GrandFloridian4
Cruising is MAGICal & WONDERful
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2006
On a recent thread, I posted in support of MM, but last night we really had a disappointing experience, sorry to say. We had eaten at MM many times & each time had an enjoyable experience, but last night wasn't the case.
I made PS for my DH & me for 7:30 pm. with no problems. We arrived at 7:15 & checked in immediately, along with another party of 4 for the same time. The hostess told us both that it should be approximately 5 min. Great! We're gonna get in either early or, at least, on time ---- we thought!
For the next 15 min. maybe 3 more parties came in, checked in & were seated by 7:30. We figured they were the ones with the reservations prior to ours. However, around 7:40, still not seated, we watched a number of other parties, a few of them 2 people, several of groups 4 or 6 people, walk in, check in, & be seated within 10 min.
Although we did not mind the wait - it was allowing us to increase our appetites & we were enjoying looking at all of the pictures on the wall - I asked my DH to just check with the hostess to make sure that we hadn't missed our call because a few 2-parties had been seated & they had come in after 7:30 & were called within minutes. The hostess informed him that we were "still on the waiting list & that they were "doing their best" to get everyone seated". So, we just asked for a menu to look at, as did the other party that came in at the same time as we did & had the reserv. for the same time as us.
By 7:55, several other parties had come in, checked in, waited a few minutes & were called & seated. By now, the DH of the other party waiting had approached & asked the hostess what was going on. She replied the same way to him, but began to speak quietly to another hostess. My DH & I figured that it must be packed inside with the wait we had. Imagine our surprise when, finally called to be seated at 8:00 pm, we observed several - probably 10 - empty tables, 1/2 of which remained empty our entire meal?!? Were they "saving" these tables? Had parties not shown for their reservations? Although we were not upset about waiting, I wondered why we were not seated earlier, when we checked in at 7:15, our PS was for 7:30 & other parties of 2 arriving 7:35-7:40 were seated long before us. Had they arrived late for their reserv. & still been seated before us?
My DH & I both ordered the minestrone soup - which was delicious! We both ordered the Chicken Parm. for dinner & both of us thought it was "fair". The breasts were thick & juicy, but the sauce was very bland & there wasn't much of it. I asked for a side of sauce for us to share. C.P. is my DH's favorite meal & he orders it at many places (probably too much
) & he felt that MM's was less tasty than even Olive Garden's. I'd have to agree. We've had the Penne Vodka before & liked it, but it's been awhile. And I know my DS did not care for his pizza at MM's when we went last year.
Our waitress was friendly, but not particularly good. As she put our soups down, we asked for pepper (salt & pepper are not on the tables) & she said, "Ok" & then proceeded to wait on two other tables. After over 5 min. I asked another waitress if she would get us some pepper & she responded, "Your waitress can get that for you" & I told her we had asked, but hadn't received it yet & would like it for the soup. After a few minutes she brought it out. She also brought us our entree's. About half-way thru our meal, our original waitress showed up, removed our soup bowls & asked if everything was o.k. We asked if she could bring us some bread & some extra sauce. She brought the sauce & a glass of water, but no bread. We just gave up & didn't ask again. (I have to say, that after reading here on the boards about what servers may do to your food if they don't care for you, I decided not to drink any of the water that she gave me without my asking for it.
If she couldn't bring us things we'd ask for, I certainly wasn't going to eat or drink things we hadn't asked for!!
)
When the bill came, we decided that we were going to split the tip between the waitresses. So we called over the other, helpful waitress & gave her a cash tip & charged, as we usually do, our waitress' 1/2 of the tip to our bill.
Curiously, as I mentioned before, at least 1/2 of the tables - some large, some small - that were vacant as we were seated, were still vacant as we left!?!
I don't think we'll be rushing back here anytime soon. Although we didn't have a 'horrible' meal or experience, it wasn't as we remembered & there are enough other places to eat. I don't know if they've changed their chef's, but we remembered the food to be better than it was. However, to end on a positive note, I'll say again, that the minestrone soup was very tasty & we did enjoy it very much.
I made PS for my DH & me for 7:30 pm. with no problems. We arrived at 7:15 & checked in immediately, along with another party of 4 for the same time. The hostess told us both that it should be approximately 5 min. Great! We're gonna get in either early or, at least, on time ---- we thought!
For the next 15 min. maybe 3 more parties came in, checked in & were seated by 7:30. We figured they were the ones with the reservations prior to ours. However, around 7:40, still not seated, we watched a number of other parties, a few of them 2 people, several of groups 4 or 6 people, walk in, check in, & be seated within 10 min.
Although we did not mind the wait - it was allowing us to increase our appetites & we were enjoying looking at all of the pictures on the wall - I asked my DH to just check with the hostess to make sure that we hadn't missed our call because a few 2-parties had been seated & they had come in after 7:30 & were called within minutes. The hostess informed him that we were "still on the waiting list & that they were "doing their best" to get everyone seated". So, we just asked for a menu to look at, as did the other party that came in at the same time as we did & had the reserv. for the same time as us.
By 7:55, several other parties had come in, checked in, waited a few minutes & were called & seated. By now, the DH of the other party waiting had approached & asked the hostess what was going on. She replied the same way to him, but began to speak quietly to another hostess. My DH & I figured that it must be packed inside with the wait we had. Imagine our surprise when, finally called to be seated at 8:00 pm, we observed several - probably 10 - empty tables, 1/2 of which remained empty our entire meal?!? Were they "saving" these tables? Had parties not shown for their reservations? Although we were not upset about waiting, I wondered why we were not seated earlier, when we checked in at 7:15, our PS was for 7:30 & other parties of 2 arriving 7:35-7:40 were seated long before us. Had they arrived late for their reserv. & still been seated before us?
My DH & I both ordered the minestrone soup - which was delicious! We both ordered the Chicken Parm. for dinner & both of us thought it was "fair". The breasts were thick & juicy, but the sauce was very bland & there wasn't much of it. I asked for a side of sauce for us to share. C.P. is my DH's favorite meal & he orders it at many places (probably too much
) & he felt that MM's was less tasty than even Olive Garden's. I'd have to agree. We've had the Penne Vodka before & liked it, but it's been awhile. And I know my DS did not care for his pizza at MM's when we went last year.Our waitress was friendly, but not particularly good. As she put our soups down, we asked for pepper (salt & pepper are not on the tables) & she said, "Ok" & then proceeded to wait on two other tables. After over 5 min. I asked another waitress if she would get us some pepper & she responded, "Your waitress can get that for you" & I told her we had asked, but hadn't received it yet & would like it for the soup. After a few minutes she brought it out. She also brought us our entree's. About half-way thru our meal, our original waitress showed up, removed our soup bowls & asked if everything was o.k. We asked if she could bring us some bread & some extra sauce. She brought the sauce & a glass of water, but no bread. We just gave up & didn't ask again. (I have to say, that after reading here on the boards about what servers may do to your food if they don't care for you, I decided not to drink any of the water that she gave me without my asking for it.
If she couldn't bring us things we'd ask for, I certainly wasn't going to eat or drink things we hadn't asked for!! )When the bill came, we decided that we were going to split the tip between the waitresses. So we called over the other, helpful waitress & gave her a cash tip & charged, as we usually do, our waitress' 1/2 of the tip to our bill.
Curiously, as I mentioned before, at least 1/2 of the tables - some large, some small - that were vacant as we were seated, were still vacant as we left!?!
I don't think we'll be rushing back here anytime soon. Although we didn't have a 'horrible' meal or experience, it wasn't as we remembered & there are enough other places to eat. I don't know if they've changed their chef's, but we remembered the food to be better than it was. However, to end on a positive note, I'll say again, that the minestrone soup was very tasty & we did enjoy it very much.
