Saturday night, before another event, Ms. EatChicago and I tried to stop in for a couple quick rolls and some edamame at Matsu Yama, a new-ish Japanese restaurant in Lakeview. What followed was a perfect study in how to lose a customer.
One of the reasons we stopped at this restaurant is because they offered valet service. We were travelling by car and finding restaurant parking on a Sat. night is challenging. After spending 10 minutes trying to find the non-existent valet, we had to run in and have the hostess take our car. Apparently she was covering for the fact that they didn't have a valet, but she wasn't watching for cars that needed to be parked.
We asked for a table for two (the bar seats, which we wanted, were just filled by people who walked in while we waited for the valet). There were plenty of tables open, but our request prompted a conference of waitresses, the busboy, and the hostess. Quietly whispering to each other, eyeing us and the open tables, they furiously discussed how to proceed. (This would become the theme of the next 30 minutes).
The busboy dutifully wiped down a large table for 8 at the back of the restaurant for us, and we were seated by the hostess. The giant table was soaking wet and I asked for some napkins to dry it down. The busboy returned a few minutes later with a handful of bar napkins and dried our massive table. We received a sushi menu and a checklist that was partially filled out already, but no pencil. After securing a fresh checklist and a pen, we quickly decided what we wanted. We were not interested in a full dinner, just a couple bites.
It is important to note that we didn't have a whole lot of time to spare. I wouldn't say that we were in a hurry, but we didn't have time to just hang around. Our intention was to inform our waitress that we just wanted a couple things and that we didn't have a lot of time, not a very unreasonable request. This proved to be nearly impossible to accomplish.
We spent the next 20 minutes trying to get a waitresses attention. After 5 minutes of being completely ignored, Ms. EatChicago began politely waving at the hostess and waitress to get their attention. We finally got the busboy to look at us, and mentioned to him, again politely, that we were ready to order. He smiled and informed one of the waitresses who started another "whisper conference" with him. I guess this wasn't her section. Ugh.
After another few minutes the hostess walked by and we, again politely, informed her that we would like to order. She smiled and walked away, disappearing into the kitchen. When she resurfaced, she started yet another "whisper conference" with a waitress. To illustrate a little more clearly, during these conferences the staff would whisper to each other frantically while glancing at us with a look on their faces as if we both grew second heads.
At this point, we were frustrated, but not beyond saving. We had been in the restaurant almost 30 minutes. This would be acceptable if the place was extraordinarily busy, but 25 minutes without a visit from a waitress is bordering on unacceptable. A simple visit to our table with an, "I'm very sorry for the wait, can I take your order?" would have completely rectified the situation. The waitress, a few minutes removed from the whisper conference, did the exact opposite. She stopped by the table right next to us, filled their wine glasses (with great care), asked them how everything was, and walked away.At this point we decided to leave. We had been in and around the place for almost 40 minutes now. They were not full and we were consistenly ignored and treated as if we were a bother. When we stood up and put our jackets on, the hostess decended upon us as if we were making a scene. I explained the situation and we got our car from her and left. As a side note, the entire time, it appeared that an owner or manager was walking around the restaurant too busy to respond to or check on any customers.
I can't even begin to list the ways that Matsu Yama failed us as customers. Granted, our need for a simple, quick meal may have hastened the discomfort, but, we were not in a rush and it does not change the fact that we were consistenly and summarily ignored and treated with disrespect.
Running low on time, we stopped in at one of our favorites, Calliope Cafe. CC is a sandwich shop Lincoln and Diversey that makes some pretty good food, homemade chips, parking, and is generally not full. They also make a helluva good reuben, and offer a Rewards Network discount.
Check out Calliope Cafe at 2826 N. Lincoln, 773-528-8055, small parking lot.
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