Dinner at Cafe Rouge at Trafford Centre
My husband and I had dinner recently at Cafe Rouge in Trafford Centre. We had previously dined there on 2 occasionas and found the food to be quite good. On this particular evening, we were shown to our table by a waiter & asked what we would like to drink. When we hesitated, taking time to look at the wine list, the waiter disappeared and, although he walked by our table several times as he served others in the restaurant, we were unable to get him to return to our table to take our order. At one point, as my husband raised his hand and signalled that we were ready for service, the waiter shook his head, and walked away, only to turn around and come back to take our order. Our food was served by other staff members, one of whom we made brief conversation with. The waiter, seeing this, walked over, led her away from the table with his arm around her shoulders and whispered something to her. She did not return to our table. At the end of the meal, the waiter did stop to ask how the food was. We replied that the food was good. We asked for a check. He did not return with our check. After some time (perhaps 5-10 minutes), my husband again tried to catch the attention of the waiter, who ignored his attempt. At long last, he returned, presented the check, and took our credit card. He returned with the check and our credit card, left a pen on the check, and walked away. My husband signed, leaving no gratuity. We walked away from the restaurant only to have the waiter call out in a loud voice for all to hear, "Sir, sir....". We stopped and turned. The waiter asked to see my husband's credit card to see if the signatures matched. We enjoy the food at this restaurant but the service is obviously substandard. — Maxine Ryal on 2007-12-18