WillCAD

No, they have a wide selection. In fact, the menu was something like 56 items, which Ramsay said was ridiculous for a kitchen of that small size. And several of the items he was commenting on were non-pizza: he had a burger for lunch that had a soggy bun, and it was some kind of weird truffle/oil/blue cheese thing that he said didn't go together. There was also a salmon dish that was dry as a bone and undercooked, and one of the customers sent back a pasta dish of some kind.

I have to say, although I would never want to patronize such a place if it were in my town, the truth is, it's sort of like a car wreck; I'd be tempted to go in and grab a dessert if I were ever in Scottsdale, just to watch the show.

But I'd be sure to hand my tip directly to the server in cash, out of sight of the thieving bosses who steal their waitstaff's tips.

Showbizguru

I know they had a lot of items on the menu, I watched the show.

But as I said, all they seemed to be serving up was pizza.

roberino

Tru dat. Researchers go in months beforehand, then they storyboard the entire thing from start to finish before they even let Gordon Ramsay within a mile of the place. Same is true for all reality TV from X Factor to Geordie Shore. They just cannot risk investing in a filming project if they might end up with no usable footage.

dchristiva

Yes. Pretty much for the same reasons identified throughout this thread. Always before placing a food order, too, I believe. Whenever we've walked, it was because something just didn't "feel right". Either the staff seemed overwhelmed, we didn't see a server or have our drink order taken within a reasonable amount of time, or some other thing that just seemed "off". Sometimes we've walked out because we went in just after a busload of people, or it's obvious that they have nothing but large parties and we're going to get lost in the shuffle. But I can't think of any time when I've left after placing my food order.

nba1017

A very entertaining thread.

Very rarely have I (we) ever walked out of a restaurant based solely on poor food quality; good management can rectify this and it's often the result of a multitude of factors including a rush in the kitchen, a new line cook, and other things that don't necessarily reflect on the overall quality of the restaurant.

Poor service, on the other hand, tends to pop up more frequently than one would like. I can only remember truly "walking-out" of restaurants maybe twice times over the past year. The first, at a very highly regarded restaurant in New York, where we received an awful table, had to fight through hell and high water to be seated at one meeting our preferences, inattentive and brusque waitstaff, busboys pouring a $200 bottle of wine as though it was water, and incorrect dishes brought out at incorrect times, we spoke to the manager (for the third time that evening). As he made no attempt at service recovery, we paid our bill, left a meager tip, and left. We were never contacted, invited back, or anything of the sort.

On a more entertaining note, we were at a local Italian restaurant here in Chicago last month. We ordered two Johnnie Walker Blacks from the waiter, who promptly informed us that they were out of Black, and inquired as to whether we would like JW Blue. For those of you who don't know, Black runs ~$10 a drink in a bar, whereas Blue can sell anywhere from ~$40-50. The waiter was obviously trying to upsell us significantly without mentioning the accordant difference in price. My dining companion was content to politely decline and walk out of the restaurant; I conveyed our irritation to a manager. Smartly, he recognized both that it's a little absurd for a popular restaurant to be out of a basic scotch on a Friday night and more importantly the distaste associated with an egregious upsell. He implored us to sit back down, which we did, and he popped into the restaurant next door and came back with a bottle of JW Black. Two generous and comped pours, a great bottle of wine, and a delicious meal later, we left satisfied.

BadgerBoi

I was hoping it was going to end with him comping you a Blue each, but that would have been too good to be true

Sunny 1

We had the same experience...at the Ritz Hotel in London. We haven't been back since. There are so many other/better options in London. Also in London, Le Gavroche had such terrible service we will never return there again either. (We didn't leave because my husband is a type 1 diabetic and we were too far from our hotel to leave and eat there...which is exactly what we did when leaving the Ritz. The Stafford was more than welcoming to have us dine with them.)

VivoPerLei

Oddly enough I had the same experience at Le Gavroche.

ekwang

Yep, there was a restaurant that I had eaten at regularly that I walked out of one time when a new wait person was watching my section. After 15 min I simply got up and left.

Gamecock

I have decided that if I walk out, I won't return. Ever. There are generally enough options out there, so why give a place a second chance?

serioustraveler

Did you not say anything to the Manager? If you're a regular they'd probably want to know what happened so that they can take corrective action or at least take care of you to make sure you're a satisfied guest.

As a customer and a business owner I'd want to see how the manager handles the complaint to determine whether or not to continue being a regular.

What they don't see/hear about they can't fix, I wish more people would be proactive and help to turn a bad experience into a learning experience for everyone involved...

You've never made a mistake in your career? You've never been given a second chance in any capacity in life?

Everyone makes mistakes, the important thing is to learn from them and not make the same mistake twice.

Having been in the restaurant business I've always appreciated how difficult it can be to handle huge amounts of people while maintaining "excellence" (of course excellence is extremely subjective) and often situations occur that the customer will never hear about because it's out of sight.

I've seen experienced crews drop trays of drinks, I've seen POS(accurately named...) systems crash in the middle of service(Think night before Mothers Day in a full capacity 1,000 person restaurant) and all hell break loose, and at the end of the day service staff is trained to accommodate as many people as possible.

Having done consulting work for bars and restaurants in addition to being trained as a Professional Maitre'D, General Manager,Server, Bartender, and Coat Check; I can safely say that even the best restaurants will occasionally drop the ball, the best will also try to correct the situation and if you give them a second chance it will usually be worth it.

Have I walked out of a restaurant? Once or twice in the past, but I always made a point to talk to the manager BEFORE walking out so they knew WHY I was walking out.

No industry is accident-proof, I don't see why we act like servers/managers/host stands need to be 100% on the ball all the time, hell even people carrying nuclear launch codes make mistakes.

Gamecock

If I make a mistake, I get sued.

I don't walk out for a mistake. A mistake is bringing me a real Coke when I order diet. It's forgetting to bring me soup.

Serving crap or being surly is not a mistake, but a sign of underlying problems. IOW it is for signs of a total breakdown of quality/food safety.

There are plenty of other places that strive to provide a quality experience, those are the places that get my hard earned dollars.

nkedel

While walking out before being seated isn't the same as walking out mid-meal, the Mrs and I walked out of a local restaurant we're regulars at today, after nearly 20 minutes waiting. Midway through the wait, someone came up, said they'd be clearing a table, but never gave any other update, nor did anyone ever check on us. A larger party (6?) was waiting ahead of us, and when they left, we gave it another couple minutes then did the same.

Never had a wait there before; they were clearly busier than usual, as the side section that was usually closed had people in it. Still very poor form not to watch the reception area.

Gamecock

I agree. A place that is packed and has a long wait is not necessarily the same as poor service, I don't count leaving as the same as walking out.

RichardInSF

I walk out if it's a hot day, the restaurant has a/c, and they aren't using it. This seems to be most common around the bay area at Chinese restaurants.

I walk out if I've been seated and many minutes pass but I haven't been given a menu.