Say, you are eating with your special someone at a nicer place and one order must be returned for whatever reason (wrong order, overcooked, undercooked, etc). If you are the one with the correct order do you start eating or return your dish and ask to be served together?

I used to start eating (the few times this happened) but always hated that I ended up being done when the corrected dish came out. Last time I asked for my dish to be returned also so we could eat together. I sensed a slight resistance in the waiter but in the end it wasn't a problem.

What do you guys do?

I would wait, probably have them redo mine if it couldn't just sit under a lamp for a while too.

Reminds me of a restaurant where dishes came out haphazardly -- entrees before appetizers, completely incorrect dishes, etc. No rhyme or reason.

I have simply got up and left restaurants if things are that bad. One major mistake is acceptable, two and I ask for some kind of corrective action. More than two major mistakes, I put on my coat and leave.

There's no reason why they shouldn't take your entree back while you wait for the other. I'm really uncomfortable eating while someone else just sits there. I'd rather enjoy the meal together. And if it's at a nicer place -- well, they just shouldn't bat an eye at that. If anything, they should be mortified that anything went wrong in the first place and make sure to take care of it however you'd prefer. Asking them to keep your entree warm isn't an egregious request.

Some food items cannot be re-heated as they lose flavor I would ask the waiter to bring out a fresh plate

If I am the one with the problem order and if only a portion of meal needs to be returned, on occasion I have asked for a plate to use so that the problem item can be returned. That way, everyone has something to eat. However, that's not feasible in a lot of cases.

IMHO, if they must take your plate to redo your meal after everyone else has been served, they should offer you something to eat (soup, salad, appetizer, potato, veggies, dessert, "some sherbert to cleanse the palate?", etc.) that they can put in front of you in a minute or so while your dinner is being redone so that everyone can begin eating. However, if it will take a while for your meal to be fixed, they should treat it as a problem for the entire table, including repreparing the other meals if necessary.

Also, the class of restaurant is not important; the attitude is. In "family steakhouses" I've had good experiences ("Sure, we'll cook you another one right away" (Ryans)) while in more upscale restaurants, sometimes the attitude isn't: in a case in which one part of the steak was rare and another part was very well done "I don't know what we can do; to fix it we'd have to cook you another steak."

Give the guest choices:

1. take something else if it can be brought out right away.
2. fix the original dish -- if it takes time, explain this. Then, the choice becomes -- take the other guest's food too. Serve them both, together, a few minutes later. Offer 2 new drinks while they wait. Or -- if it's a big party -- offer the guest waiting for fixed dish something else -- anything quick -- for them to nibble on and enjoy while they're waiting, so no one at the table has no food.

So, there's no debating that there is a problem, and it will get fixed somehow, but the guest is almost always happier if they have some control over the process.

I ordered a filet mignon medium-rare, and it came out medium-well, so I hemmed and hawed and finally sent it back. My friend's ribeye came out great, so I just sat there and waited. I really felt kind of awkward though since then she didn't want to eat and it got cold. Very uncomfortable situation and way too expensive not to fix. Total bill was over $300, so I wish we just sent both back, but I really didn't want to make it worse than it was. For what it's worth, I won't be going back soon...

In this case tell the waiter that you will eat the burnt steak but will not pay for it or they can remake both entrees.

I agree. Send back the incorrect meal, send back the correct ones with the understanding that they are correct but it would be rude to start eating without your guest. If you get any crap on it, ask to speak to the manager.

Timothy

I decided to call the manager to see what he thought about the situation. He felt bad and offered to "take care of me" next time I'm in town! I thought that was really nice, so I'll take him up on it. I'll be in Vegas at least 12 times a year for 5 days or so each time, so why not try to find a good steakhouse and maybe this was a fluke. I'm back there in a couple weeks, so maybe I'll try it out again, but I really want to go to Renoir. I've heard it's a very pretty restaurant with good food.

Did he share his thoughts about how the situation should have been handled?