TL;DR: Uncaring service, no ice cream catered; pre-arrival supper served with the pre-arrival breakfast trays ex SFO during catering debacle.

May 16 UA115 SFO-PPT
Departure delayed about 30 minutes; catering was late.

No PDB offered. No printed menus handed out. Wine and drink options never explained. Definitely felt like a "if you pre-read the menu and are in the know, you're fine; otherwise you're getting the basic basic service"

Online menu identified starter options as "smoked salmon tenderloin" and "burratta". Flight attendant serving the Polaris mid-cabin right side described these as "raw salmon" and "cheese", and that was the extent he was willing to describe the options. Served with a tiny aluminum ramekin of nut mix; they must have run out of ceramic ramekins because other passengers received them.

Main dish arrived without starter being cleared; attendant handed the main dish to me and then took the starter. Never offered top-off of wine or a change of wine from a white to a red to enjoy with the dish. I waited for the attendant to finish serving the cabin, then finally caught them and asked for a glass of the Heitz cabernet sauvignon. Attendant brought back a small pour; took a sip and it was the vintage port... Attendant didn't pass through the cabin for for another 15 minutes. Finally received correct red wine to accompany the beef short rib main, which by this time was thoroughly dehydrated out by the dry cabin air.

After finishing, waited but nobody came through (others still had trays too). Finally pressed attendant call button; nothing for 20 minutes (10 of which the seat belt sign was on, so I'll give them that). Pressed it again after the seat belt sign was off, and a different attendant came through, pretty shocked that we still all had trays. Quickly removed them and offered dessert course to those of us who were 3 hours into the flight without finishing our meal service. Had to ring button again to get dessert cleared.

Pre-arrival supper was described in the menu as "seasoned roasted chicken thigh" or "gnocchi" but the original attendant was back and described them as "pasta, or chicken with pasta - basically the same thing". When it arrived, I was surprised to see it accompanied not with the advertised "mesclun salad" but instead with some fruit, yogurt, and jam. Apparently breakfast meal trays were catered instead of arrival supper trays. Is 50% winning or failing?

The too-casual service and unattentativeness put a dark mark on this flight. That meal service could have been completed in 2 hours after takeoff by a crew person who was attentive and properly trained and briefed on the menu options available. Instead it was delivered as my traveling companion described by a mid-20's "college bro" who was polite and cheerful, but just not trained to provide a Polaris business class service level.