us.

The thing is, there weren't that many customers (i think only 3-4 tables were filled) and they had at least 3 waiters on hand.

Out of frustration and exasperation, we left to eat at Via Mare. I'm not saying this is true for all Dulcinea restaurants. But I'm definitely not going back to their Powerplant branch.

**niky** · September 15th, 2004 04:25 PM

Worst experience in waiting for food is at Italianni's in Alabang Town Center... don't get me wrong... I LOVE the food, but the kitchen staff has to be the slowest on Earth!

BTW, has anyone noticed that the table manners of almost all waiters (no matter where you go...) have degraded in the past year? I swear, five or six different restaurants I have gone to (some of them with overall good service), the waiters do NOT know that they are NOT supposed to REACH across the CUSTOMER'S face to pick something up... weird, huh?

Have not had any problems at Cabalen in Megamall, but then, that's just me, and the service at the one in Robinson's Place seems okay... unless anyone else has something to share?

**kyle618** · September 15th, 2004 04:41 PM

well the only super bad experience i got was from king crab near wilson st. ... the order took more than an hour... and nung dumating... only 3 small pieces of spareribs came. WTF! after that we just went to another resto.

mk · September 15th, 2004 04:44 PM

so far ok naman ang service para sa akin sa dulcenea in powerplant....yung cabalen naman worse talaga...dati kumain ako sa robinson's cabalen, sumakit agad tiyan ko hehe...yung sere kasi nila puros greasy foods eh..
sa itallianis naman...the best ang service and yung pag serve ng food sa greenbelt 3...mdyo expensive lang nga...

**Chip** · September 15th, 2004 05:06 PM

Jollibee katipunan. This was around 97 or 98 pa when i was in college. (oo matanda na ako :P) I ordered the ever-famous chickenjoy. When it arrived, it was under-cooked-dont get me wrong, di naman ako maarte when it comes to blood on chicken but this one was RAW on the inside pa.. medyo sticky pa yung meat and translucent. I give it back to the crew, asking for a replacement. "yes sir" she says with a smile. A few minutes later, she comes back and hands me a "new" one. When I open it, lo and behold, it was the same one, this time burnt to a crisp, im not exaggerating here.. sunog talaga at maitim na yung laman at di na pwedeng kainin.
from that day, ive sworn off jollibee except if may manlilibre. hehehe but no way am i spending my hard-earned money there.

**yebo** · September 15th, 2004 05:28 PM

cabalen nga notorious yan for serving stale food. any branch yata.

mcdonalds at the corner of visayas and mindanao ave, we went there once and naku ang amoy parang yung basahan (wash cloth) na pinamumunas nila sa mesa na hindi nalabahan ng 1 month. alis agad kami di kami kumain. if you can smell it, it's probably there!

shakey's sa sm city, sobra tagal mag-serve. we went there minsan tapos 1 hour na wala pa yung order namin kahit ilan times na follow-up. nung paalis na kami saka humahabol yung manager andun na daw order namin, tapos ayaw kami palabasin at bayaran daw namin yung order. e hindi nga kami naka-kain e tapos pagbabayarin kami, ano siya hilo!

**ownertype** · September 15th, 2004 05:54 PM

kanina we had lunch sa D'Mark's sa GB3. Tagal ng service tapos lasang 3M lang naman yung Pizza nila (particularly yung crust). Same din sa Good Earth & Magnum(also at GB3). Puti na mata mo sa gutom pero la pa rin yung food. Yung sa Magnum kinausap namin yung manager kaya binigyan kami bottleof wine (damage control).

**RedHorse** · September 15th, 2004 05:55 PM

2x ko nang minura yang crew ng Shakey's Megamall...

Una, ang tagal ng service....

2nd, after 2 yrs naman, ang tagal ibigay ang change

And there was one time, lahat sila weird (crew), they kept on walking and walking on circles, doing nothing, ano yon naka walking strike sa management?