Poor service Las Tapas 4-11-2015

[ukgolfer]

There was a party of 18 of us that booked into Las Tapas tonight , we were given a pager and told the wait was 30 mins , 20 mins later the pager went off , we all finished our drinks at the square and walked to the restaurant, when we got there we were told that the pagers just go off by themselves, they then said that it would be 10 minutes until the table was ready (we did say that any combination of tables were fine) , we waited about 20 minutes and asked again how long the wait would be, when we looked inside there were lots of tables empty, we asked for the manager and were told that they no longer have a manager as he had left, we were told that they didn't have any servers as they had left, a server said that they would sort out the table and would be back in 3 minutes, 10 minutes later nobody returned , so we all left and gave up and went to five guys, it was disappointing as we had a nice experience a week previous , I can't understand that a place of this size is run in this way, if I was the owner I would be very worried

[villagetinker]

Sorry you had a bad experience. While we were a much smaller party, we had a great experience about a week ago. You should probably give the manager a call and discuss what happened, what he/she does not know they cannot fix.

[ukgolfer]

They said they no longer have a manager, as he had left , not just that night but permanent

[KathieI]

Yes, the manager left about a week ago along with some very good wait staff. Not sure what's going on there, but its very disappointing that the service does not match up to the quality of the food, which is excellent, in my opinion. We are there every Monday and Tuesday nights for the entertainment and have been watching the service level going downhill for a few weeks.

Not sure what's happening, but how can a business run without management?? Beats me.

[JoMar]

We had great experiences at Tapas the beginning of the year, then stayed away when the season was in full swing. Went back last week and level of service dropped significantly. Not sure what's going on but based on OP and our recent experience not a good indication of things to come.

[Laurie2]

I hope they get it back together. Their lunch is so good. Soup. Salad. And a sandwich or other entr�e, all for 12 bucks. Lots of choices and nice quality ingredients.

We always sit outside at lunch and maybe have a beer and watch the world go by. Well. . .not exactly the world. . . but some people going to the movies and maybe a few dogs.

[Chatbrat]

Business not making $$-too much going out, with the brew pub starting & snow bird season window down--looks like they expanded too fast & are winding down even faster--if they're here next year I'll be surprised

[missypie]

We went to Las Tapas about 3 days ago for lunch. We were seated outside quickly and had excellent service, the food was very nice as well. To the OP, when you were told that the manager had gone as well as the "good" wait staff that would have also made me run. A well run business needs someone at the helm and in charge. Luckily here in TV we have so many other wonderful restaurants to choose from. I can also feel your frustration over this because you were a party of 18. Give them time and I'm sure they'll get it together again.

[Challenger]

we were a party of 4 there late on friday afternoon . Service was good. Food was very good. Very few customers. We were quite surprised and expecting crowds and a long wait.

It was apparent that something had changed since our last visit and that they could not survive on that level of patronage.

Hope they can pull it back together. A unique diining experience and fun.

[jojo]

We were just there - a party of 9 last week and had excellent food and service. The observations of other posters are worrisome. Hope they can improve and that people will support them. We think Las Tapas is a gem.

[sunnyatlast]

There was a party of 18 of us that booked into Las Tapas tonight , we were given a pager and told the wait was 30 mins , 20 mins later the pager went off , we all finished our drinks at the square and walked to the restaurant, when we got there we were told that the pagers just go off by themselves, they then said that it would be 10 minutes until the table was ready (we did say that any combination of tables were fine) , we waited about 20 minutes and asked again how long the wait would be, when we looked inside there were lots of tables empty, we asked for the manager and were told that they no longer have a manager as he had left, we were told that they didn't have any servers as they had left, a server said that they would sort out the table and would be back in 3 minutes, 10 minutes later nobody returned , so we all left and gave up and went to five guys, it was disappointing as we had a nice experience a week previous , I can't understand that a place of this size is run in this way, if I was the owner I would be very worried

If the manager quit on the spot and servers quit with him, then there's not much that can be done for that night. They'll have to re-group and it will take a few days.

When the o.p. says they were "booked in" with pagers, it sounds like they came and put their name in last night and didn't have a reservation in advance. Regardless of Las Tapas's situation, a party of 18 IN a restaurant and not a separate banquet room/facility, on the Saturday night after Easter, is a lot to expect from the server staff.

I'm finding it more and more troublesome to expect a party of 12+ in a regular restaurant dining area. The noise level makes it impossible to even talk to the people in your own party, so why bother. The same noise level makes it almost impossible for the servers to hear the customers. I don't think large parties IN a regularly staffed restaurant on a Saturday night in tV is worth it.

I hope Las Tapas re-groups and does well. The rudeness of some people here talking down to workers is embarrassing. They're enough to drive the Pope to swear and QUIT and say "take this job and shove it!".

[Villager Joyce]

We frequented many times when they had an expanded $5 tapas menu. They have a very limited tapas menu now with bar seating only. In a group we always ordered at least one tapas per person and one dessert per person. I thought the whole idea of a tapas restaurant was "tastes". Seems like they changed course.

[NYGUY]

We went there Friday night. Food and service were great. I can't imagine a horde of 18 people descending upon a restaurant. To me, that guarantees bad service, but Villagers seem to like to do that to the restaurants and themselves.

[JSR22]

We eat at Las Tapas one or two times a week. We were there Friday night had excellent food and good service. I do not find the choices limited. There are many tapas, paella and dessert selections.

[Skip]

The owner is Antonio Escobar and he's there every night cooking. Should have asked for him.
The partner, Richard Heston, should now be there too as their brewery is now in full operation.

Too bad. They have very good and interesting food.

Skip

[Bonny]

We also like Las Tapas and hope they do well.
We drove by there last night about 9:45. Nice crowd inside and several people dining outside. Looked like everyone was having a good time talking & laughing.
A manager may not have been there, but owners, yes.

[jimbo2012]

Antonio is not just a cook, he's a real chef, we have a special requests when we go ie; in how our food is prepared ingredients etc, no problem, he himself usually comes out to see that we liked it.

I understand but haven't confirmed it, he was a white house chef during the Regan admin.

.

[Bonny]

Antonio is not just a cook, he's a real chef, we have a special requests when we go ie; in how our food is prepared ingredients etc, no problem, he himself usually comes out to see that we liked it.

I understand but haven't confirmed it, he was a white house chef during the Regan admin.

.
Yes he was.

[villager]

From what I understand from a former server, the reason why they left was management/the owners were messing with their paychecks - they weren't getting paid for their full hours and were dragging their feet over many weeks on making it right. It sounds like the servers finally got fed up with the promises and decided to move on. You just don't mess with people's paychecks! I too, hope they get it together and start treating their staff fairly. I really like(d) the place.

[Bogie Shooter]

We went there Friday night. Food and service were great. I can't imagine a horde of 18 people descending upon a restaurant. To me, that guarantees bad service, but Villagers seem to like to do that to the restaurants and themselves.

And come on here and bitch about poor service!

[Bogie Shooter]

Why even post this? Second hand from a server...............

[ukgolfer]

Don't get me wrong we are at Las Tapas in a group of 9 the week previous and it was great, my complaint is that when we asked for a large table we were told no problem, we offered to split up into 3-5 people groups to make it easy as I know it sometimes isn't possible to seat large groups, but we're told a large group was fine , but I find with any business is that you will always upset a customer if you over promise and under deliver, plus seeing as they are in the business of selling food and the place was nearly empty there is something very wrong , if the owner (who I agree is a great chef) is in the kitchen when it's all falling apart front of house he needs to sort it out fast whilst he has a business.
I really hope it does get sorted as its a great addition to the villages.

[sunnyatlast]

Don't get me wrong we are at Las Tapas in a group of 9 the week previous and it was great, my complaint is that when we asked for a large table we were told no problem, we offered to split up into 3-5 people groups to make it easy as I know it sometimes isn't possible to seat large groups, but we're told a large group was fine , but I find with any business is that you will always upset a customer if you over promise and under deliver, plus seeing as they are in the business of selling food and the place was nearly empty there is something very wrong , if the owner (who I agree is a great chef) is in the kitchen when it's all falling apart front of house he needs to sort it out fast whilst he has a business.
I really hope it does get sorted as its a great addition to the villages.

If you want them to regroup and succeed, it's certainly not helpful to open up the doors to the hearsay and rumor that has been posted on this thread. Some of it borders on libel.

I'd suggest you ask to have this thread deleted if you want to help them in succeeding.

[jimbo2012]

Somebody call Gordon Ramsey

http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/20080915/300.ramsay.gordon.lc.091508.jpg

or Rob Irvine

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/12/22/t1larg.robert.irvine.jpg

[ukgolfer]

If you want them to regroup and succeed, it's certainly not helpful to open up the doors to the hearsay and rumor that has been posted on this thread. Some of it borders on libel.

I'd suggest you ask to have this thread deleted if you want to help them in succeeding.

If you look at my posts there is no hearsay, rumours or any liable , just an account of what exactly happened

[sunnyatlast]

If you look at my posts there is no hearsay, rumours or any liable , just an account of what exactly happened

I know, but as I said, it "opened the door to hearsay/rumor" by others (about payroll etc.).

If half their staff walked out without notice, they have enough problems to deal with.

[ukgolfer]

Unfortunately that's forums for you

[Villager Joyce]

We eat at Las Tapas one or two times a week. We were there Friday night had excellent food and good service. I do not find the choices limited. There are many tapas, paella and dessert selections.

I haven't been there for a couple months so things might have changed again. When we went last, there were easily 15 or 20 $5 tapas items. Our bill was always close to $100 for four people, so we had a lot of dishes.

I want the restaurant to succeed. Brownwood is our stomping ground. Being right on the square is ideal. But if I am going for tastes, I'm not going to be happy. Majority is going to win and money or no money speaks.

[JSR22]

I haven't been there for a couple months so things might have changed again. When we went last, there were easily 15 or 20 $5 tapas items. Our bill was always close to $100 for four people, so we had a lot of dishes.

I want the restaurant to succeed. Brownwood is our stomping ground. Being right on the square is ideal. But if I am going for tastes, I'm not going to be happy. Majority is going to win and money or no money speaks.

We have never eaten off the $5 menu and order off the regular menu. Last night 4 of us had 3 tapas and 2 desserts. It was plenty of food and the food bill split was under $30

[Loudoll]

September 2014 Vmail - Building of Brownwood Las Tapas

They have a beautiful YouTube video ...

[Hummintwo]

My one and only experience with Las Tapas was disappointing in several ways. We were a party of 14. I arrived in advance of our party after phoning Las Tapas to be sure they could accommodate our size group at 12 noon and a special needs diet of one of our group. The answer from the Manager at that time was yes to both questions. A hostess approached, told me that had prepared a section for our group and a server was assigned to accommodate the group's dining experience.

From this point, it was down hill. We were seated, beverage orders were taken by the server and then we waited. No flatware, no napkins, and waiting on our beverages. The beverages arrive, distribute, and retrieved flatware and napkins as we chatted.

The server then proceeded to take the lunch order from each of us (group of 14). She then left us to turn in our orders. The restaurant should have been delighted to have this large group because there was only two tables occupied (four customers).

We waited and waited, and finally asked our server when she did re-appear when we could expect our lunch orders to be delivered to our table. She said soon. She disappeared again before we realized some of us needed refills of our beverage orders. We waited and then our server reappeared with two of the meal orders. As she returned to the kitchen, someone from the kitchen assisted in delivering more lunch orders over the next 10 minutes or thereabouts. We told our server we would need our beverage choices refilled and she did handle that as well. She not only was out of sight most of the time, she also did not have any team support. Remember, there were only four other customers during our lunchtime visit this past August. Before she concluded getting refills of all beverages, I asked her to see two specific guests to receive payment in advance of the service.

She not only did not follow the instructions, she went to the most senior of the group with the bill. This guest gave her his credit card before anyone was aware of what happened. I was furious but contained my frustration to continue enjoying the group.

I (we) have not returned. I think pairs and four tops can be accommodated but large groups should seek other options in the Villages.

[Indydealmaker]

No restaurant manager is ever prepared for the Mega-group Villages Dining Phenomenon. For some inexplicable reason people here eat in herds. A very difficult challenge for a restaurant. Too many meals that have to arrive hot and timely all at one table disrupts the service to all of the other diners.

Why eat this way? You can't hear anything. You can't converse with more than two or three friends that are closest to you. Large groups dining like this are just an invitation to dining disaster.

Restaurants here should have special limited menus for groups of 8 or more.

[sunnyatlast]

No restaurant manager is ever prepared for the Mega-group Villages Dining Phenomenon. For some inexplicable reason people here eat in herds. A very difficult challenge for a restaurant. Too many meals that have to arrive hot and timely all at one table disrupts the service to all of the other diners.

Why eat this way? You can't hear anything. You can't converse with more than two or three friends that are closest to you. Large groups dining like this are just an invitation to dining disaster.

Restaurants here should have special limited menus for groups of 8 or more.

So true. It's not even enjoyable to dine in big groups where you can't hear anybody who's not seated directly beside or across from you.

Large groups are what banquet facilities and banquet servers scheduled specifically for the occasion are for.

[tomwed]

What I like about the villages is that you can go to a restaurant with 11 friends and get separate checks on a whim. I can live like a millionaire.

Now if I was a millionaire I would think like others on the thread and just hire a hall and a caterer and not care about the cost.