Bluefin disappointment
 

Hate to bash on line but I received no response to my lengthy email. We went Saturday night with total of 8, wife’s fish came out cold and raw, came out warm and raw the 2nd time, 2 of us had raw scallops in our pescatore and 2 , yes 2 mussels per plate. Missing napkins and silverware came out after the food, bread came out when entrees were done or sent back. Manager comped the raw fish and gave us a gift card, which is fine, he made an effort. It’s just frustrating that we pay good money yet are disappointed time and againat so many restaurants. For now our weekly excursions as a group are going to be at our homes, everyone chipping in a dish. We will eat much better

I am learning that even at the “better” restaurants in TV, that service and quality can vary wildly from visit-to visit. Going out is more for convenience, ambiance and service. If I want an incredible meal, I cook it myself.

Restaurants are hit and miss

It seems like most of the restaurants in TV are owned by FMK Group (Harvest, Blue Fin, Chop House, etc.). They seem to have found a business model that works well in TV. Average food, marginal staffing ... but they dress it up with white tablecloths and folks think it's going to be fine dining.

The food is a small step up from Cody's or Outback, the price is a big step up.

Had some really outstanding meals there, and some really poorly prepared ones too, similar to what you described. I really think it's another sign of the times. Does anyone else remember when your favorite steak house, or sea food house, almost NEVER changed employees ? From our dating years until our children were nearly high school age, we frequented our favorite steak house, ordered our favorite filet mignon almost every time, had the same waitress who, at the time, had been with them 23 YEARS already, and the food preparation and quality never changed. Also has a favorite sea food house, same thing, always the host, always had same waiter, things are just not like that any more. Those days a long gone. I'm finally beginning to understand what I NEVER understood... how my grandmother would speak so longingly of the "old days".... LOL ! NOW I realize how nice it was to go into one of the major department stores and know the elevator operator, even in a big city ! How nice it was to know the mail person, the man at the filling station who pumped the gasoline AND cleaned your windows, etc. Never appreciated those things enough at the time I guess. "Ray", the mail man, always a nice smile, a few words of chatting, never received mail that actually belonged to someone else.. some good things about those "old days" !

Can't argue with your analysis, you sure summed it up perfectly, and it WORKS !
The alternative to not accepting that mediocrity means driving to another town, location, and still finding more of the same, so the "formula" works, is obviously profitable, and in our community, I think convenience is a big factor too !

FMK restaurants
 

I had a bad experience at another FMK restaurant. I had to email twice to the restaurant and received no response. Maybe the owner should make it a point to read e mails sent to his restaurants.

Large groups are hard on restaurants. There is only 1 perfect thing.

And it will probably get worse as no one wants to work!

I've gone to Bluefin a few times. Service has always been topnotch, the food (except for one time when the vegetable side resembled mush) the same. I certainly wouldn't judge them on just one visit.

I have to disagree. I have had excellent meals at Chop, Harvest and Coastal. Comparing that food to Cody's crap is absurd.

The FMK restaurants are fully staffed. People are looking for good paying jobs.

Turners in Leesburg has the right idea. They only accept parties of 4 or less. I especially don't like it when you are sitting at a table for 2 and then a large group shows up, and the restaurant staff starts moving tables together to form a large table for 8 or more people right next to a party of 2. This should never be done, but many restaurants will do it.

Large groups are always loud trying to talk to friends 3 to 4 chairs away. Don't mean this in a bad way it is just true.

FMK non CC restaurants are aiming at a more upscale clientele. But upscale is a relative term here and in that they succeed. In actuality not so much.

In general, FMK run restaurants are as good as it gets in the Villages and are typically a positive dinning experience. Like any restaurant, your server and the cook making your meal on any given visit to the establishment will define your experience. Well managed establishments strive for a consistent and repeatable experience, unfortunately delivering that consistent experience requires not only good management but competent help. Finding competent help these days is extremely difficult, and it costs money (which has to be passed on to the customer) to retain that help. That’s why I like to find hidden gems, like Ay Jalisco, that always seem to have the same employees working day in and day out, putting out a consistent product. Some like the product, and others not so much, but it’s always consistent.

I'd like to know who is preparing the dishes to be "chipped in"? No night off for the ladies, I guess.

Agreed...

Bluefin is our favorite restaurant in the squares and we've yet to be disappointed. To compare it to Outback, or bar food like Cody's (which both have a place) is nutz...

Nutz or absurd?

The manager took care of you comping and with a gift card. He has to document what he gives away. The regional Manager will know what happened. I see no reason you felt compelled to send an email. I feel sorry for the wives who have to cook serve and cleanup

Real men know how to cook.

Why are you assuming the wives are doing the cooking? I’m a real good cook. 😀

Yes...

The wives? That’s a big assumption. At our house it is usually the men who take over the food preparation. And since they set the menu they do shopping for it too. I certainly don’t mind tidying up.

I was one of the first to say that I got a miserable meal at Bluefin shortly after they opened. It has happened a few times but overall, big picture I love the place. Looking forward to lunch there hopefully tomorrow. I got ripped to shreds by the big guns on TOTV’S at that time. Their not around anymore, gotta pace yourself on here and mix it up with restaurants too!

It’s a great thing OP to speak your mind and let others do the same. I understand you have no chip on your shoulder just a bad experience! Good post. Thanks.

The problem with the restaurants in the TV is either they are chains or the ones that are not are few and far in between. There is a lack of diversity and the number of restaurants to the population, this permits uneven service. It also has to do what the residents demands. No offense, but I've noticed that people here are less interested in food and more about drinking.

Went with party of 12, booked the reservation, they couldn't find it.
but did find it the following nite, they blamed the person in our group that made the reservation.

Never said oh sorry for the mix up etc.....

But after another 20 min they did accommodate, I'll give them that.

But only one waiter and not the greatest.

One person sent her steak, they replaced it sent it back again to order something else.

four others including myself said their food was soso.

Learned they had a new chef a few weeks ago

Off our list

.

The FMK restaurants send a text confirming the reservation, as soon as you hang up. Pull up the text to confirm you had the right night.

it's much easier to blame someone else

next response.......................we never received a text

waaaaaaaaait for it

We've always had good meals at Blue Fin. The Old Bay seasoning is sometimes overboard but mostly food and service very good. Last time we were there our server was obviously high on something. We talked about it amongst ourselves but she got our order right so we didn't think much else about it. The next morning I opened up the online news (the one we can't mention) and there was her mug shot for a drug arrest from several days earlier (one of several). I think it's hard for these restaurants to find help.

Actually, no one wants to work for slave’s wages in a place where many of the customers treat them poorly.

I agree. It’s not good business to ignore a past guest. But since it’s past, management often just moves on and can’t be bothered.

I don't know if its that "no one wants to work" but more that many people that have worked in the industry can find higher paying or more rewarding jobs elsewhere.

And do “real women” know how to change a car’s tire? With cooking, some men like to cook, others don’t at all. Doesn’t make them less “real.”

Honestly I think the manager was very responsive, he gave you a gift card and comped a fish dish. Not sure what else he can do for you. But it’s true that meals at restaurants aren’t always consistently good or great. And that can be disappointing, especially as prices on menus have definitely gone up.

The Other Side of the Coin - My husband and I had a lovely meal at the Blue Fin on Valentine’s Day. While we were there we saw some of the rudest behavior from patrons we have ever seen. People hogging tables for hours and not ordering anything but a few drinks, ragging on their servers for no good reason, and, this is the one that really got us, a couple rushing our outside table the minute we stood up. We told them that they had to be seated by the staff to sit there. They didn’t care. The servers were so haggard. Frankly, too many people here treat them like the doo doo. If I was a server, id be looking for another job too.

How does not getting a response make it okay to bash online? Don’t think you hate it like you claim

Expected to find this in "what do you miss about the north." Restaurants in TV are the biggest disappointment for me

Just want to say that groups of 8, 10, 12 in a nice restaurant ruins the experience for other diners. You'll are just too loud, and the more the drinks flow, the louder you get. Maybe the white tablecloth restaurants should limit the group size.

Lol… of course they do…but they may not want to. I used to give a ride to work to my colleague. On a wintery day when the car’s belt got loose, I asked her just to look at it while I pressed the accelerator, but instead she walked out to the middle of the road and lifted a leg and slightly pulled up her skirt. (She taught grade 5 at my school but used to be a “California model”.) Well, that was one way to get help. My daughter, on the other hand, who I sent to ballet school from age 4 for 8 years, works on building airplane parts.